Green Valley to go fathoms below with ‘The Little Mermaid’

Green Valley High School students are set to bring the sea to the desert.

The school, 460 Arroyo Grande Blvd., plans to perform “The Little Mermaid” at 7 p.m. Jan. 29-31, 2 p.m. Jan. 31 and 7 p.m. Feb. 5-7. The show originally ran on Broadway from 2008 to 2012.

“This is definitely our big musical of the year,” said Green Valley theater director Jennifer Hemme. “We have big 5-foot puppets. Part of the audience section will be transformed into under the sea with black lights. We’ll have bubbles. We’re really going all out.”

After the students successfully performed “Mary Poppins” at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts and at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., last year, Disney and the Music Theater International agency approached Hemme to pilot their school version of “The Little Mermaid.”

“It’s been a little crazy with two big shows right after one another,” Hemme said, “but this is our sixth Disney pilot, so it’s been really fun and a really interesting opportunity.”

While the students helped create costumes and set pieces, the school also rented items from local and out-of-state theaters.

To create the illusion of swimming through water, the cast plans to wear Heelys, shoes with a wheel in the heel, or ride AirWheels.

“An AirWheel is like a unicycle without a seat or a Segway without a stick,” Hemme said. “The students have to balance on it, so it’s another realm of learning how to operate them. It’s been a little crazy, but they’ve mastered it and are having a blast.”

Auditions for the show were held in November, and the students have juggled rehearsing while participating in other smaller school productions.

Henderson resident Ricky Susie was recommended by his middle school choir teacher to audition for the part of Flounder, a tropical fish who is best friends with Ariel the mermaid.

“My teacher told me they were looking for a kid to play the part, so I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Susie said. “Then I got to the theater. I realized it was a big deal because there were a lot of people singing, and they were all really good.

“I thought I could sing any song I wanted in the audition, but they wanted me to sing ‘She’s in Love,’ which is Flounder’s song, so it was nerve-racking.”

Despite feeling unprepared, the 13-year-old landed the role, beating a handful of high school students. The teen has been singing, acting and “obsessed with Disney” since he was about 6.

On top of rehearsing at the high school, Susie attends acting, piano and vocal lessons multiple times a week. He’s also set to be featured in an indie film and hopes to release his first album through EuroTrash Collective within the next year.

“It’s been really super fun using (Susie) to play Flounder,” Hemme said. “He’s got the voice of an angel, and the audience is going to love him. They’re really going to be impressed.”

In addition to theater and theater tech classes, Green Valley High School also offers advance acting and costume design classes. More than 420 students are enrolled in the theater program.

“It’s going to be a big show, and we’ve invested a lot of money into it, so it makes me a little nervous,” Hemme said. “However, the community is looking forward to the musical, and we’re lucky to have the support.”

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for students. For more information, visit rickysusie.com or gvhstheatre.com.

Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.