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Date: 1/10/2023
AMHERST – Amherst Community Theatre will be hosting a production of “The Little Mermaid” for the first time ever in late January. The show will run from Jan. 19 to 29 at the Bowker Auditorium on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. This will be the theater’s first show since January 2020 due to a forced hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kimberly Overtree-Karlin, director of the show, said that the Amherst Community Theatre is a community group that works with an above-average budget normally, and in the case of this year’s show, has had extra time to prepare.
“Amherst Community Theatre is a community group under the umbrella of the Amherst Recreation Department that puts on one large-scale musical theater production every year. The reason I say ‘large-scale’ is because the budget is over $100,000. It’s a very, very large budget show … we put in a lot of time, effort and in this particular show, we’ve been working on it for three years because we had to postpone twice due to the [coronavirus] pandemic,” Overtree-Karlin said.
In addition to the budget, the show has a high participation rate amongst community members of all ages.
“It’s also large-scale not just in terms of budget, but also the number of people participating. Our set has over 300 human hours put into it, with all the different volunteers who have come in … we’ve got 56 cast members; the youngest is seven years old, and then we go all the way up to people in their 60s,” Overtree-Karlin said.
Overtree-Karlin described the wide age range of the cast as one of the most fun aspects of the show, both from a participation and a directorial stand point.
“That’s kind of the beauty of community theater. I love nothing more than watching an adult learn a dance next to a teen or a child, and the child picks it up in two seconds because they’re sponges, and they have to help the adult lean the dance steps. It’s just so empowering for kids and it’s so fun for the adults. We even have a few parent-child combos that are in the show and that’s really fun too,” Overtree-Karlin said.
She said the hiatus has not hindered the theater or this show, and in fact, the production may have turned out better because of it.
“One of the things that’s historical about it is because we had to postpone three years, our costumer has been working on the costumes for all of that time. She’s one of the most creative people I know; Ann Steinhauser is her name … she has really, really pulled out all the stops and she has created some truly gorgeous costumes … we now have a work of art when it comes to the costumes on stage which is really exciting and groundbreaking,” Overtree-Karlin said. “We’re going to be doing some ‘flying’ in this show, as in characters gliding whilst suspended from the rafters, so there’s some pretty surprising spectacle ahead, and we encourage everyone to come enjoy the excitement under the sea with us.”
The show will run over the course of two weekends, with showtimes and ticket prices varying depending on the day.
“The show opens on Thursday Jan. 19, and the first weekend runs through Jan. 22. The show will also be staged the following weekend as well, on Jan. 26 to 29. The Saturdays and Sundays of both weekends have a matinee, and the second Saturday has a matinee and an evening performance. In total there will be nine performances which will be really fun … On Jan. 19 tickets are only $15 for anyone. For all the other shows, it’s $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, and $15 for children 10 and under,” Overtree-Karlin said.
The theater is looking for as many volunteers to help out with the show as possible. There are opportunities for people to get involved immediately or begin helping with next year’s show.
“Our website is www.amherstacts.org, and throughout the year we always publicize different events that we’re having. We love having volunteers help out with any aspect of the show. There’s people who volunteer with the creative parts of the show, building the sets, making costumes, working backstage, we always like a lot of people to help backstage, and we need people who help with makeup and stuff like that,” Overtree-Karlin said. “If you look for Amherst Community Theatre on Facebook and Instagram you can check it out and get alerts when we’re having a fun event … If someone was to read this article and wanted to get involved now, they can usher. That’s a volunteering opportunity over the next few weeks, and ushers are provided a free ticket.”
Overtree-Karlin drew parallels between the message of “The Little Mermaid” and Amherst Community Theatre’s own journey throughout the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging everyone to come experience the show for themselves.
“For our community theater we’ve left a time of silence, and by silence I mean the [coronavirus] pandemic and us having to postpone the show. We’re doing a young person about a young person that gives up their voice, who creates their own silence and learns to discover how that makes them sing brighter. I think this production will be evidence that we really weren’t ‘silent’ during that time; we were thinking, creating, preparing. Anyone who loves theatre or just wants a fun night of entertainment should come see the show because they will not be disappointed,” Overtree-Karlin said.