Brownstown choral students presenting “The Little Mermaid”

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BROWNSTOWN

When she was younger, Olivia Barlow dreamed of what she would become one day.

“Whenever I would pray at night, I would pray that I could become a mermaid,” she said. “My mom would say, ‘Oh hon, I don’t know if you will become a mermaid.”

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Now that she’s a senior at Brownstown Central High School, her dream has come true in a sense.

She’s playing the role of Ariel in the choral department’s production of “The Little Mermaid.”

“Fourteen, 15 years later, I’m getting to do that, so it’s a really neat opportunity that I just get to be here with everybody and get to be Ariel,” Barlow said. “She’s one of my favorite princesses.”

The school’s musical based on the 1837 book by Hans Christian Andersen and the popular 1989 Disney movie will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at 5 p.m. Saturday in the auditorium at the school, 500 N. Elm St., Brownstown.

Tickets are $10 and available until 11 a.m. today at The Peoples Bank, Family Drug and Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Brownstown. A few reserved seats remain by calling Director Stephanie Brock at 812-358-3453. If any general admission tickets remain, they will be available for purchase at the door.

Brownstown is the first school in the area to obtain the license to do the show. Brock said she tried to get it for last year’s musical, but Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville already was set to perform it.

She was able to get the license in April 2018. She and her team went to watch the show at Derby Dinner Playhouse and Carmel High School.

Blake Hackman and his students built the set, while Crystal Stuckwisch designed all of the colorful costumes with the help of her mother, Maxine Brock, a quilting club and a couple of other women in town.

“I can confidently say I am more impressed with our set, our costumes than what I’ve seen,” Stephanie said.

“I can’t say enough about the team of adults that I have to help,” she said. “There’s no way one person can pull something like this off at this level, but I have great people that I trust in the areas that they are specific to and they specialize in, and they just blow me away. Every time they come in with a new idea, it’s like, ‘Oh yes!’”

Stephanie also said it’s great for Brownstown to do this show for the first time.

“It’s exciting for us because we get to use all of our fresh ideas,” she said. “We don’t have any past experience to compare it to, so everything is fresh and brand-new.”

Barlow, who is in her third and final musical, said she expects the show to be popular for young kids. The cast will perform a few scenes for elementary and high school students today.

“A lot of people have seen this movie. The little kids go crazy over this,” she said. “I saw this production at Derby Dinner Playhouse, and the little girls were just dancing around and everything, so that’s really neat for little girls to be (in awe) over the mermaids and just the characters. This cast is really neat.”

Barlow said she likes the story of Ariel, who becomes fascinated with life on land and falls for a human prince, but her controlling father, King Triton, forbids it. Ariel, though, is determined to be with her new love.

“I like that she doesn’t stay with the crowd on things,” Barlow said. “She has her own thing and her own dreams of what she wants to be, what she wants to do. I really like that.”

Senior Robbie Branaman is involved in his first musical, and he has liked bringing Prince Eric’s character to life.

“Everyone has probably watched ‘The Little Mermaid’ as a kid,” he said. “Everyone has kind of looked up to a lot of the Disney characters, and Prince Eric was always a main one because ‘The Little Mermaid’ was a classic Disney movie, so it’s pretty cool being in this role.”

In his second musical, senior Dane Darlage plays the role of King Triton.

“I really like my part because first of all, I yell a lot, and I like when I yell. It gets all my anger out,” he said, smiling. “It’s a good redemption story, really.”

All three student-actors have enjoyed being a part of the cast. Auditions were in November, the cast was announced and scripts were handed out in December, a few read-throughs were conducted before Christmas break and then rehearsals started in January.

“I love being with all of the people. It’s a family,” Barlow said. “I can’t believe it’s already here. It feels like we just started last week. I hope that people bring their kids out because no school around here has done ‘The Little Mermaid’ yet. I’m very lucky to be Ariel, and this is a great last show for me in my high school career.”

Branaman said he was sitting in the audience watching last year’s musical, “Footloose,” when he realized he should give it a try his senior year.

“I was sitting with my brother, and he told me, ‘You know what? I really regret not ever doing this,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I have the chance to change that,’ so that’s why I’m here,” he said.

It has been a lot to learn all of his lines, words to songs and choreography, but Branaman said it has been a great experience.

“I didn’t know this much was put into it. I never would have thought,” he said. “I’m really interested to see how the public will react because we’ve put so much into it.”

Darlage said he thinks people will like the cast’s rendition of the popular show.

“I like seeing the kids’ reactions,” he said. “Last year, it wasn’t as much because we did ‘Footloose,’ but now that we’re doing a Disney thing, I think they are going to love it.”

Stephanie described the cast as top-notch, talented, committed, dedicated, professional and mature, so she has high expectations for the performances.

“To pull off something brand-new and something this huge — and it is huge — it has been wonderful to have great kids and a great staff,” she said. “I think everybody who attends is going to feel good when they walk out of here. I think they are going to be amazed and proud of the kids at our school and that they’ve represented Brownstown Central in such a positive way.”

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What: "The Little Mermaid"

When: 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Brownstown Central High School auditorium, 500 N. Elm St., Brownstown

Cost: $10 (tickets available through 11 a.m. today at The Peoples Bank, Family Drug or Azteca Mexican Restaurant, all in Brownstown; for reserved seating, contact Stephanie Brock at 812-358-3453; general admission tickets may be available at the door)

Director: Stephanie Brock

Principal cast: Karol Baker (Flotsam), Olivia Barlow (Ariel), Robbie Branaman (Prince Eric), Zhaira Casenas (Mersister Allana), Lydia Chandler (Maid No. 4/chorus), Dane Darlage (King Triton), MaKenna Gholson (Mersister Andrina), Kimberly Griffin (Carlotta/head maid/chorus), Emma Hamm (Mersister Arista), Emma Johnson (Mersister Adella), Duston Luttrell (Windward/chorus), Sam Pace (Sebastian), Jenna Ratliff (Maid No. 2/chorus), Josh Rogers (pilot/head sailor/chef), Evan Rohlfing (Grimsby), Katie Rohlfing (Jetsam), Richard Ruddick (Leeward/chorus), Cherokee Scott (Mersister Aquata), Addie Shelton (Maid No. 1/chorus), Rehgen Stuckwisch (Ursula), Ava Thompson (Mersister Atina), Laney Warren (Scuttle), Andrew Wheeles (Flounder) and Kailey Wischmeier (Maid No. 3/chorus)

Other chorus members: Lily Abdulbari, Anna Abraham, Cara Baker, Micah Ballard, Hunter Clampitt, Gabe Edwards, Grant Elliott, Destiny Faught, Ashlyn Fox, Colton Hallow, Brandon Hamm, Marley Hayes, Allerika Henline, Chesney Johnson, Kaelyn Johnson, Becca Lucas, Rebecca Poo Gonzalez, Alli Reynolds, Kaitlynn Robinson, Claudia Sibrel, Griffin Stidam, Lacey Sweany, Aubree VanCoutren, Alex Wade, Sydney White, Klarissa Wilburn, Lexi Williams, Brandon Wilson and James Wilson

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