'Under the Sea' Show First of Its Kind on East Coast

You’ve never seen The Little Mermaid quite like this.

When the  (MTC) opens Little Mermaid Wednesday night—the company’s 57th production—they’ll be the first theater troupe on the East Coast (outside of Broadway) to ever stage the show.

“What it means right now is, there’s nowhere for (audiences) to see it anywhere,” said director Mark Morgan. “It’s interesting to create with nothing to draw on. It’s kind of a rarity.”

MTC’s production of The Little Mermaid, based on the Disney film of the same name, is the culmination of the first session of Summer Stage, MTC's annual musical theater camp, now in its seventh year.

There are 61 children in the cast, all between the ages of 6 and 16. Read on for brief snapshots of the show’s three leads:

Name: Morgan Snowden

Age: 14

Character: Ariel

How many Moorestown Theater Company shows have you done? Fourteen, including starring roles as Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Mulan in

Most fun aspect of doing this show: The most fun I get to have is with all my friends. I get to do what I love. This is what I love to do. I don’t wanna do anything else. This is what I want to do as a career. And to be the part that I’ve always wanted, this is just such a dream honestly … She’s always been my favorite Disney princess, always. As soon as I heard they were doing this play, I was like, “Oh, I’m gonna try out.”

Most challenging aspect of doing this show: Definitely getting down her character. She’s a teenager, but she has so many different aspects to her. She wants to become human. I already know what it’s like to be human. So it’s kind of hard to see the things that she wants.

Why should people come see this show? People should definitely come see the show cause it’s honestly a great family film, er, play. The people in this play have honestly worked so hard. And it’s a good message.

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Name: Jack Morgan

Age: 16

Character: Prince Eric

How many Moorestown Theater Company shows have you done? 50-plus. I’ve been the bad guy a couple times. I’ve never been the prince. I’ve been Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) and Jafar (Aladdin). Bad guy’s more fun.

Most fun aspect of doing this show: I love the camp. We learn a lot of good things from the teachers here. They’ve helped me with some of my acting. I’ve learned a lot of new musical things too. We’ve got a good music teacher this year. There’s a lot of talented kids here. It makes me happy to see them work, and more young kids are getting into it. One of our lead characters is an 8-year-old and he’s very talented.

Most challenging aspect of doing this show: I’m currently doing another role in another show too (Footloose, opening July 19). And it’s just the combination of both. This one is before Footloose, but Footloose is a lot more to do, so it’s tough.

Why should people come see this show? Just, y’know, support the arts. It’s a fun family thing. You can come see it, then go hang out on Main Street somewhere. These kids have put a lot of effort into it. It’s gonna be a great show for just having three weeks of rehearsal time. I hope a lot of people come to see it.
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Name: Melissa Tucker

Age: 14

Character: Ursula

How many Moorestown Theater Company shows have you done? This is my third one. I’ve been doing theater for seven years, and I’ve been usually roles like Ursula or the lead (played Rapunzel in MTC show).

Is it more fun to play a villain? Yeah. Because you can play it as big as you want it. There’s no limits to it … Being a villain, you can be sarcastic and conniving. You can’t just be one personality.

Most fun aspect of doing this show: I love Ursula because she’s just this loudmouth kind of person. I like playing the roles where everyone can hear you when you’re talking, where everyone watches what you’re doing because you’re just so loud and bossy.

Most challenging aspect of doing this show: Probably being funny with the sarcasm that she has … And the song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” the last part of it, the notes. But that’s little things.

Why should people come see this show? I’ve never seen anything like this. I love going to see shows, so I would definitely come and see Little Mermaid because it’s a classic. The way people will see this, it’s a totally different view on it, with all the costumes and seeing it live is a totally different experience than going to watch a movie.
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The Little Mermaid opens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, with subsequent shows at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday. All shows will be held at .

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the MTC website or at the door. The theater company is also offering a special “Ariel” double feature: Since the female leads in Little Mermaid and its next show, Footloose, are both named “Ariel,” theatergoers who purchase tickets to both shows at the same time will receive $5 off the total price.

Those looking to take advantage of the deal must call in advance. Call 856-778-8357 for more information.