ABOVE: Cast members of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” pose after finishing the song “Under the Sea” Monday afternoon at The Fairmont Opera House. The musical will show this upcoming weekend at The Fairmont Opera House.

FAIRMONT– Nearly 70 local students grades 3 through 12 are getting ready to star in the musical “The Little Mermaid Jr.,” which will show this upcoming weekend at The Fairmont Opera House. This year’s youth summer production is being directed by Ellen Germain.

Germain is a teacher at Genesis Classical Academy in Winnebago. She had previously directed “Christmas shorts” for youth at The Fairmont Opera House, making this her second time directing at the historic theater.

Germain said both she and Megan Potthoff directed the Christmas shorts together and worked well together and that this time around is no different.

“I feel like we both have good ideas and really play off each other well. It’s very helpful,” Germain said.

“The Little Mermaid Jr.” has all of the major songs from the beloved Disney classic, with condensed dialogue. It also includes some dance numbers.

The production was announced back in the spring and following that sign-ups took place. Auditions then took place in June but everyone who tried out– all 67 students– got a part.

“We cast the show and the students had to learn all of their parts and songs at home prior to the camp,” Germain said.

The production is the finale to an eight day camp that started last week with practices Wednesday through Friday. They picked back up this week and will continue through Saturday.

“We have eight days to put on a show. The students have done a great job of learning their lines and knowing their songs so that we can move through this process faster than other productions that take six or seven weeks,” Germain said.

Another impressive aspect to the show is the variety of students it has pulled in. Germain shared that there are several school systems represented, including Genesis Classical Academy, Fairmont Elementary School, St. John Vianney, Martin Luther High School and Martin County West, plus more. There’s a mix of ages in the show as well as a good number of boys cast in it.

As it’s a camp, the students are doing far more than just singing, dancing and acting.

“My goal for this was to help the students see all sides of a production,” Germain said.

There are two students who opted to just run sound and lights as that’s what they were interested in. There are two students who, in addition to being cast in the musical, are doing makeup and costumes. Other students are helping with the set and Germain said some older students are also helping with directing.

“We really are trying to have every part involve students,” Germain said.

The majority of the costumes have come from The Fairmont Opera House’s costume shop, or from Fairmont High School’s drama department.

“We’re very grateful for their help in this. That saved our production a lot of money and since we’re working with a short timeframe, we didn’t have to track down costumes,” Germain said.

Ariel Sahr of Frost is a student at Genesis Classical Academy. She’s playing the role of

Sebastian. Sahr shared that this is her first time performing in a play or musical.

“It’s something that I’ve been interested in for awhile. Because Mrs. Germain is directing it, I felt more comfortable. Other kids from my school were doing it, too,” she said.

Sarh also shared that “The Little Mermaid” was the first Disney movie she ever watched because she shares a name with the lead character.

Caitlyn Pickerel lives in Blue Earth and has been cast as the seagull, Scuttle.

“I did Shrek Jr. last year and had a fun time,” Pickerel said of why she wanted to do this year’s production.

The role of Ariel is being played by Lucy Koch, a student from Granada-Huntley-East Chain. She said that while everyone auditioned, they didn’t audition for a certain role and that she was surprised to land the lead role of Ariel.

“I was extremely excited. I’ve never had a starring role before but it’s been a good experience so far,” Koch said.

Addison Lintelman, a student at Fairmont Elementary, is playing Flounder, Ariel’s best friend. Koch and Lintelman shared that they’re also best friends “in real life.”

“My favorite part has been rehearsing with all of the people and being able to practice and know how it feels to be in a play,” Lintelman said.

Germain encourages the public to come out and support the students by seeing the musical.

“They’re very hard-working and they’re having a good time. It’s been really enjoyable,” she said

Performances run at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 and 2 p.m. Aug. 5. Tickets are available online at fairmontoperahouse.org.