The lights fade up on gatherings of rocks spotted with fuchsia blooms, brass and strings swell from the pit orchestra, and a fish-tailed figure glides out from the wings scarlet hair and pearly smile gleaming. This enchanted image belongs to one school and one production only: Maryvale Preparatory School s production of  The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid  was first written in 1837 by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson, albeit the original story had quite a bit more disturbing imagery. However, in 1989, Disney spun Anderson s fairy tale into the classic animated film, which marked the beginning of the Disney Renaissance and created the family-friendly plotline everyone adores. The tale eventually swam its way to the theatre and the first stage production opened up in 2007, allowing audiences once again to once again watch the story of a little mermaid   longing for the world outside of the sea   give up her fins to be beside a human prince.

Donning a shimmery tail and starring as Ariel, the titular  little mermaid,  was Brooke Yanaga. Yanaga highlighted Ariel s bolder qualities as a strong-willed young woman with her powerful belt and vivid body language, contrasting with the dainty approach many actresses choose to pursue. The object of her sea-deep affections, Prince Eric, was played by Emilio Bayarena, who seemed to walk straight out of a Disney movie and onto the stage. With a dreamy voice brimming with genuine emotion that enraptured the audience every time notes floated out from between his lips, Bayarena was a picturesque, teenage heartthrob.

No production of this timeless tale is complete without an appearance from a certain crustacean. Destiny Hargrove tackled the role of Ariel s guardian and friend Sebastian, a distinct challenge considering the character is traditionally male. Hargrove did not let this impediment curtail her, though, as she consistently came onstage teeming with robust humor, encouraging all other actors around her to raise the stakes of their own performances. An unanticipated but certainly exceptional performance came from Sophia Rampolla, who portrayed Ariel s oldest sister, Aquata. While all of the mersisters were reminiscent of peppy cheerleaders from classic, early-2000 s high school movies, Rampolla in particular developed an engaging character that she brought to life in every scene despite her fairly small role.

Whether a major or minor character, every actor was adorned in prismatic array of costumes that transformed the vacant stage into a scintillating coral reef twinkling with vitality. The Maryvale Costume Team found costumes that festooned the cast in everything from sequin-blanketed fish hats to miniature gowns lined with cherry-colored bows and peach-toned frills to onyx tentacles that slithered across the floor in the wake of a fiendish villain. Although blips in the microphones speckled the evening, the dynamism of the cast supplemented by the vibrancy of their costumes outshone the issues at hand.

Stroll down to the rocky shoreline, where the seafoam-tipped waves lap the edges of the earth, and watch as Maryvale Preparatory School weaves a tale of unrelenting love between land and sea.

by Claire Vervack of Liberty