This past Friday and Saturday the Niles West theater program put on their last show of the year: “The Little Mermaid.” Not only was the show greatly anticipated because it was the last show of the school year, but because “The Little Mermaid” is a classic and all time favorite.

For this reason, I came into the play with very high expectations.

The show opened up with the classic song “World Above,” a song sung by Ariel about her longing to experience everything that the world above the sea has to offer. The song is one that is most often correlated to the Little Mermaid, so I was skeptical at first, much like I was about the musical and it definitely did.

Senior Shannon Berg who played Ariel did a wonderful job emphasizing Ariel’s longing for the land, articulating every word perfectly and hitting every note. The song was beautiful, as well as every song after it. It looked like the musical was already off to a great start.

Throughout the musical, there were several things that caught my attention, the most alluring, however, was the subtle yet meaningful pieces of plastic that some of the characters wore attached to their costumes to emphasize the dangerous and increasing amount of plastic litter in the ocean. Even though the musical is a classic, the cast and crew found a way to change it to adapt to what’s going on in today’s generation, and I thought they did it beautifully.

Another thing that got my attention during the show was how humorous it was. I found myself laughing at almost every other scene, some of the characters were beyond funny. I loved how actor Henry Gussis who played the infamous Scuttle the seagull was able to keep a flawless Boston accent throughout the whole show. I certainly couldn’t contain my laughter when I heard him say the word “dinglehopper,” the way he pronounced it was absolutely hilarious.

Another character that I thought was hilarious was Chef Louis, played by freshman Jake Pranian. Every time he talked or even moved really, the audience couldn’t help but erupt in laughter. My personal favorite scene was the slo-mo scene between him and Sebastian, played by Ian Soriano. They did a great job of really making it look like it was a seriously slow-motion scene while also ensuring that the audience would find it funny (which they did).

The other thing I really enjoyed about the show was the special effects. I think it’s really important to give the crew credit for the show because along with the cast, they also made it beautiful. The lighting was perfect, not just the angles or the timing, but the colors. My favorite special effect definitely had to be the bubble machine that appeared whenever Ariel did, it made the show seem so real.

Overall, the show definitely exceeded all expectations, and I’d say that anyone that couldn’t make the show seriously missed out. It was absolutely fantastic, and I don’t think it would be too far off to say that it may have been one of the best productions of the year.