The Reagan  drama department is known for its superior spring performances of well-known musicals that it brings to the stage.

Last week, the drama club, stage director Jenn Janus, musical director Mignon Dobbins and choreographer Amber Bryant told the popular story of The Little Mermaid as the spring musical.

Senior Grayce Dorn, who played Ariel, said that of all her previous shows at Reagan, this  was her favorite one yet.

In the musical written by Doug Wright, mermaid Ariel embarks on a journey to find true love, but at a drastic cost.

Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton (Marquell Mack), is known to her mersisters as a “fish out of water.” She is always swimming up to the surface with her best friend, Flounder (Julia Dazey), against her father’s wishes and collecting “thingamabobs” and “dinglehoppers,” which are items from the human world.

Dorn did an excellent job personifying her curious character, showing that Ariel has always wished to live above the surface with humans and be a part of their world.

Her father, on the other hand, hates humans because he believes that they were responsible for the death of his wife, Ariel’s mother.

One day while Ariel and Flounder are above the surface of the ocean, they spot a ship. Following their discovery, a thunderstorm comes that knocks a prince named Eric (Devin Bush) overboard.

They quickly came to his rescue and Ariel finds herself falling for the prince.

The little mermaid longs to see Prince Eric again, but when her father learns of what she had done to help Eric, he forbids her from swimming to the surface ever again.

With King Triton’s hate for humans and disapproval of Ariel being in contact with them, she cannot help but make a deal with the evil Ursula (Maddie Dunlap) to become human for three days and try to win Prince Eric’s heart.

In a musical that follows the film very closely, adding in a few additional songs and dance numbers, the cast did a phenomenal job with their performances.

Dorn, Dunlap, Bush, and the rest of the cast were outstanding in bringing their characters to life.

The most notable scenes were the musical numbers “Under the Sea,” “Les Poissons,” and “She’s in Love” performed by Sebastian (Teondré Chappelle), Chef Louis (Grace Cadigan), and the mersisters, respectively.

The heartfelt musical numbers and the charismatic voices of the actors grasp the audience’s attention and represent the characters’ true feelings.

An admirable part of the musical was that the cast performed with a live orchestra. The orchestra was a mix of some of Reagan’s very own, talented, student musicians and professionals. The music was led by Mignon Dobbins, the Reagan chorus teacher.

The audience for last week’s shows were full – and it is not a surprise. The musical was a hit from start to finish.

“Directing The Little Mermaid was an amazing experience,” Janus said. “This was a big show and a huge undertaking as a first year theatre teacher. I am so proud of each student who worked so hard to make this show spectacular! We did it guys, we did it!”

The best part of the musical was the fact that the cast looked like they were having a blast while doing it. That is the most important part of any high school production.

“It was a great experience working with the cast,” said Nick Bailey, who played Grimsby. “They are all super-motivated artists, and we have become super close-knit over the past couple months.”