The Little Mermaid, Jr.

The summer Stage Kids session culminated in their production of The Little Mermaid, Jr.  All three kids were part of the Eureka/Peoria cast, although Staley ended up portraying various characters and dancing in 4 different casts.

Briggs played the role of the seahorse.  He had one line that he delivered with gusto.  It was a fun full-circle moment as Staley played the seahorse when NTA did this same show back in 2017.

Adelie was Flounder.  She had lots of lines in lots of scenes as well as a big solo part in "She's in Love."  She did such a wonderful job with such a big role!

Staley was a mersister in 3 different casts, playing 2 different mersisters.  As a mersister, she had several lines and short solos in "Daughters of Tritan" and "She's in Love."

She was the French chef in 2 of the casts, owning her role as the violent and eccentric chef singing 'Les Poisson'.  Our favorite part was when she pounded the fish flat with a mallet...very convincingly.

As if that wasn't enough, Staley was also a featured solo dancer during several scene breaks...

as well as during 'Kiss the Girl' for all the casts except Bloomington.

And, because that wasn't enough, she was also an ensemble fish dancer during 'Under the Sea.'  In the casts where she played all her parts, she had 8 costume changes and multiple wig changes!  It seemed like she was always on stage as something different.

Although Staley was performing in almost all the shows, both girls helped tech backstage for the shows that they were not performing in.

The kids enjoyed having grandparents, aunts (including Aunt Sandi and Aunt Jan who I didn't get a picture with), cousins, and friends in the audience.

Grandparents are always in the audience supporting the kids.

The kids loved that my cousin, Emily, came with her girls Emersyn and Junie to enjoy the performance.

And some former NTA friends/teachers like Ms. Ellie, McKinley,...

and Sofia all came to see the show too.

The hours at the theater during show weeks are always exhausting, but fun as they are spent with NTA friends.

It's always so fun to see the shows come together.

It's crazy as the years go by and more friends graduate from Stage Kids and move on.  This was the last Stage Kids show for Riley...

and Ellie.

But as some kids move on, others move in.  Kaysen made a quick cameo appearance in 'Under the Sea' with Staley during one of the casts.

It was so fun watching the kids shine on stage in this show.

There is nothing better than watching my kids do something they love!