Hamilton hosts National Youth Theatre production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr

National Youth Theatre's The Little Mermaid Jr is set to open in Hamilton on October 6. Photo / National Youth Theatre

Hamilton’s National Youth Theatre production Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr has more than 50 talented tamariki and rangatahi from the Waikato region set to take to the stage in October during the school holidays.

For its expansion to Hamilton, the National Youth Theatre has booked Clarence Street Theatre for performances on October 6, 7 and 8.

From classic literature to the Academy Award-winning film and Broadway musical, Ariel’s Under The Sea journey is a beautiful love story for the ages.

The show is adapted from Disney’s Broadway production and the film.

Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story. Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr is an enchanting look at the sacrifices we all make for love and acceptance.

It features songs including Part of Your World and Poor Unfortunate Souls.

The role of Ariel has been double cast with Lily Dixon and Kyra-Mae Wilson taking on the role of the princess. The main antagonist of the story, Ursula the evil sea witch, is played by River Keely Park. The King of Atlantica, King Triton is played by Denzel Stevens.

“We are proud to have changed so many lives from the stage and look forward to continuing to make an impact in the lives of young people throughout Aotearoa for many years to come,” the National Youth Theatre says in a statement.

“With the majority of our work taking place in Tāmaki Makaurau over the last two decades, the ‘National’ in our name has been more aspirational than descriptive - something that is about to change,” says Shirley Sequeira, National Youth Theatre’s relationship manager.

She adds that over the past year, they have put together a comprehensive plan to bring the National Youth Theatre experience to four new venues across Aotearoa. These are Manukau, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton.

“Kirikiriroa is Auckland’s neighbour, and its close proximity to Auckland is an advantage. The warm welcome we received from Clarence St Theatre as our venue partner, coupled with the exceptional talent residing within this city - among the rangatahi and creatives alike - ultimately led us to select Hamilton,” says Sequeira.

Cast members of National Youth Theatre's Disney's Little Mermaid Jr rehearsing in Hamilton. Photo / National Youth Theatre

National Youth Theatre contacted creatives and Wintec Media Arts School in Waikato and asked for recommendations for local creative team members. As this is their first show in Hamilton, NYT wanted the majority of the creative team to be local.

“We have secured a local delivery team of young, enthusiastic emerging artists, working under the mentorship of one of our experienced Auckland tutors who recently moved to the Waikato, and they’ve brought their own energy to the project,” says Sequeira.

Alumni Tyler Johnston is the team leader and choreographer, Jonathan Hawthorn is the musical director, Ella Veitch is the director and Rachael Bloemendal is the artistic and administrative assistant.

Ella and Rachael study Performing Arts (theatre) at Wintec Media Arts School in Hamilton.

One of the locals on the young creative team is up-and-coming musical director and acting talent Jonathan Hawthorn. Hawthorn has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (theatre) at Wintec Media Arts School.

Previous musical direction roles Hawthorn has taken on have been Musikmaker’s now Hamilton Musical Theatre’s production of Alice and Wonderland Jr, Riverlea Theatre’s Saturday Night Fever in late 2022 and Hamilton Musical Theatre’s Mamma Mia in February 2022.

Performance-wise, he has been a part of numerous productions in Hamilton over the years, most recently appearing in Hamilton Musical Theatre’s production of Young Frankenstein earlier this year.

One show Hawthorn did while he was at Hillcrest High School was The Little Mermaid (the high school version) as Jetsam the eel.

“It has been cool to be able to put this show on, I have my little successor in the cast who is playing Jetsam, Elle McLennan, it is very nostalgic for me,” says Hawthorn.

Musical director of National Youth Theatre's upcoming production of The Little Mermaid Jr, Jonathan Hawthorn, when he played Jetsam for Hillcrest High School's school production.

He says the kids are doing well with the tight turnaround, and says there is a lot of home practice taking place after rehearsals.

“This is a high expectation that we have this time around, as we were given around eight weeks to put on this show, with the first two being taken up with the audition process.”

Hawthorn says there are a lot of new children who are taking part in this production.

“I haven’t seen some of them do amateur shows before, most of them are new to the out-of-school theatre productions.

“I have personally experienced with theatre that we are often seeing the same regulars, and I am one of them. This show gives people the opportunity to see some new talent.”

Hawthorn adds that there is a lot of talent in the cast, “I didn’t expect casting to be so difficult, I could have cast the show five times. There was just that much talent.”