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Sixty students from throughout the Copper Country in grades 6 through 12 are coming together this weekend to present Disney’s The Little Mermaid as this year’s All School Musical.
Director Dave Heinz says even people familiar with the movie version will have lots of new songs to look forward to.
Heinz said, “There are so many more songs in it to give some of those other characters songs to sing as well. If they’ve never seen the Broadway show and only seen the movie, they’ve never heard it before so there’s a lot of additional music in it.”
Heinz added that the visual aspects of the show make it a must-see.
“We have a set designer, Andrea daVinci Braun, that has been working very hard on all of our sets and they are breathtaking. They are absolutely beautiful. She is a professional set designer. We’re also doing some different things with the lighting and so visually, this is going to be a show like nobody has seen at the Calumet Theatre.”
The performances will be held at the Calumet Theatre tonight and tomorrow night at 7, with a matinee performance on Sunday at 2.
Funding support for the show came from the Keweenaw Community Foundation.
LL SCHOOL MUSICAL: LITTLE MERMAID
Calumet Theatre November 3, 4, 5
With funding support from the Keweenaw Community Foundation, the All School Musical, “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” will be performed on Friday, November 3 , Saturday, November 4 at 7 pm and Sunday November 5 at 2pm, at the Calumet Theatre.
Sixty students in 6th through 12th grade, from 10 area schools and home schools auditioned early in September and have been rehearsing since under the direction of Dave Heinz with Musical Direction by Trevor Clark and Matt Riutta. Andrea daVinci Braun is the Set Designer and Eliisa Gladwell is Choreographer.
Director Dave Heinz says, “It is an amazing experience and a great team. There is different lighting, never seen before at the Calumet Theatre. It is visually amazing.” The stage set will make use of the cyc curtain with light projections, called “gobos.”
This production, a biennial annual event, brings together students from area schools to sing, dance, act, play in the orchestra and work backstage on sets, costumes and make-up, props, lights, and stage managing.
Based on the tale by Hans Christian Anderson of a mermaid who falls in love with a human, the Disney version adds detail and drama to the plot. Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
In 1998, Emilie Krznarich, then in a position at the Copper Country ISD and The Calumet Players inaugurated the All School Musical with a performance of “The Sound of Music.” Since then, the All School Musical has been presented every other year. The Calumet Theatre began producing the All School Musical in 2011.
This year, students from Calumet, Chassell, Dollar Bay, Hancock, Houghton, Lake Linden, Painesdale, Pelkie, South Range, and Twin Lakes are participating.
General seating tickets are $14 for adults and $9 for students/children (3yrs through high school) To purchase tickets, phone 906-337-2610, stop at 340 Sixth St., Calumet or purchase online at www.calumettheatre.com. The Box Office is open noon – 5 pm. Wednesday – Saturday and 2 ½ hours before the performance.
