Disney's The Little Mermaid
at Fairfax High School

Reviewed on May 5, 2018

Donovan Fisher
Mount Vernon High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

Splash into a world of your wildest dreams with Fairfax High School's production of The Little Mermaid! Produced from Disney's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale with the same name, this tale focuses on Ariel, a mermaid with the hope to interact with humans. She wants to be where the people are but is bound by a society who deems the humans as wicked. After she falls for the human Prince Eric, she must navigate through both sea and land to discover herself and chase after her love.

Kamila Adamczyk, the actress portraying Ariel, hit all the right notes in embodying the bubbly charm of the character. Wearing roller blades for much of the show, she effortlessly glides across the stage in full control of herself, bringing power to the character effortlessly. She's accompanied by a wide cast of companions throughout the show, most notably the crustacean composer Sebastian (Densmore Bartly, Jr.) and her enthusiastic friend Flounder (Seth Strong). Bartly captures the grandiose and dynamic nature of Sebastian with ease, always giving full energy to each scene he's in. Strong was able to portray the head-over-heels nature of Flounder with awkward, boy-ish charm, stealing the audience's hearts in numbers such as "She's in Love" with the help of an ensemble of captivating Mersisters.

For every group of heroes in these classic stories, there is always the timeless villain to combat them, and Ursula and her eels were a spectacular team to behold. Julie Kovach's portrayal of this classic villain archetype makes this character feel fresh, effectively commanding all her scenes with power and life, including the show-stopping "Poor Unfortunate Souls". The eels Flotsam and Jetsam (Tyna Hesser and Thomas Iodice, respectively) were some of the most electric characters to watch, and that's not just in the literal sense. The duo had amazing comedic chemistry, playing off each other flawlessly as they rode around the stage in Heelys to antagonize the leads with their dry wit and frequent antics.

Binding all The Little Mermaid together however was the gorgeous attention to detail the production designers put in. Costume designs were living organisms themselves, with the costume crew heads putting exceptional detail into each unique sea creature designed. The special effects team incorporated some of the most complex effects you'll ever see in a high school show, with the use of fly rigs to show Ariel swimming up to shore or Scuttle flying down to the land below. The systems worked astonishingly well, soaring characters through the sky with ease, looking as if done at a professional level. The lighting design was magnificent and intricate, utilizing over 250 lighting cues and a newly installed scrim to truly immerse the audience into the depths below.

Fairfax High School's enchanting production of The Little Mermaid takes everyone on a journey as part of their world, putting on a spectacular display of talent for the high school level. From the leads to the ensembles alike, the cast had a wonderful amount of energy and power in their movements to always keep the show moving and the audience engaged. The stylistic flair of the technical design encapsulates all key elements of the production, perfectly blending artistic ambition and practicality into a fusion of spectacle for all to behold. From a constantly energized cast to its elaborate tech, Fairfax High School's The Little Mermaid takes audiences under the sea for a show that will leave everyone spellbound beyond their wildest dreams!

Sumie Yotsukura
Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

A mermaid, her prince, an evil witch, and a multitude of sea creatures singing and dancing their hearts out—"what more is you lookin' for?" Fairfax High School takes their audiences under the sea in their vibrant production of Disney's adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Little Mermaid, bringing to life the colorful underwater realm of King Triton.

The story follows the mermaid Ariel (Kamila Adamczyk), youngest daughter of King Triton (Sebastian Newlin), as her curiosity about "The World Above" leads her to fall in love with the seafaring Prince Eric (Eli Nygaard). In her quest to have her prince, she trades her voice to her sea-witch-aunt Ursula (Julie Kovach) in exchange for legs—on the condition that Ariel wins a kiss from her prince within three days. Joining the princess are friends Sebastian (Densmore Bartly, Jr.), who is charged with watching Ariel, Flounder (Seth Strong), Ariel's companion who is hopelessly in love with her, and Scuttle (Parker Stephens), a supposed "human stuff" expert.

As merprincess Ariel, Adamczyk does a remarkable job; she elegantly spends all but the last minute or so of the first act on roller blades to better emulate a mermaid, all while singing and dancing, even performing a couple of tricky turns. Starring as villain, Kovach boasts a strong belt in songs such as the classic "Poor Unfortunate Souls."

