Backstage at MHS’s Little Mermaid

The weekend of March 19th, Madison High School went under the sea with their spring musical, Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Students in the cast, crew, and pit orchestra played to sold out audiences on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and the show was a smashing success. MDO got to go backstage and talk to some of the cast members about their big weekend.

“Being in the show is like being in a big family”, says Daniel Pawlak, a senior who played Chef Louis in the show. “You get to know and meet so many new people and make new friends”.

Sophomore Emily Sanderson says “the cast becomes one big family. It is amazing to be surrounded by a positive community. The musical is an amazing opportunity to interact with different people and be a part of an amazing community”.

A lot of students agreed that costumes and makeup are an integral part in what makes the show amazing. Morgan Sanchez, senior, who played the title role, Ariel, says that “costumes make the show interesting and fun. They add to the humor as well as the overall effect of the show. Costumes and makeup make the show more realistic”.

Senior Aydin Bagley agreed. “The costumes lit up the entire show and brought characters to life and I was amazed every night at how much it made me see the characters as actual characters, not just actors”.

Morgan adds, “in particular, the tail that had to come off during Ariel’s transformation went through at least four different mechanisms. From Velcro to snaps and elastic, nothing seemed to keep that tail on for mermaid scenes and off for human scenes!”

“I was incredibly impressed by the crew. Between the boat, waterline, props, and flying, they had so much to do, but they handled it with professionalism and ease”, says Grace Van Cleef, a senior who played Andrina, a mersister. The crew worked so hard to help the show come together, and it really showed. The stage crew is an essential group to the success of the show, and they executed their tasks flawlessly.

Sophomore Aileen Bergin, who played Adella, another mersister, says that backstage during and MHS musical is the “beautiful chaos of a million creative minds working together. The crew and the volunteers are the real MVPs. Words don’t describe how lucky we all were to have such a dedicated, responsible, supportive stage crew. The pit also contributed to the success of the show, as they rehearse just as long and hard as we do, even adjusting to the sound and speeds of the cast”.

“Overall, backstage is a crazy crazy machine fueled by the blood, sweat, and tears of everyone involved in the show”, Aileen concludes.

The Little Mermaid was unlike any other show ever performed here at MHS, and it ended up being a huge hit, for young children and adults alike. Congrats to the cast, crew, and pit orchestra on a spectacular show!