On Friday, Mar. 15, Rancho Cucamonga’s High School saw the biggest turn out for a performance, ever. During the duration of Mar. 14-16, RCHS drama put on “The Little Mermaid.” The play consisted of bright colors, shiny fabrics, and echoed singing voices in the auditorium.
“It was truly astonishing to see how many people showed up to watch the show specifically on Friday night’s performance,” senior Ethan Park said. “It made me incredibly proud to know that so many people are here to support our department and even more excited how much it will grow in the future. I would say the turnout is well deserved because of how much work everyone has put into the show.”
Park played Prince Eric in the Jetsam cast. He played alongside Meliah Cook who played Ariel. This being the last performance of their senior years made their performances bittersweet.
“I feel very honored to have been a part of this production as a lead role to mark the end of my high school career,” Park said. “It’s a very bittersweet experience because I made so many new best friends and got closer to the ones I had, so it’s truly sad to have to say goodbye for this to be my last show with such an amazing and special group of people.”
The other cast Flotsam, consisted of Dawson Hyde as Prince Eric and Arielle Lynch as Ariel who performed on Thursday’s 7 p.m. show and Saturday’s matinee performance.
Many months went into the production. The auditions for “The Little Mermaid” were in November, the first day back from Thanksgiving Break and production began within that same week.
In the first few months of production between late November through early March, practices for the show went until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The duration progressively went to 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. until the final rehearsal in March, the Monday previous to the first performance on Thursday.
“The process was really long and really tiring. In the end it came out amazing and I am so proud of how hard everyone worked,” senior Nathan Carrasco said.
Carrasco played Grimsby, the guardian to Prince Eric in the Jetsam cast. He joined a month before the play first performed and is amazed at how hard the cast worked for the performance.
“Since this is my first production, it was so fun and everyone was so cool and to be around. It made it so much easier to perform on a stage,” Carrasco said. “It was such an amazing opportunity and I’m so grateful that Mr. Laudermilk allowed me to be Grimsby at the last minute. I got so much closer to my friends and met so many cool new people.”
Many people who watched that Friday night were amazed at the quality and on-stage chemistry that actors had between each other.
“The scene with the chef making dinner and starting his rivalry with Sebastian was my favorite. The song and the acting was very funny,” senior Vanessa Lee said. “I overall thought that the sets were very impressive and the costumes were beautiful. It was a very good play.”
This was such a great achievement for theater and this could be a beginning to bigger turnouts, better things and more recognition for Rancho’s theater!
