Cultural Park Theater goes ‘Under the Sea’ and visits a haunted house in September

By Michael Moran
The film of The Little Mermaid, which premiered in 1989, was an immediate hit and remains so in the heart of people of all ages. It is a story that Cape Coral’s Cultural Park Theater has wanted to tell. We are proud to open our 2019-2020 season with The Little Mermaid. CPT will bring you the full Broadway production of The Little Mermaid. While others in the area have done the junior production at high schools, youth groups and churches, we’re the first to do the Broadway production. It just became available, and we asked. We’re so happy to be able to do it.
Directed by Tyler Young and Samantha Pudlin with choreography by Bridey Kearns, Disney’s The Little Mermaid features a cast of 36 actors; spectacular costumes and top-notch scenery.
Based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Disney’s The Little Mermaid tells the story of a beautiful mermaid princess, Ariel, who dreams of becoming human. Ariel falls for Prince Eric and, of course, her dreams of marrying Eric do not easily come about. As is the case in so many fairy tales, there is evil with which to deal, in this case in the form of Sea Witch Ursula.
Songs from the musical (original music was written by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater) include “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” “She’s In Love” and the ever-popular “Under the Sea.” The Little Mermaid” is on stage Sept. 13 through Sept. 22.
Next up on Sept. 27 through Oct. 6 is the anxiously awaited Florida premier of Joe Simonelli’s The Ghost in the Meadow.
The Ghost in the Meadow, under the direction of Joy Ursillo, follows two sisters, Sheila and Kylie Roberts, who move from the bustling streets of New York City to a rural country relic of a house.
Three hours away from their previous lives, Sheila hopes to focus on her career as a painter while Kylie tries to understand Sheila’s fascination with the rundown house. Despite the houses decrepit condition, Sheila finds inspiration within the peeling wallpapered walls of the third floor guest room. But when her boyfriend, Julian Shaw, visits for the weekend, despite Sheila’s desired separation, and strange occurrences start happening in her favorite room, poor Sheila finds herself over her head in spooks, apparitions, and complicated relationships.
With the spirit of the forsaken boy appearing in the meadow outback and apparitions lingering outside Sheila’s third story window, not to mention strange noises coming from the locked attic, how is an artist supposed to work? Then, at Julian’s request, arrives Antoinette Owens, psychic extraordinaire, to help them get to the bottom of this country haunting and, hopefully, make it through the weekend.
Cultural Park Theatre Company is located at 528 Cultural Park Blvd. in Cape Coral. Tickets cost $22 for adults, and $10 for children under 12, $16, students with ID and $19 for seniors. For further information or to purchase tickets, call 239-772-5862. www.culturalparktheater.comhttp://www.culturalparktheater.com
Michael Moran is executive director of the Cultural Park Theatre Company.