Cretin-Derham Hall theater has had an exciting and jam packed year, with four out of four shows done, the theater department certainly ended the year with a splash!
The scale of The Little Mermaid is something CDH’s theater department hasn’t seen in years, Director Cullen Wiley ‘16 said “ There were 50+ students who shared their talents with us. This is the biggest turn out we’ve had in years!” The sheer amount of students involved was spectacular, drawing a whopping 15% of the student population.
Natalia Wallace ‘27 who portrayed the iconic Disney villain Ursula shares, “ This show was different in that we had such a large cast! We had over 100 people involved which is huge! We had such good chemistry among the cast!”
With so many actors and crew members, new possibilities became possible for the production. Group dances were able to up the difficulty level and in turn add to the visual interest, creating an amazing and engaging experience for both the actors and the audience. From big dance numbers like Under the Sea and Poositoovity, to beautiful solo moments in songs like Part of Your World and Her Voice, the cast absolutely shined on stage. Sage Skally ‘26 who played the seagull Scuttle talks about learning tap dance, “It took a lot of work and time to learn the number since none of the people in it including myself had had much tap experience before this year.” 
Though it was lots of hard work, Sage shares how gratifying the experience was, “ I am super proud of all the people who danced in that song with me and I love hearing the crowd cheer as we did more difficult tap moves.”
Ellie Nelson ‘27 who played Ariel loved the energy in under the sea she says, “ My favorite part to perform was 100% Under the Sea! The energy from the audience really helped us all to make it such a fun number to perform!”
The Little Mermaid had it all, but the best part according to the company was the amazing community. Throughout the entire cast and crew there was a deep sense of friendship, support, and respect.
Assistant director Josie Dahlheimer ‘27 says “This show truly had the best community ever. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and we all got so close.” Cast and crew members highlighted how important friendships and connections across grade levels are in the theater program, Sage Skally shares “Overall theater allowed me to talk to and meet so many different people from different grades that I probably wouldn’t have talked to otherwise.” The community and friendship found under the sea is a true testament to the amazing work, collaboration, and creativity of the students and teachers involved in the show.
As the 25-26 theater season ends students involved in The Little Mermaid are already getting excited for next year’s season and strongly encourage their classmates to step out of their comfort zone and give theater a shot! Sage says students should join theater because, “ There is so much you can learn from participating that other activities might not be able to teach you. When you’re part of a show you have to put yourself out there.” Natalia inspires her peers by emphasizing that, “You will never find a community that cares about you more than we do in the theater.” The students and teacher involved in the CDH theater can’t wait to see you at rehearsals next year!
