Locals take on an underwater adventure

NETCONG — Venture under the sea with Ariel and Sebastian as several local actors perform Disney’s The Little Mermaid at The Growing Stage — The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey from Oct. 3 to 26.

The story is based on the Hans Christian Anderson tale and the Disney film produced by Howard Ashman and John Musker and is written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements.

Dalton Allison of Byram, said he started taking acting classes in Seacaucus when he was 10 years old. His first performance was in 2009 in "The Story of the Nutcracker," and he's been in more than 20 theatrical productions.

This is his first show with Growing Stage. In the show, he plays a sailor, a sea turtle and is a member of the Crab Chorus.

"I enjoy being a sea turtle because I feel that I am the puppet when I am on stage," he said. "I feel that this is a very artistic show with many talented performers and I can't wait to see it come together. By the shows opening we will take the show 'Under the Sea.'"

Grace Brizek of Sparta, started acting when she was nine and has been in 23 productions in the past five years. Now 14, this is her 11th show with The Growing Stage. Her first was "The Wizard of Oz."

"I have met so many nice people and learn so much in each production from the director and my cast mates," Brizek said. "I am ecstatic to work with old friends and make new ones once more."

In the musical, Brizek will be playing the roles of a Sea Creature and one of the maids.

"My two favorite parts of playing these roles are handling the sea creature puppets in Under the Sea and chasing after Sebastian as a Maid in Les Poissons," she said.

Kimberly Jackson of Newton started dancing when she was five years old but didn't discover acting until high school. This is her third show with The Growing Stage having subsequently performed in "Peter Pan" and "Shrek." She will be playing the roles of Adella (Ariel's sister), a tap dancing seagull, a maid and a princess.

"I love that I get the chance to play a variety of characters throughout the show and create a personality for each of them," Jackson said. "This production has been a wonderful experience. It is also very special to me because I grew up loving 'The Little Mermaid,' and being a part of this show is like fulfilling my childhood fantasy of becoming a mermaid. I'm grateful that I get to help bring the undersea world to life for audiences who love the film and story as much as I do."

The Growing Stage's founder and executive director is Steve Fredricks of Hackettstown. His family may have moved around a lot when he was a kid, but throughout the theater was a constant and has always been a part of his life. He started the company after graduating from Arizona State University in 1981.

"I took a class in college studying children's theatre thinking it would be an easy A," he said. "What I received instead was an inspiring education from a professor that to this day remains my mentor."

There are eight professional equity performers in the cast: Emily Cara Portune of Jersey City, who recently played the role of Princess Fiona in "Shrek the Musical," returns to The Growing Stage stage as Ariel. Anthony Crouchelli of New Milford and Maggie Graham of Fanwood portray Prince Eric and the evil witch, Ursula, respectively. PJ Schweizer, of Doylestown, Pa., is also in the cast as Scuttle, and Wayne Hu, of East Hanover, will play King Triton. Jenna Morris of Hoboken, Lyndsey Brown of High Bridge and Nikole Rizzo of Highlands will play the Mersisters. In total, there’s a cast of 25 professional and local artists performing in this production.