In a first, Champaign Central and Champaign Centennial High Schools joined together to produce a musical. The show selected was the full length The Little Mermaid. (Full disclosure - my daughter was in a junior production with the Champaign Park District several years ago). The show was directed by LaDonna Wilson - the drama instructor at Central. Suzanne Aldridge - the drama instructor at Centennial - acted as producer. The two will switch roles next year.
We went on Saturday Afternoon - with the "Centennial" cast. The show was at the Historic Virginia Theatre (I think "Historic" must now be part of the official name of the building). It seats about 1200 - and every seat was sold. That's truly an astounding and welcome result. It shows that theatre - at least family shows - can bring in audiences. You don't sell 1200 seats to simply friends and family of the cast. (Although, reportedly last week the touring production of Million Dollar Quartet sold out the Virginia as well).
As a general rule - media do not review high school and youth productions. And if anything is written about the performances, the review will tend to exclusively mention positive elements which may or not be fair. There is going to be a wide range of talent and abilities on a stage - which may be dictated by the available population. Few productions at any level are "perfect" or totally praiseworthy. So, I won't be reviewing youth productions or high school shows as I might otherwise do to a different production. What I want to see on the High School or Youth production level is a group of performers who are doing their best, having a good time and exuding energy. What is important is for the show to be a positive experience for the cast and crew - and, as a result, generally a positive time for the audience. On that level, The Little Mermaid exceeded expectations. I look forward to next year's joint production.
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