Three-days-a-week rehearsals since late January bore fruit last week when the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative Drama Club performed “The Little Mermaid” for two evenings in the Cooperative Middle School High School cafeteria.

WLC music teacher Taryn Anderson wore multiple hats to make the show come off: directing, music, choreography, stage design and lighting. Mike McGonegal ran the sound during the show and taught the students how to use the microphones.

 “I have been coming to WLC drama productions for years. ‘The Little Mermaid’ has been the best I’ve seen!” Assistant Principal Katie Gosselin said. “I will never understand how 20 students and one teacher pulled it off! This musical, from the stage crew to the leading performers, was one for the books.”

“Awesome,” was how Laura Bujak described the production. “It had you laughing and also on the edge of your seats. It showcased some beautiful voices and some hilarious parts.”

Grayson Kendall, a senior who played Ursula in the production, has a lot of history on the school stage locally.

“The Little Mermaid is my last show at WLC and I’ve had so much fun with it!” stated Kendall. “Theater has always been a significant hobby and passion for me since I was a kid.  I’ve done drama at WLC since sixth grade, and I’ve loved being able to watch it grow into a consistent program with more and more kids each year. The introduction of proper sound equipment has been a wonderful experience and I’m so grateful I had a show with it.”

Sophomore Hannah Hamilton played Aquata, Ariel’s mersister, also lauded the new tech for the performance.

“The new mics which are amazing! I have been doing drama at WLC for three years now, and this is by far one of my favorite shows I’ve been in,” she said. “I am so excited to see where this program will go in the future.”

Gosselin noted Kendall’s swan song, and the efforts of others.

“WLC will also miss our amazing seniors, Grayson Kendall and Mike Marcinuk, as this was their last show. Aubriella Remick made arguably the cutest Flounder ever, and I could go on and on about the incredible acting skills of Victoria Gilbeau as Scuttle,” she said. 

Anderson praised all who helped the performances happen.

“I am so proud of all of our cast and crew. They have been working so hard on this show and have created a really fantastic show. I feel so fortunate to be able to work with such wonderful students. I would also like to thank the community for all of the donations to the WLC Performance Tech Committee that got us our new mics. They have a Facebook page for anyone who would like to donate so that we can continue to improve our sound and lighting for future shows.”  

Gosselin is already looking ahead.

“I can’t wait to see what this amazingly talented group of people under the leadership of Taryn as department head and music director will do next year,” she said.