Special Gifts Theatre Company’s “The Little Mermaid, Junior” Julia W. Rath

Local kids with special needs took center stage at Special Gifts Theatre’s performance of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid (Jr.)” during the weekend of February 20-21, 2021. This online production on Vimeo provided an interesting challenge to both children and adults. While it is difficult enough to stage a show remotely, the need to coach actors, singers, and dancers with special needs online added another dimension to the presentation. Substantial credit must go to the peer mentors, who assisted other performers with acting and rehearsing their lines. The final product—a recorded video—is quite an impressive accomplishment, considering it involved so many people: not only the performers but also their families, the staff at Special Gifts Theatre (SGT), and all those responsible for making sure that each individual Zoom box met a quality standard for sound and picture.

Program and Educational Director Sari Rootberg introduced the video stream. She explained that all the participants in “The Little Mermaid” were from the Libertyville cast of SGT (as compared to similar casts in Winnetka and Palatine). She added that “One of the major themes of ‘The Little Mermaid’ is finding your voice.” She likened Ariel getting her voice back to the children who perform in the show. “They learn what their special gifts are and how to share these with others.” Production Manager Beth Barber, at SGT Libertyville, explained that the script had been tailored to suit those with various physical, cognitive, developmental, adaptive, and social and emotional disabilities. Due to the efforts of Barber and fellow script adapter Allison Fradkin, the happy result was a wonderful creative adaptation of a well-known children’s story.

In the tale, the characters say, “I wish I could be part of the world.” Specifically, Ariel, the mermaid, says, “I want to be where the people are.” And during one of the commercial breaks, Emily Terzich, who plays Ariel, breaks character and tells the audience how she is waiting for acting and singing to happen again on stage, live and in-person. “On Zoom, we don’t get too far,” she says. “We need audiences—cheering and clapping… up on stage and down the aisles.” Her statement got me thinking about how “The Little Mermaid” is the perfect musical for riding out this pandemic. It is as if we are all underwater and want to crawl up onto the land so that we can breathe freely again—and become fully human. It is our sincere wish to cast aside virtuality in favor of socializing with our family and friends, and finding life and laughter once again in the real company of real people.

The cast of characters for “The Little Mermaid” are: John Agnew as King Triton, Malene Brodyas as Mersister Attina, Grace Donnellan as Mersister Arista, Daniel Graham as Sebastian, Hayden Johns as Flounder, Hanna Krietsch as Mersister Adella, Jess LeVine as Chef Louis and as Jetsam, Katelynn Malek as Princess Natalia, Emma Nakanishi as Flotsam, Ally Paldrmic as Ursula, Violet Purvis as Princess Grace, Charlie Sampson as Grimsby, Emily Terzich as Ariel, John Volk as Prince Eric, and Max Zinder as Scuttle. The peer mentors are: Sierra Brand, Amy Kerrigan, Anna Koberstein, Alice Krietsch, Natalie Krietsch, Nina Landrick, Kendall Malek, Maisy Price, Molly Price, Leah Toll, Lucy Van Grunt, and Leslie Weinberg, and the peer mentor coordinator is Dawn Goergen. The choreographer is Kate Sabres, and the costumer is Patty Terzich. Film editing was done by Spencer Lestina, and video and commercial editing was the province of Sonya Luthra, SGT’s Technical Production Assistant.

Staying true to oneself, learning how to overcome obstacles, and never giving up on your dreams are some of the principles that each of these special needs individuals have hopefully internalized in the process of working on this show. All of these themes are not only inherent to the plot of “The Little Mermaid” but reflect the values of SGT staff and peer mentors. In addition, now that the performers find themselves on Zoom (versus a live stage), perhaps this too can teach them a very important life lesson: Do your best work even if nobody is watching… or applauding.

Special Gifts Theatre is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and has just completed its third successful season in Libertyville. The next show available for viewing will be Disney’s “Frozen (Jr.)”, by the musical theatre in Winetka program. The Tuesday cast will be featured on March 6th and 7th, while the Wednesday cast will be featured on March 13th and 14th.

Tickets are: $15 for each online performance, but there are many options available, such as family viewing and subscription packages.

For more information about future shows—or how to become a student or a peer mentor—visit www.SpecialGiftsTheatre.org or email info@SpecialGiftsTheatre.org or call 847-564-7704. To register for their spring and summer programs, please email Register@SpecialGiftsTheatre.org.

A lot of revenue that would have generated by ticket sales was lost due to the pandemic. So if you would like to help SGT achieve their goal of providing “continuity and connection in the lives of our student actors”, please donate now. You can Text SGT to 44-321 or give online at www.SpecialGiftsTheatre.org/donate.

SGT is looking for corporate partners and sponsors. Contact Elise Steffe at Esteffe@SpecialGiftsTheatre.org or call 847-564-7704 to learn how you can support their many initiatives.