I love all kinds of theatre- big, small, professional, amateur and everything in between but one of my favorite types is when it can become a true community event and not just an entertaining show. The good folks up at High Valley Arts are some of the best in Northern Utah at creating such an event with their outdoor musicals they have every summer (I’ve actually never been to any of their indoor shows as they are a long drive for me but I should.) I absolutely love sitting under the stars with a community of strangers and seeing the wonderful musicals they have to offer. This year it is The Little Mermaid and it’s a delightful night of community theatre for the whole family.

Outdoor theatre can be challenging especially when they don’t even have a true venue or amphitheater like is the case at High Valley. This makes what director Destry Pollard accomplishes particularly impressive. I attended opening night and everything basically went off without much of a hitch, which again is hard to do an outdoor make-shift environment like they have. They had to have been very happy with how everything turned out.

The most impressive aspect of the production is how they used projections to help add to the staging and storytelling. Sound and projection director Marvin Rust did an excellent job in this area particularly in the finale where Ursula becomes a part of the projections along with giant tentacle props that are also very well designed by props manager Laurie Fitzgerald. The sets by Pllard and Alexia Richins are well done with particularly Ariel’s grotto standing out. It even lights on fire when Triton has his fit and destroys everything.

Olivia Kelson and Dawn Brown also deserve a shout-out for the across the board strong costume design. Ursula’s costume is my favorite but they are all a lot of fun including both the mermaid and human looks for all of Ariel’s sisters (they are the candidates trying out for Eric’s attention at the ball.) I also really liked Sebastian and Flounder’s looks.

The cast at High Valley Arts is led by Sarah Cope as Ariel and she gives you everything one could ask for in a community performance of Ariel. She’s warm and endearing with a lovely singing voice. Russell Nielsen brings lots of personality to Sebastian and Forrest Lee is very funny as the weary Grimsby. The only odd aspect is the inconsistent use of the ensemble. For example, some numbers like “Kiss the Girl” had a large ensemble singing and dancing but then “Positoovity” only had 2 seagulls accompanying Skuttle. That might be a costuming budget decision but it stood out as strange.

Because it’s an outdoor venue it does start rather late at 8:15 which might be a problem for the young kids who The Little Mermaid is made for. All the kids around me seemed to be enjoying it but something to factor in if you have kids. This production is playing until July 20th and it’s definitely worth the drive up to Midway for an entertaining night of community theatre for the whole family. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Little Mermaid has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater with a book by Doug Wright based on the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen and the 1989 animated film

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