Pleasantville High School recently held auditions for its spring musical production of The Little Mermaid. 

The spring musical is an annual production by the school’s performing arts club and the community-based group Friends of the Performing Arts (FOPA).

Students from ninth to twelfth grade were encouraged to audition. Kathleen Warren, the director of chorus and theater at Pleasantville High School, guarantees a spot for everyone who auditions.

“No cuts, everyone gets in,” said assistant student director Georgia Peters. “You just have to sing a song and do a dance if you want to be in the ensemble.” 

“There was a maximum of two leads that you can audition for,” Emma Selesnick, another assistant student director, said. “[Warren] gave you a packet, and the guys got all of the male principal roles listed, and the girls got the female principal roles listed, and inside is all the material that she wants us to learn.” 

Sixteen students auditioned for the part of Ariel, and a total of 74 students will appear in the cast. Productions at Pleasantville High School have won and have been nominated for numerous competitions, including the Metropolitan High School Theater Awards, a competition among schools Rockland, Westchester, Putnam and Bergen counties. 

“Our theater program is really successful, and this year it’s going to be a big production with a bunch of moving parts,” Peters said. 

Opening night is scheduled to be March 6, 2020. In addition to being in the cast, students are also encouraged to be part of the crew, whose responsibilities include painting, props, and costumes.