It’s been nearly six months since the closing of “Godspell,” Beaver Area High School’s 2021 spring musical. Since then, the question on the minds of every theater enthusiast in the school has been, “What is Mrs. Susan Metelsky going to do this year?”
December 10 gave us our answer: this year’s all-school spring musical will be Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
The show follows Ariel (senior Rachel Kopicko), a young mermaid with a beautiful voice and a fascination for the human world beyond the ocean. When she rescues sea-loving Prince Eric (junior Andrew Cavett) from a shipwreck, she falls in love with him. In order to be with him, Ariel trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula (senior Marissa Shrum) to become human for three days. If she can’t get Eric to kiss her by sunset on the third day, she will become Ursula’s slave for eternity.
“The talent was in my girls this year,” Mrs. Metelsky said, explaining why she chose this musical. “I had to find a show that had more [female roles] without doing something like Little Women. Beautiful music, but it’s boring,” she laughed.
Mermaid remains close to the plot of the beloved animated movie including well-known songs such as “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” and “Under the Sea,” in addition to numerous songs unique to the musical.
“I’m excited for this year,” said Cavett. “It was unexpected for me to get that big of a part, but I’m happy about it. [Musical] is a great time to bond. It’s like a family.”
“I absolutely love doing musical!” said Shrum. “I can’t wait to play Ursula, and everyone is going to do amazing!”
Other featured characters include Ariel’s fiercely protective father King Triton (sophomore Anthony Tabone), the King’s court composer and Ariel’s protector Sebastian (senior Grace Jessel), and Scuttle and Flounder (seniors Meredith Jones and Ciana Novak), Ariel’s best friends. Also appearing is junior Jackson Vuckovich as Grimsby, and junior Alexis Thomas and sophomore Amara Stewart as Flotsam and Jetsam.
The cast received their scripts Tuesday followed by a successful first reading with leads and characters Thursday afternoon. The first full cast rehearsal will be this evening.
“I’m beyond excited for the musical this year,” said Kopicko. “After the read-through with the leads I knew this was going to be an amazing show. I’m very excited to have gotten the opportunity of being the lead this year, and I’m so excited to be working with everyone.”
It may seem aggressive to begin rehearsals before winter break, but Mrs. Metelsky explained that beginning early isn’t irregular.
“It might seem earlier than usual, but in the big picture, I often start in December. Music Man started early, got the quartet rehearsing as soon as I posted,” said Mrs. Metelsky. “Many years, I’ve started in December.”
Mrs. Metelsky also explained that she intends to employ her normal “divide-and-conquer” technique, scheduling multiple actors in one session who will work with different instructors to maximize rehearsal time.
The Little Mermaid will open March 18. Information about purchasing tickets will be available on the Beaver Area High School website nearing production.
For backstage and rehearsal sneak peaks and shenanigans, as well as information regarding ticketing and production when it’s available, students can follow the musical Instagram account, @basdmusical.
“I hope we get it done fast,” said Mrs. Metelsky. “I hope everyone gets off book ASAP! End of January, act 1 memorized; end of February, act 2!”
The Little Mermaid cast is eager to dive under the sea and into rehearsals following winter break. Make sure to support your classmates this spring and witness one of the most ambitious and momentous productions BAHS theater has ever performed!