Attendees at Wylie East High School’s fall musical can venture under the sea and reconnect with their younger selves as they watch a Disney classic adapted for the stage.

Thespians at Wylie East open their fall musical, “The Little Mermaid,” Thursday, Oct. 6 with performances also scheduled for Oct. 7-8. The shows will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 6-7 with a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday, Oct. 8 in the school’s auditorium.

“We picked The Little Mermaid because it is such an incredible opportunity to bring joy and inspire the next generation,” said Associate Director Samantha Miller. “Theater is such a unique gift and we wanted to create art that not only entertained the community, but also gave the students an opportunity to give back to the community that grew them.”
The production follows the adventures of Ariel and King Triton as they learn to accept themselves and others for who they are. Over the course of the story, Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the sea witch, to gain human legs so she can impress Prince Eric. 

“I think the most important message in our production is to be accepting of people who are different from you,” Miller said. “We try to teach our students that it’s our differences that make us stronger and how important it is that we give everyone a chance before forming an opinion about them.”

Senior Crei Pierson portrays Ursula and said it is nice to portray the sass and humor of a character perceived to be evil.

“Sometimes people play her only evil but she has a lot of witty moments that I’ve been able to play up,” Crei said. 

Senior Angela Rodriguez, who portrays Jetsam, said she was terrified of her character watching the movie as a child but has gained an appreciation for the character now that she is older.

For the full story, see the Oct. 5 issue of The Wylie News.