The Little Mermaid Review

I took a drive to Encore Theatre to see their production of “The Little Mermaid”, a live version of the old Disney classic I was forced to watch 8,097 times with my kids. Why did I go? First, and foremost, Amil Tellers of Dramatics, (Encore Theatre) will always be my home theatre. I will always support, where I can. Second, I looked at the cast list and saw many actors I knew and respected, so a no-brainer, there.

Short of a four-page review, listing all the great things I heard and saw, I can briefly say, that I was blown away. Those suckers drew me in, right from the start, against my will. They never let go, until the final bows were taken. The show, was terrific, from the music to the costuming, to the workable set, from the props and boats (Yes, boats!) to the super casting, and energetic story-telling I was made to watch, the production was first class.

I don’t want to go into too much detail, so that means leaving way too many names out, (Terri Crosina-Spencer, Anna Kahle, Anthony Taylor, Joshua Gooding, Jeff Kerr, Christa Manning, Claire Warnecke, Jon Hodges, Barry Blake) but every single performance was laden with energy and genuine emotion. It was a very pleasant surprise to be able to see this production.

One story I cannot leave out. Starring as Ariel’s daddy, King Triton, Brad Spencer easily made the show for me. Several years ago, this actor was made a near-invalid by a pair of failing lungs. An incredible blessing came his way, in the form of two lungs which were transplanted. To see this man, not only, on-stage, and healthy, but singing a fairly large role was quite a tear-jerker. Well done, and so pleased!