DWS players to raise curtain on spring musical Friday

ALBANY — The curtain will go up on Deerfield-Windsor School’s annual Spring Musical Friday when a cast and crew of 67 present “The Little Mermaid.” The show is set to run Friday through Sunday at the Albany Municipal Auditorium. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s finale is scheduled for 2:20 p.m.

Most are familiar with the Disney animated movie. “The Little Mermaid” is a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul.

Andersen’s tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media, including musical theatre, anime and an animated film.

“When I take a moment to look back on the past four months since we began our journey under the sea, I first think, ‘Wow, where has the time gone?’” DWS theatre director Lindsay Stewart said.”Watching this young group fight their way upstream as they learned songs, dances and lines; found characters far different from their actual selves, and grew as actors and actresses, from our youngest third-grade silver fish to our twelve musical senior veterans, has been a truly amazing and rewarding journey.”

Cooper Roberts, who plays Prince Eric in the play, is one of those seniors. He is the only DWS student who has appeared in 12 consecutive spring musicals.

“I signed up for a play when I was in the first grade; my parents didn’t even know I had signed up,” Roberts said. “Over the span of 12 years, I have grown a greater appreciation for the art. My favorite musical was ‘Anything Goes.’ My friend, Mac Lane, and I played two Chinese characters who were locked up in jail. That was a lot of fun.”

Junior Landon Lowe plays the role of Ariel.

“What I like most about playing the lead is I get to talk more to everybody in the show,” Lowe said. “Plus, I think I kind of act like a role model for the younger kids.”

Brynn Sammons plays the role of Ariel’s father, King Triton.

“The thing I like about playing the king is that I get to yell at people, and I like this trident,” Sammons said, laughing.

Stewart said she appreciated the students’ hard work and effort.

“So many people often see the finished product of one of our spring musicals and see the colorful costumes, the upbeat music and the flashy dances, but they are unaware of the massive undertaking that bringing a production to fruition actually is,” Stewart said. “There is a common theatre ‘meme’ that shows a beautiful, glittering ice berg above the water labeled ‘the show,’ but beneath the surface is a jagged icy mess of chaos labeled the ‘rehearsal process.’ It’s a messy process, filled with re-dos and frustration, sometimes tears and laughter at our own snafus, but it always turns into something beautiful.”

Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at deerfieldwindsor.com or at the upper campus Monday through Friday from 8-10 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the auditorium box office one hour prior to the show.