‘Little Mermaid’ Gets Really Live At Wagon Wheel
May 31, 2023 at 4:34 p.m.
‘Little Mermaid’ Gets Really Live At Wagon Wheel
By David L. Slone-
Jessica Chunta, who is playing Ariel in the Wagon Wheel production, saw the new “The Little Mermaid” Monday, while Brooks Andrew, who is playing Prince Eric, is looking forward to eventually seeing it.
“It was so good. I loved it!” Chunta said in an interview Tuesday of the new live action version. She said she didn’t necessarily see it as competition for the Wagon Wheel show. “It just feels like excitement overall. It’s really special that we get to be opening a show right alongside when the live action is coming out, so there’s just a lot of hype with ‘The Little Mermaid’ right now. It’s just really great.”
She said there’s a few changes in the live action version that are different from the 1989 animated version. “It gives Ariel a lot more power than in the animated, which I personally loved.”
In performing such well-known characters for the stage, Andrew said, “I think they definitely hired us to, especially as the prince and princess, to come and be, one, first and foremost to tell a story, to tell a beautiful story that’s been told for ages and ages; and, two, they definitely want us to be ourselves within these characters and to bring the type of humanity that they saw from us in the audition room and that they’ve seen from working with us in the past to these characters. I think it’s what Wagon Wheel is looking for, is the combination of those two things in order to create something, one, that is an established story but, two, something completely new.”
Chunta agreed.
“I think, for me, when I was doing my research and preparation for the role, I’m definitely inspired by the previous artists who played Ariel like Jodi Benson, of course, and Sierra Boggess of Broadway. Those women are inspirations to me, but at the same time, I do want to bring in Jessica to the role and what that looks like,” she said. “And kind of what Brooks was saying, I think what’s so great about Wagon Wheel is, yes, we are telling a story that everyone knows that is Disney and so mainstream, but at the same time we are telling it very truthfully and giving it meaning.”
Benson provided the voice for Ariel in the 1989 Disney animated movie, while Boggess played Ariel in the original 2008 Broadway version.
Chunta grew up on the animated version and she’s always loved the movie. When she was growing up, and in her princess phase, she even had the Ariel doll and costume.
Andrew admitted he wasn’t the biggest fan of the animated movie growing up, but it’s a great movie and he’s seen it.
“It wasn’t a childhood staple of mine or anything,” he said. “I’ve always looked at ‘The Little Mermaid,’ especially Prince Eric, as a dream role for myself and something that, especially in my younger years, that I wanted to grow into and I’m so lucky that I get the opportunity to tackle it here.”
The Wagon Wheel show isn’t the first time Andrew and Chunta have been in productions of “The Little Mermaid.”
This is Chunta’s second time playing Ariel, having played her during her senior year in high school. Andrew played Jetsam, one of the sea witch Ursula’s eel henchmen, during the summer after his freshman year in high school.
“So, it’s been a long time since I’ve revisited this material, but it’s fun to get to look at it in a new lens,” Andrew stated.
The music in “The Little Mermaid” is by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater.
Chunta said, “Alan Menken is a beautiful writer, first and foremost. His scores are incredible. For me, I personally love the music because of the magic that is in the music. There is such an emotional response for me, especially with the finale of the show. I stand by saying that the overture and the finale in the show are some of the best in musical theatre period.”
Agreeing with her, Andrew said, “The music is iconic. It’s legendary. People know songs like ‘Part of Your World’ and her voice and they’ve known them since they were young children. And, to get to sort of honor that iconicness of these songs, it’s a really cool opportunity, especially to get to, like I said earlier, to bring ourselves to something that is already established as an incredibly respected piece of music. It’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
With other iconic characters in the show like Ursula, King Triton, Flounder, Sebastian and Scuttle, Chunta said “The Little Mermaid” is more than just Ariel’s story.
“It’s about everyone living in these realities and all of them coming together at this perfect timing, and that’s what I think makes this show so special,” she said.
Andrew said they have a vibrant company of actors to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. “With Ursula’s flair and bravado, as well as characters like Scuttle, who is the hilarious comic relief. And we have our young company member Wyatt (Phillips) coming in to play Founder and he’s just so funny. He works so hard and I’m just so grateful to get to work with a nice Warsaw local, playing such a fun, exciting little role,” he said.
This is Andrew’s second year at the Wagon Wheel. He was here for the first three musicals of summer 2022.
“They absolutely can not keep me away. I was eager to come back, and I’m super lucky to get to come back here and work again,” he said.
Andrew graduated this past spring with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Elon University in North Carolina. He grew up doing theater in Boston and it’s always been a “very pertinent and sacred” part of his life.
Chunta also just graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, from Florida State University. Originally from Atlanta, Ga., that’s where she started doing theater and dance all the way through high school.
This is her first summer at the Wagon Wheel and she said she’s “loving” it. “It’s just been so welcoming and such a professional environment, and it’s been lovely just getting to work with everyone and just do theater.”
She and Andrew will be at the Wagon Wheel through the first four musicals, which also will include “Escape to Margaritaville,” “Kiss Me, Kate” and “Jesus Christ Super Star.” Chunta will be playing Lois Lane in “Kiss Me, Kate.
Andrew said, “A lot of the company is staying through those first four, so it’s nice to get this fun core group of us here.”
The company has been together just a little more than two weeks, and Andrew said they’re just “fantastic.”
“We’ve already been able to develop such an incredible community of artists, both inside and outside of the rehearsal room, which has only added to our ability to tell the story in a really amazing way because we love doing it with each other,” he concluded.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is at the Wagon Wheel June 1-10. Tickets can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org, by phone at 574-267-8041 or at the box office at 2515 E. Center St., Warsaw.