The show also nicely showcases a striking supporting cast: Strong as Flounder, featured in the song "She's in Love" and supported by the exceptionally strong Mersister ensemble, brings an adorable touch to the young fish. Bartly as the crab Sebastian amuses and entertains, particularly in the visually stunning number "Under the Sea," which features virtually the entire ensemble. Stephens brings a strong and distinct voice and physicality to the eccentric seagull Scuttle, nicely performing the act two opener and tap number "Positoovity" along with his "Show Gulls," the show's dance ensemble. Ian Kirkland as Chef Louis has the audience rolling in the aisles during his song "Les Poissons" and its reprise as he caricatures a French chef who takes pleasure in violently preparing fish.

While the cast does a very admirable job onstage, it is the technical elements that truly make this production stand out from the crowd. As the overture played, the lighting team quickly established itself. They made nice use of custom-made bubble domes, lighting them with colored spots of light. But the real showstopper was the underwater lighting that spread over the whole stage area; the audience audibly gasped. The costumes also shone; each ensemble member wore a costume student-designed to evoke a specific sea creature, effectively creating a plethora of unique ensemble characters.

The crew also makes spectacular use of two fly rigs which are used to marvelous effect several times during the show, typically to showcase either Scuttle flying or Ariel going in between sea and land.

Also, of note are the "ORCA-stra" and the choreography, both done almost entirely by students. The "ORCA-stra" lusciously performs the Disney score, and the choreography makes extraordinary use of the large ensemble.

Fairfax High School's wonderful production of The Little Mermaid stuns, truly making us "Part of (their) World!"

Julianne Cuevo
Flint Hill School
Submitted for publication to FCPS Community News

Fairfax High School's production of Disney's The Little Mermaid was an under the sea extravaganza for all to enjoy, filled to the brim with love, laughs, and fish puns.

Based on both the timeless tale by Hans Christian Andersen and the 1989 Disney movie, the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid appeared on Broadway in 2007 and has since had many regional and international productions. Disney's stage version is a lively retelling of the story familiar to audiences of all ages. Against the wishes of her father, a young mermaid named Ariel (Kamila Adamczyk) falls in love with a human prince (Eli Nygaard). Ariel, desperate to be on land, gives up her voice to the sea witch Ursula (Julie Kovach) in order to become human and receive true love's kiss from Prince Eric.

The tale of The Little Mermaid is a classic, and the students of Fairfax High School certainly did it justice. Kamila Adamczyk portrayed Ariel excellently; she brought innocence and sincerity to her role as a literal fish out of water. Adamczyk also had a lovely voice, as seen in the iconic number "Part of Your World," in which she captured the essence of Ariel's character through yearning to experience human life. Furthermore, to simulate the swimming of a mermaid, Adamczyk used roller blades to move onstage, doing so with impressive grace and skill.

Another superb performer was Julie Kovach, who brought the fierce and villainous nature of Ursula to life. Her extremely powerful voice and imposing presence made her song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" a spectacular number. Kovach's chemistry with her two eels, Flotsam and Jetsam (Tyna Hesser and Thomas Iodice) was entertaining and a contrast to her moments of fearsome wickedness.

The comic relief of the show did not disappoint. An element of the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid that does not appear in the film is Flounder's crush on Ariel, which was a highlight of Fairfax's production. Seth Strong (Flounder) was delightful in his portrayal of this unrequited affection, leading to the humor and charm of "She's In Love," in which Strong and the talented Mersister ensemble lamented the fact that Ariel had fallen in love with someone. Additionally, Chef Louis (Ian Kirkland) was absolutely hilarious. His antics in the kitchen and at dinner, particularly his chase after Sebastian (Densmore Bartly, Jr.) had the audience simply overcome with laughter.

The entire show was a display of vast technical accomplishments. The students employed a flying rig, allowing characters to appear as if they were swimming in the ocean or soaring through the air. This feat never failed to impress the audience, and added to the immersive nature of the production. The flying, plus the inclusion of bubbles and a large tire swing descending onto the stage, made the number "Under the Sea" a true showstopper. Also, many costumes were made by the students, showing their attention to detail. The ensemble members had individual costumes, each fashioned after a particular fish. Finally, the skilled orchestra perfectly complemented the beautiful voices onstage.

