ORANGE — Bronwyn Whitney opted to choice into Ralph C. Mahar Regional School and join Julie Bouchard’s theater department because she longed to be part of that world.
Less than two years later, Bronwyn has secured the role of Ariel in the upcoming production of “The Little Mermaid,” which premieres on Friday, May 1.
“It’s my first time getting a main role for one of Ms. Julie’s plays, and I was really excited,” she said. “I think everyone’s putting in a lot of work and we’re all working hard to make ourselves the best we can.”
Opening night begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Mahar auditorium. There will also be a 6:30 p.m. show on Friday, May 8, and 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday, both this weekend and next. The final performance will be Sunday, May 10.
The show last two hours, with a 20-minute intermission. Tickets, which cost $15, are available at the door or via gofan.co/app/school/MA23964_1.
“I’m excited to see everyone in the audience,” Bronwyn said.
Bouchard, the show’s director, said she selected “The Little Mermaid” because “Beauty and the Beast” is on tour throughout North America this year and unavailable on Music Theatre International (MTI), a theatrical licensing agency. She also said this will be the full version of “The Little Mermaid” and not a standard junior production, which would be shorter in length, consist of fewer songs and come with a CD of all musical accompaniment.
“The kids have been great — a lot of veteran performers that have returned to play principal roles, but also a lot of new kids,” Bouchard said. “We’ve been running it solid now for about 2½ weeks, almost three weeks.”
Sebastian, servant to Ariel’s father King Triton, is being portrayed by program veteran Evan Piscitello, and Flounder, Ariel’s best friend, will be played by Julie Montemor.
“Flounder is a bucket-list role for her,” Bouchard said. “And she’s fantastic at it.”
Bronwyn, too, said Ariel is a dream role for her, as she loves the character’s kindness and innocence.
“She’s a really nice princess, and … she’s not sassy, but she’s still headstrong, and she shows how you can be headstrong without being mean,” the 15-year-old said.
Still, Bouchard said the production has not been without its hiccups, as the show lost its set designer two weeks ago for personal reasons.
“Henry Simpson, who is our stage manager, has stepped up,” Bouchard said. “Thank God I have an amazing group of people to help out.”
She also said the production’s lone costumer is Myndi Elwood, mother of actress Audrey Elwood, who is playing one of Ariel’s “mersisters.”
