There’s nothing like the early opportunities parents can take to introduce their children to the wonderful world of the theatre. I vividly remember early experiences I had like attending the Utah Shakespeare Festival with my Dad in 1991 when I was 10 or seeing The Phantom of the Opera in the early 90s with my Grandma in San Francisco. These moments helped me develop a love for the artform from a young age but also allowed me to decide on what my tastes are in terms of music, stories, styles and even fashion. Therefore, I rejoice when a company provides a quality experience aimed at kids and such is the experience that can be had at Tuacahn Center for the Arts this year and their Disney & Pixar’s Finding Nemo: A Family Musical (full title is a mouthful!)

I must admit when I heard Tuacahn was going to put on Finding Nemo I was a bit perplexed by the choice. With such long seasons it seems like it would be a hard show to fill such a large amphitheater up with. I’m still not sure it makes the most sense for attendance with it being only a 70 minute show including intermission but those who do attend will have a good time. It’s nothing life-changing but it’s a lot of fun and like I said will make for a great introduction to theatre for the kids who attend.

Most people have probably seen the Finding Nemo movie made by Disney/Pixar in 2003. It tells the story of clown fish Marlin and his journey to find his son named Nemo. Along the way he meets a forgetful fish named Dory, some sharks in rehab and chill turtles riding the East Australian Current (they are heading to Sydney.) The musical was first written for the Animal Kingdom park of Walt Disney World and it was a 40 minute attraction there. It has now been condensed to a shorter version for the park but it has been expanded to a 70 minute version here including an intermission (the movie is 100 minutes.)

Despite the condensed runtime one doesn’t feel like they are missing much of the story in this musical version. At Tuacahn Dominic Giovanni plays Marlin and his suit is a clever way to pay homage to a fish without it being too literal. There are characters like the turtle Crush that are actual large puppets (Sittichai Chaiyahat) but the mixture of costumes and puppetry keeps things exciting. The Crush puppet in particular takes 5 people to operate which is very impressive to behold.

The whole production by director/choreographer Mara Newbery Greer is impressive with all of the elements working together from the live orchestration (music director Alex Huff,) to the scenic design in scenes like the jellyfish forest (set designer Paul Black,) to the wildly creative costumes (designer Dustin Cross.) I also really enjoyed the set for the aquarium and how they used video projections, lighting and other visual effects to create the feeling of a tank complete with lots of bubbles.

Unlike most Disney offerings Finding Nemo has completely new songs unless one is super familiar with the Disney World attraction. While it is nice to hear something new it isn’t likely to have the same effect on kids as hearing a song they know and love from an animated film. The songs are also on the forgettable side and sometimes feel like padding we need to get done with to get back to the story we do know so well. It seems like this show would be just as enjoyable as a play as a musical. It’s a little surprising they don’t have a song for the seagulls as I think a “Mine, mine” song could be funny

Still what Tuacahn has put together for this production is a lot of fun. It’s bright and colorful and just long enough to entertain small children with short attention spans. It might feel like a lot of money for this type of experience for parents to afford particularly with large families but they do have season packages and at least if they can afford it they’ll have a good time with it. I don’t know if it has a ton of a appeal outside of families but it is well done so there’s plenty to enjoy. Fortunately you have until October 24th to see it and tickets can be purchased here. My advice is take the family and have a great time with Finding Nemo at Tuacahn.

Finding Nemo: The Musical has music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and it was originally written for an attraction at Disney World which was 40 minutes and now it has been condensed down to 25 minutes. It first opened in 2007 and got the refurbishment in 2022. The movie is from 2003 where it received 4 Oscar nominations winning one for Best Animated Feature Film.

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