The Imperial Center stage has been “under the sea” for the past two weekends to display the wonderful world of Ariel in their production of “The Little Mermaid.” While I am sure that just about everyone is familiar with the story of The Little Mermaid, I will provide a quick recap of the story.

Ariel is a teenage mermaid who is determined to join the world above sea. She is intrigued by humans, and has fallen in love with one. He is Prince Eric, whom she saved from the ocean when he had been sailing. After her father destroys her collection and forbids her from ever going to the surface again, she trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula so that she can become human for three days. However, if the Prince does not kiss her by the time the sun sets on the third day, then she once again becomes a mermaid and her soul belongs to Ursula for the rest of time. If he does kiss her, she stays human forever and they can live happily ever after.

Our own senior Anna Penwell portrayed Ariel beautifully. Theater has been a part of her life ever since she was born, but she personally has been involved in the theater for about thirteen years. Virginia Feagans, a 7th grader at RMA, was also a part of the musical as a fish. They, along with the rest of the talented cast, brought the popular animated Disney movie to life. Prince Eric (portrayed by Shane Dinan) brought the ocean and adventure loving prince from the movie to life. Scuttle (played by Damariscotta Wynne) brought laughter with hilarious remarks and dance moves. Ursula (portrayed by Kaitlyn Davis) perfectly captured the sea witch’s personality, and Flotsam and Jetsam (her sidekick electric eels played by Alex Guyton-Lange and Cannon Puckett respectively) were able to show her evil nature even more. And, who can forget Flounder and Sebastian (played by Kadin Poland and J’ailin Greene), Ariel’s faithful best friends and supporters throughout the play! These talented actors all were perfectly cast, and the play was fantastic because of them.

If you were unable to make it to see any of the four night productions of the musical, or the Sunday matinees, then you truly missed out. Rocky Mount truly does possess some amazing young talent. Next week (on Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23), you have the chance to support local theater and see Anna Penwell as Rizzo in Rocky Mount Academy’s production of “Grease,” as well as the rest of the talented cast (including Media Office members Elias Moore – who plays Johnny Casino, Haven Ross – who plays Ms. Lynch, Holly Brantley- who plays Frenchy, and myself as Sandy). Casinos can now be accessed online as well through sites like https://www.bettingnews.com/ that are reliable.