This past weekend’s production of The Little Mermaid, directed by Jonathan Luster and Topher Helm, marked an emotional end to some very accomplished high school drama careers, and every member of the cast and crew seemed to put their hearts into putting on a great performance for the community.

Additionally, a lot of middle school students had the opportunity to shine, and this year’s leading cast members believe that next year’s drama club will also put on some outstanding productions. 

“We have incredible juniors in our program, [and] a lot of shining students from the middle school,” senior Aidan Ward said. 

The show opened with Ariel (junior Zeynep Yazar) performing The World Above. Her voice was dramatic and her performance were convincing throughout the show.

One song in this production that stood out was Positoovity at the beginning of the second act. Led by senior Lex Johnson as Scuttle, there were lots of things to praise about this song. 

The dancing, singing and overall enthusiasm made this song stand out. Additionally, the dancing routine from the other seagulls made this a super fun song.

Another song that was done particularly well was the most well-known one, Under the Sea. The singing and dancing were upbeat, jazzy and fast paced. The number featured Sebastian (senior Michael Karas) playing a brief and technically precise solo on his tenor saxophone.

The scene with the best execution was the fight scene between Chef Louis and Sebastian. There were lots of things to love about this scene. One thing in particular that stood out was Aidan Ward’s portrayal of Chef Louis. His French accent and his mannerisms perfectly resembled those of Rene Auberjonois, the voice actor of Chef Louis in the movie, and it was remarkable how on-point the impressions were.

What made this scene stand out was the fight itself, which involved Chef Louis chasing Sebastian around the auditorium. It was very intense, and it truly drew the attention of the audience, as they took their fight in a loop around the entirety of the auditorium’s lower deck and behind the tech tables. 

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Danny Gelshteyn

Zeynep Yazar's singing was one of the highlights of the show.

There were also a couple of individual performances worthy of recognition.

One of these was from junior DeShaun Williams, who took on the role of King Triton. Williams nailed the impression and was able to project his voice in the same way that Kenneth Mars did in the original production. 

Another individual performance that stood out was from Lex Johnson, who had very resembling impressions of a seagull, and as previously mentioned, he mastered his song and made it a favorite among the audience.

This was also the first Beachwood show for both Johnson and Williams.

After the play, every member from both cast and crew came out onto the stage. Junior Rachel Kantarovich gave a heartfelt speech to both of the directors, thanking them for their encouragement and their time, and flowers were presented to them as well. It was a very meaningful ending to a year of hard work and great shows.