Children’s theatre performs ‘The Little Mermaid’

• Little Mermaid

Moriah Plastow, 11, and Madison Miller, 8, play Marlin and Annabelle in this weekend’s production of “The Little Mermaid.” The play is an adaptation of the original, so the names may not be as familiar. Marlin is Sebastian in the Disney movie, and Annabelle is Arielle. (Photo by Chris Huber/Republic)

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Tonight, 38 children will sing, dance and pretend to swim as they tell the story of a young mermaid, Annabelle, who falls in love with a human. That’s right — Annabelle, not Arielle. The names of the characters are different in the Disney movie.

The Mitchell Area Community Theatre children’s theatre will perform an adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” at the Pepsi Cola Theatre tonight, Saturday and Sunday.

“I get to sing ‘Part of Your World,’ ” said Madison Miller, beaming. Miller, 8, shares the role of Annabelle with Liz Fossum, 10. They look quite similar but are not related, the pair quickly pointed out. “But we’re both swimmers,” Fossum said. “And it makes sense, because we’re mermaids,” Miller added. Alison Day, a freshman attending Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and Briana Sejnoha, a sophomore at Augustana College, are co-directing the production. Both are from Mitchell, and this is their second summer teaming up to direct the children’s theatre. The performers are ages 5 to 12, and they have been rehearsing for a month, the co-directors said. “It’s a lot of work,” Sejnoha said. “We deal with about 30 kids, just the two of us.”

Last week, the kids were still working on their lines, and Sejnoha said they were “pretty worried.”

“It’s kind of scary,” Day said. “We were rushing to get everything done.” They said as long as the kids remember their lines, everything should go well.

For both Annabelles, tonight cannot come quickly enough. “I think I’m prepared-prepared,” Miller said. “Like a knight in armor ready for battle.”

Tessa Yeo, 12, is one of three Aruba — or Scuttle, the seagull in the movie — characters. She is equally ready for the show.

“You’re a different person,” she said. “If you’re someone else you’re not as nervous.”

Sejnoha said she and Day are excited to just sit and watch. “They talk a lot,” Day said, as one boy threw himself off a chair. “They like to do their own things.”

But, she said, “the cuteness” is worth it. “[My biggest challenge is] trying not to talk, because I lose my voice in the play,” Fossum said. “And trying not to smile when we’re not supposed to,” Miller added. “Because we’re smilers.”

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