There’s still time to catch the splash hit of the summer at Red Mountain Theatre! The Broadway/Disney musical The Little Mermaid has been enchanting audiences with its huge dance numbers, intricate costuming, and immersive stage design. It runs through July 19, so there are still several dates of shows to choose from. Bham Family has secured a special discount: use code STARFISH5 to save $5 through this link: https://redmountaintheatre.org/mermaid-bfamily/.
Star of the show, Mia Cabrera, is so excited to be in this role. “The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney show. It’s my mother’s favorite story because her mother read it to her as a kid. It’s the musical that made me want to pursue musical theatre as a career! So, when RMT offered me the role of Ariel this summer, I didn’t even have to think before I said yes.”
Red Mountain Theatre
Ursula the Sea Witch
She joins an incredibly talented cast of actors, some straight off Broadway shows, and others are local faces that will be familiar to RMT audiences. Broadway veteran Liz McCartney has a commanding presence as everyone’s favorite villain, Ursula. Part of the fun is the costume: while her tentacles add about 10 pounds to her costume weight, she has lots of extra body parts to use in her acting. The world’s most famous crustacean is played with heart and a wink by Avionce Hoyles, who is taking time out of his solo touring show to play Sebastian. Avionce has recently become an uncle, which he says has changed his perspective on what Sebastian’s role is to Ariel, and given his character real depth.
Of course, the stage show has all the songs everyone knows by heart, from Under the Sea to Part of Your World. But this version also adds special new moments that give characters like Prince Eric and King Triton a voice in the story. One of the new audience favorites is Flounder’s number She’s In Love, with all the mersisters. (One stunning mermaid costume wasn’t enough, so the show has added six more!)
But it’s the set design and costuming that really bring the whole story to life on stage. The underwater world has given the show’s costume designers license to play with crazy patterns, metallic prints, and everything from feathers to 3-D prints and LED lights. The set designers have also branched out from traditional stage pieces. On top of stage tricks like hydraulics that make statues collapse, the creatives have incorporated digital overlays that create immersive storms above or watery grottos below.
It’s an impressive feat, made more impressive by the fact that everything for the show was built in-house by the Red Mountain Theatre team. RMT’s Singh Artistic Director Roy Lightner is particularly proud of this fact. “This is not a remount or a recreation. This is an original production built specifically for the city of Birmingham by an extraordinary team of artists, musicians, designers, technicians, and performers. I’m so excited to share it with our community!”
So don’t miss out on a show to remember, whether you’re bringing a tiny Disney fan to their first musical performance, or you know every lyric by heart already. Tickets are at redmountaintheatre.org, and be sure to enter the discount code STARFISH5 to save $5 on price level 1, 2, and 3 adult tickets! https://redmountaintheatre.org/mermaid-bfamily/