The students at Fairfax High School succeeded in putting on a marvelous production of Disney's The Little Mermaid that shone brilliantly in aspects of performance as well as in technical elements, teaching the audience to follow their own dreams over land, sea, or wherever their dreams might lead them.

Samuel Zarek
Mount Vernon High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

Come travel under the sea to see this exciting and wondrous story of friendship, family, and finding true love at Fairfax High School's Disney's the Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid was originally written in 1836 by Danish Author Hans Christian Andersen. It has been adapted numerous times, but the most popular version is the 1989 animated film by Disney. In 2008 it was adapted into a musical based on the film and was nominated for two Tony Awards.

The Little Mermaid is about Ariel, who is the youngest of her six mersisters. She desperately wants to be up with the humans so much so she has a collection of human objects. One day Ariel sees a ship pass overhead and she goes up to the surface to get a closer look, and that's where she sees Prince Eric whom she falls in love with. Suddenly a storm hits and sinks the ship, casting Eric to the sea where he slowly drowns. Ariel then saves his life and sings him a song before fleeing back to the depths of the ocean. The song gets stuck in Eric's head to the point where he holds a singing contest to find the girl who saved his life so he could marry her.

Standout performances were from Ariel played by Kamila Adamczyk, Sebastian played by Densmore Bartly Jr., Ursula played by Julie Kovach, Chef Louis played by Ian Kirkland, and the Mersisters ensemble. Kamila gave a wonderful performance and everyone could really hear in her voice the struggle that Ariel faced with wanting to have legs to be able to walk and dance with the humans. Kamila used her skills as a trained figure skater very well, as she was on roller blades the entire time. She had extremely flawless movements and was very graceful while moving around on stage. Densmore perfectly embodied Sebastian and was constantly engaging with the audience and making us laugh and made it so people wouldn't want to take their eyes off of him as not to miss something hilarious he might do. Julie did a superb job as Ursula. Her voice was fantastic and she didn't just sing but also acted in all her songs, expressing the Ursula within her. She did an amazing job and provided a wonderful support to Kamila's Ariel. When the audience first saw Chef Louis right from the get go he was making everyone laugh. He gave an energetic and hilarious performance and definitely stole the show with Les Poissons. With his incredible stage presence and body movement it would be very hard not to love Chef Louis.

She's in Love was an amazing song anchored very well with the strong vocals of the Mersisters. This song also gave the lovable Flounder, played by Seth Strong, a chance to shine and he took it--everyone loved him. This song set up beautifully for Under the Sea which was an incredible ensemble song. Led by Densmore, as he shows Ariel the exciting and wonder of life under the sea.

The tech was fantastic. The sets and lighting did a terrific job in setting the mood and atmosphere of this show from beginning to end. The special effects were incredible with fly rigs doing a wonderful job of letting characters imitate swimming through the sea and flying. Costumes and hair and make-up were also amazing and really enhanced each characters personality.

Fairfax High School's The Little Mermaid is a much-watch show that will leave all filled with happiness and in awe.

Maggie McClelland
Mount Vernon High School
Submitted for publication to Connection

Overflowing with colorful sea creatures, mermaids, music and a mélange of melodious voices, Fairfax High School brought the magic of Disney's The Little Mermaid to sea life.

With book by Doug Wright, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway in January of 2008, running for 685 performances. The musical is based off of the 1989 beloved childhood animated film of the same name and the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson and includes all the classic songs like, "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea".

Kamila Adamczyk brought beauty and innocence to the role of Ariel. She lured the audience to be a part of her world and her journey to find true love with a voice as clear and sparkling as water. Eli Nygaard as Eric perfectly complimented Adamczyk with his graceful charm and harmonies as sweet as caramel. He exuded elegant manliness and charisma in numbers like "Her Voice" and "One Step Closer".

Julie Kovach was magnificently menacing as the sea witch Ursula. Kovach convincingly cast a spell over the audience with her verbose vocals, imposing movements and impeccable acting. The crowd's favorite crustacean, Sebastian, was delightfully portrayed by Densmore Bartly Jr. While saddled with the most difficult prop, Bartly's accent, presence, energy and comedic skills never faltered.

