ELLSWORTH – Get ready to dive under the sea with Ellsworth Middle School’s rendition of “Little Mermaid Jr.,” hitting the stage Feb. 20-23, 2025.

“Little Mermaid Jr.” tells the classic Disney tale of Ariel, the mermaid who longs to be human and falls in love with a handsome human prince. Joined by her zany friends Flounder, Sebastian and Scuttle, Ariel makes a deal with her evil aunt Ursula, trading her voice for human legs. Can Ariel make Prince Eric fall in love with her without the help of her beautiful voice? Will she ever see her family under the sea again?

Ellsworth Middle School choir teacher and musical director Isabella Devereaux-Hanson said each year the drama department alternates between a Disney musical and a classic production, or something a little different.

“Looking into a bunch, my assistant director and I narrowed it down, looked at the scripts, and went with this show,” Devereaux-Hanson said. “It is the classic Disney plot, but just a bit shorter due to being a Junior Musical.”

Practices, typical of this age group, have been up and down but overall going very well, Devereaux-Hanson said.

“We have a lot of kids that have not been in a show before, so they had to adjust, as well as learning really difficult music as Disney shows put out harder numbers,” she said. “I am so proud of the way that the kids have pulled everything together and we are really going to have a great show this year.”

Devereaux-Hanson teaches all the music, choreography and heads up most of the costuming, but has help from Assistant Director Danielle Lewis, a middle school seventh grade math teacher who helps run rehearsals.

“She really is the creative eye of the set and is also the Stage Director and runs the entire crew,” Devereaux-Hanson said. “We both take on a lot of responsibility with the kids in pretty different ways. We are the two that run the shows but not without volunteers and help of course. We have had a lot of sewing specialty from teacher and parent of performers Anika Borner and have had help in rehearsal from the band teacher Weston Morley, but we have so many parents signed up to help with tickets, hair, makeup, and help behind the scenes that we could not run smoothly without all of them!”

Devereaux-Hanson is hoping the audience is transported under the sea and can see the creativity that went into trying to make middle schoolers look like fish, “which is not easy!”

“I am also hoping that they find all of the silly jokes and give the kids a great laugh that they work hard delivering lines, and that they get captivated by the magic that are Disney productions,” she added.

Devereaux-Hanson believes theater opportunities are important for students because it gives them a creative outlet, a way to express themselves and new opportunities to create friendships they normally wouldn’t.

“Most importantly, it’s a way for them to come together and share what they love doing all together,” she said. “What these kids do turns into magic on stage, and inspires the younger kids to join in when they're older too.”

Tickets can be purchased at https://gofan.co/app/school/WI19699 or with cash at the Middle School Office, or cash for whatever tickets are left at the door each night.

Cast & Crew (make separate sidebar)

Ariel – Laylah Cook

Ariel Understudy – Audrah King

Prince Eric – Brayden Swanson

Prince Eric Understudy – Luke Lundstrom

Sebastian – Naomi Mbugua

Sebastian Understudy – Melanie Seeger

Flounder – Kadyn Helgeson

Flounder Understudy – Makayla Poellinger

Ursula – Arie Christensen

Ursula Understudy – Emmie Pechacek

Scuttle – Gretta Rewolinski

Scuttle Understudy – Cora Peterson

King Triton – Luke Lundstrom

King Triton Understudy – Ascher Johnson-Hall

Grimsby – Konrad Theis

Grimsby Understudy – Ben Helseth

Flotsam – Ezra Borner

Flotsam Understudy – Livia Schladweiler

Jetsam – Ashton Borner

Jetsam Understudy – Ceci Kleeves

Sister: Aquata/Princess – Addy Dodge

Aquata Understudy – Kayleigh Aufderhar

Sister: Andrina/Princess – Audrah King

Andrina Understudy – Megan Peterson

Sister: Arista/Princess – Cora Peterson

Arista Understudy – Makenzie Larson

Sister: Atina/Princess – Emmie Pechacek

Atina Understudy – Alora Christensen

Sister: Adella/Princess – Melanie Seeger

Adella Understudy – Grace Turvaville

Sister: Allana/Princess – Ren Raphael

Allana Understudy – June Feuerhelm

Chef Louis – Ascher Johnson-Hall

Chef Louis Understudy – Brennor Levers

Carlotta – Aubrey Faber

Pilot – Evan Ladwig

Pilot Understudy – Radley Gilbertson-Cross

Seahorses – Chase Wilcox, Luca Weiss

Gulls – Max Mandelkow, Ben Boyle and Ceci Kleeves

Ensemble

Kayleigh Aufderhar, Alice Barrett, Alexis Bien*, Isabella Blue, Alora Christian, Kaia Christopherson*, June Feuerhelm, Reese Franklin*, Peyton Frion*, Isabella Ganser, Radley Gilbertson-Cross, Ben Helseth, Ellie Holst, Anna Kelly, Natalie Kirchner, Addy Knutson*, Belle Kuske, Makenzie Larson, Brennor Levers, Megan Peterson*, Shelby Peterson, McKayla Poellinger, Anna Puhrmann, Bree Richardson, Mya Ruka*, Livia Schladweiler, Viola Schmidt, Linnea Sears, Victor Schiller, Isabelle Swanson*, Kylie Thiry Coffin, Levi Tomlinson, Grace Turvaville, Natalya Walker

~Stage managers marked with an *

Set Crew
Kyla Wilk, Lyla Soley, Samantha Augustine, Layla Ingli, Grace Lutfi, Evie Deringer, Zak Zierl, Annaka Edgar, Zach Smith, Blake Girdeen, Jaxon McChane, Mia Murphy, Haylee Bergh, Max Levine, Stella Deml, Brielle O’Neill*, Maddie Meier*