Spanish Fork Theater’s The Little Mermaid wows audiences

r By Janice Helmick

On July 24, audiences celebrated Pioneer day by attending the matinee performance of “The Little Mermaid.” We found the play captivating, and the set more sophisticated than expected. The production is put on by the Spanish Fork Community Theater at the Spanish Fork High School which seats about 1,000. The matinee was sold out.

My favorite performances were those of Dan Bigler who played Sebastian the red lobster, and his wife, Krystal Bigler who played Ursula, the wicked octopus. Dan told us that Krystal designed her own makeup. Ursula’s costume was the best of the entire cast.

Beth Spotten, whose daughter is one of the Mersisters, found the stage setting very colorful, and the costumes wonderful. Her favorite number was “Under the Sea,” and she would have liked to be a jellyfish. The jellyfish were in white costumes, carried white illuminated umbrellas and actually came down into the audience.

We talked to Michelle Huish, the mother of Caden Huish, who plays Flounder. She is very proud of her son, and loved the performance which she has seen at least two times, and will come again. Caden is excited about his first role with the Spanish Fork Community Theater, and is especially happy to be playing Flounder. Caden has been in several Spanish Fork Youth Theater productions and several productions at Spanish Fork Junior High. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Kristi Frei who is the music director, filled in for one of the actresses who was unavailable for the matinee performance. She was pleased with the success of the production.

The production is well worth the cost of admission which is $8 for senior citizens, $6 for children and $10 for adults. Performances are scheduled for July 27-29 and 31 at 7 p.m. at Spanish Fork High School.

The show is dedicated to Mareen Robinson who passed away last fall. She spent the last ten years of her life working with the Spanish Fork Community Theater helping to design costumes and bringing them to life with her sewing machine.

Larisa Hicken, the Vice President for the board of Spanish Fork Community Theater and Publicity Chairman wants the public to know they are accepting applications for members of the board, and that they will be doing “See How They Run” with the Harvest Moon Hurrah Players in the fall. You can contact the Spanish Fork Community Theater at sfctonline@gmail.com.