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Jessica Chunta, who is playing Ariel in the Wagon Wheel production, saw the new “The Little Mermaid” Monday, while Brooks Andrew, who is playing Prince Eric, is looking forward to eventually seeing it.
“It was so good. I loved it!” Chunta said in an interview Tuesday of the new live action version. She said she didn’t necessarily see it as competition for the Wagon Wheel show. “It just feels like excitement overall. It’s really special that we get to be opening a show right alongside when the live action is coming out, so there’s just a lot of hype with ‘The Little Mermaid’ right now. It’s just really great.”
She said there’s a few changes in the live action version that are different from the 1989 animated version. “It gives Ariel a lot more power than in the animated, which I personally loved.”
In performing such well-known characters for the stage, Andrew said, “I think they definitely hired us to, especially as the prince and princess, to come and be, one, first and foremost to tell a story, to tell a beautiful story that’s been told for ages and ages; and, two, they definitely want us to be ourselves within these characters and to bring the type of humanity that they saw from us in the audition room and that they’ve seen from working with us in the past to these characters. I think it’s what Wagon Wheel is looking for, is the combination of those two things in order to create something, one, that is an established story but, two, something completely new.”
Chunta agreed.
“I think, for me, when I was doing my research and preparation for the role, I’m definitely inspired by the previous artists who played Ariel like Jodi Benson, of course, and Sierra Boggess of Broadway. Those women are inspirations to me, but at the same time, I do want to bring in Jessica to the role and what that looks like,” she said. “And kind of what Brooks was saying, I think what’s so great about Wagon Wheel is, yes, we are telling a story that everyone knows that is Disney and so mainstream, but at the same time we are telling it very truthfully and giving it meaning.”
Benson provided the voice for Ariel in the 1989 Disney animated movie, while Boggess played Ariel in the original 2008 Broadway version.
Chunta grew up on the animated version and she’s always loved the movie. When she was growing up, and in her princess phase, she even had the Ariel doll and costume.
Andrew admitted he wasn’t the biggest fan of the animated movie growing up, but it’s a great movie and he’s seen it.
“It wasn’t a childhood staple of mine or anything,” he said. “I’ve always looked at ‘The Little Mermaid,’ especially Prince Eric, as a dream role for myself and something that, especially in my younger years, that I wanted to grow into and I’m so lucky that I get the opportunity to tackle it here.”
The Wagon Wheel show isn’t the first time Andrew and Chunta have been in productions of “The Little Mermaid.”
This is Chunta’s second time playing Ariel, having played her during her senior year in high school. Andrew played Jetsam, one of the sea witch Ursula’s eel henchmen, during the summer after his freshman year in high school.
“So, it’s been a long time since I’ve revisited this material, but it’s fun to get to look at it in a new lens,” Andrew stated.
The music in “The Little Mermaid” is by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater.
Chunta said, “Alan Menken is a beautiful writer, first and foremost. His scores are incredible. For me, I personally love the music because of the magic that is in the music. There is such an emotional response for me, especially with the finale of the show. I stand by saying that the overture and the finale in the show are some of the best in musical theatre period.”
Agreeing with her, Andrew said, “The music is iconic. It’s legendary. People know songs like ‘Part of Your World’ and her voice and they’ve known them since they were young children. And, to get to sort of honor that iconicness of these songs, it’s a really cool opportunity, especially to get to, like I said earlier, to bring ourselves to something that is already established as an incredibly respected piece of music. It’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
With other iconic characters in the show like Ursula, King Triton, Flounder, Sebastian and Scuttle, Chunta said “The Little Mermaid” is more than just Ariel’s story.
“It’s about everyone living in these realities and all of them coming together at this perfect timing, and that’s what I think makes this show so special,” she said.
Andrew said they have a vibrant company of actors to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. “With Ursula’s flair and bravado, as well as characters like Scuttle, who is the hilarious comic relief. And we have our young company member Wyatt (Phillips) coming in to play Founder and he’s just so funny. He works so hard and I’m just so grateful to get to work with a nice Warsaw local, playing such a fun, exciting little role,” he said.
This is Andrew’s second year at the Wagon Wheel. He was here for the first three musicals of summer 2022.
“They absolutely can not keep me away. I was eager to come back, and I’m super lucky to get to come back here and work again,” he said.
Andrew graduated this past spring with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Elon University in North Carolina. He grew up doing theater in Boston and it’s always been a “very pertinent and sacred” part of his life.
Chunta also just graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, from Florida State University. Originally from Atlanta, Ga., that’s where she started doing theater and dance all the way through high school.
This is her first summer at the Wagon Wheel and she said she’s “loving” it. “It’s just been so welcoming and such a professional environment, and it’s been lovely just getting to work with everyone and just do theater.”
She and Andrew will be at the Wagon Wheel through the first four musicals, which also will include “Escape to Margaritaville,” “Kiss Me, Kate” and “Jesus Christ Super Star.” Chunta will be playing Lois Lane in “Kiss Me, Kate.
Andrew said, “A lot of the company is staying through those first four, so it’s nice to get this fun core group of us here.”
The company has been together just a little more than two weeks, and Andrew said they’re just “fantastic.”
“We’ve already been able to develop such an incredible community of artists, both inside and outside of the rehearsal room, which has only added to our ability to tell the story in a really amazing way because we love doing it with each other,” he concluded.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is at the Wagon Wheel June 1-10. Tickets can be purchased online at wagonwheelcenter.org, by phone at 574-267-8041 or at the box office at 2515 E. Center St., Warsaw.
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