The vocals by the entire cast were amazingly uniform and as seamless as a school of fish, every voice was amazingly talented, there was not one bad catch in the net. Particularly noteworthy was Seth Strong as the dippy guppy, Flounder, and Hannah Runner as the show stopping mermaid, Aquata. Speaking of the Mersisters, the ensemble members were flawless in their execution of acting, singing, and dancing in their true to form and wildly creative costumes. Other ensembles that fall in this description were the Gulls and electric eels, Flotsam and Jetsam (Tyna Hesser and Thomas Iodice) specifically captivated the audience with their chemistry and deliberate moves.

The tech then captivated the audience, with no short comings across all aspects. The creativity with the special effects of a tire swing, bubbles, flying rigs, and attractive set with colorful costumes easily made the actors look even better as they danced along to their timeless numbers. It is easy to see how hard the tech worked, especially with the lighting team having 251 light cues of a variety of color! Then the marketing and publicity especially stood out with their unique techniques, from a Snapchat filter to having an add on the radio, and even (and most appealing) having a recycling contest to help save our oceans. The amount of work that all the tech and actors put in then the spreading-the-word tactics helped them sell over 3,500 tickets!

It was smooth seas for Fairfax's cast of The Little Mermaid with leagues of fun for sailors and land-lubbers alike!

Simon VanDerWeide
Flint Hill School
Submitted for publication to Fairfax County Times

Fairfax High School invited the audience "under the sea" with captivating technical elements, beautiful choreography, and vocals befitting a princess in their production of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid is based on the 1989 Disney movie of the same name and on the 1837 Danish folk tale by Hans Christian Andersen. This musical follows a similar story line: the mermaid Ariel sacrifices everything to find love with Prince Eric on land. Ariel even surrenders her magnificent voice to the sea witch Ursula in exchange for legs to be closer to Eric. Without a voice to tell him of her love, Ariel must win his affection another way.

As the show began, the aptly named student "Orca-Stra" flaunted its ability to switch seamlessly between different genres of music. The lighting team also transported the audience underwater with brilliant bubble effects that lasted throughout the show. As the show developed, the "Orca-Stra" continued to set the mood of each scene, never failing to support the vocalists in more complicated numbers.

The excellent performance of Ariel (Kamila Adamczyk) powered the show from the opening number through the final moments. Adamczyk demonstrated her prowess for figure skating by maneuvering around the massive stage on roller blades with scrupulous attention to detail. Her voice echoed the voice of Disney's Ariel herself, showing a full range of emotion, from the hopeful longing of "Part of Your World" to the sadness of "If Only". Ariel's sisters, affectionately called the "Mersisters," stunned the audience with their expert harmony and individual quirks. Their singing as an ensemble and as individual vocalists was enthralling whenever they graced the stage with their regal presence.

Just as in the Disney movie, Ariel's companions, Sebastian (Densmore Bartly, Jr.) and Flounder (Seth Strong), accompany her through the toughest twists and turns of this tale. Bartly brought a unique voice to his portrayal of Sebastian and inspired laughter with his witty one-liners. In contrast, Strong allowed everyone to empathize with his character's desire to love Ariel with his youthful voice and physicality.

No production of The Little Mermaid would be complete without the famous villain, Ursula, whom Julie Kovach played with chilling accuracy. Kovach brought guile and mischief into every note in her song, "Poor Unfortunate Souls," as she tried to convince Ariel to give up her voice. Her powerful vocals and precise choreography were supported by Flotsam (Tyna Hesser) and Jetsam (Thomas Iodice). Hesser and Iodice's light-up eel costumes and authentic chemistry only further enhanced the eerie atmosphere.

Technical elements in this show rivaled the performances themselves. The lighting team used the expansive width of their stage to create spectacular stage pictures and a scrim curtain to juxtapose the land above and below the waves. Actors flew through the air and swum in the open ocean on fly rigs. The organized chaos of "Under the Sea" was supported by both these fly rigs and a tire swing that sent actors flying out over the audience.

The wonderful cast and skilled crew of Fairfax High School brought their performance of Disney's The Little Mermaid to life and created an overall stunning performance.