Let’s put on a musical!

Sounds simple. You’ve got the songs and the talent to sing them.

But who’s going to create the scenery, design the lighting, order the props, arrange the dance numbers, get an orchestra together, make the costumes? The list goes on and on.

The Homewood-Flossmoor High School theater department presents “The Little Mermaid,” the story of Ariel, a teenage mermaid who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with Prince Eric, who she rescues from the sea. The show is staged April 16, 17 and 18. It involves hundreds of students and staff. They have been at it since mid-February.

Everyone gives hours each week preparing for the big event and, despite the emergencies from time to time, it runs like a well-oiled machine. Everyone knows where they need to be and are dedicated to making the show perfection.

“They all are electing to create a piece of art together and offer it to our audience,” said teacher Anne Calderon, who is directing the musical. “If we get too tangled up in other things we sometimes forget that this is supposed to be fun. We would say we do a really good job at having fun.”

Creating the visual

For the production of “The Little Mermaid,” H-F hired a set designer that gave renderings for what happens on stage. Under the direction of Tim Tholl, auditorium manager and technical director, students have worked to create an underwater world, a ship, a throne, and dozens of other moving parts. The set designer also provides a packet of blueprints that gives directions for creating coral, rocks, barnicles and fish bones.

“Not only has it made it easier for our kids to learn how to work with an outside designer and use prints … it’s also allowed them to get techniques. Everything that we do is kind of at the fundamental level so the kids can build and participate in it,” Tholl said.

He applauds Districts 153 and 161 for their shop classes that give students hands-on training with saws and other equipment used in creating scenery.

“Everything we do here we try to make sure not only for the students to be involved … We are asking them to do hard things,” Tholl said. “All of our stuff is high quality. We try to make sure the fundamentals are there for the kids.”

Many of the students are volunteering between 10 and 15 hours a week, depending on the project. Some, like freshman Sam Crocker, come to be part of the program behind the scenes. Several are volunteers who stick with the crew team, play after play.

Junior Annabelle Kyei-Dongin has been doing crew since freshman year and now “I’m hooked.” She’ll be working on the lighting crew for “The Little Mermaid” and learning from senior Ash Komorowski, recognized as one of the best student lighting crew members in Illinois. He’ll major in stage lighting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Best costuming

If there is an award given for costume design in a school musical, Candi Helsel-Wilk deserves the prize for single-handedly designing and then creating 84 costumes for this musical. She sketched out her ideas and worked with director Calderon to make sure they met her vision.

The cast was announced before winter break. Helsel-Wilk, the lead for the Fine and Performing Arts Department, said she measured every performer “and I immediately started ordering fabric” along with lace, trims, sea shells, beads and other adornments.

“The kids, when they come in here to get measured, they’re so excited. That gives me energy because I know they’re going to be happy,” she said. She’s been doing costuming for H-F for seven years.

“Because I am an artist, costuming is really important to me. But when you have an obligation to create a body of work for a school production, it really makes you focus on your skills, develop new skills, solve problems. How do you develop (a costume for) squid worm who has eight legs and has to dance? You have to trouble shoot.”

A dinglehopper, etc.

What’s a dinglehopper? A very important prop. It’s really a fork, but mermaid Ariel doesn’t know that, so it gets the name dinglehopper.

Where do you find a dinglehopper? Teacher Aime Day, volunteer head of props, found online the perfect fork that’s large enough for the audience to see. It’s one of dozens of props she has made or purchased for the show.

“I’m getting better and better at it, as the years go by, but it’s a lot of fun. I get to be part of creating art with some of my dearest friends,” Day explained.

“The properties manager is responsible for everything that the actors interact with on stage, so anything they hold, are passing around or gesturing to. Any sort of item that the character should be interacting with on stage, I’m responsible for either creating or procuring those items.”

She coordinates her efforts with director Calderon to make sure objects are the right color, shiny or dull, correct height and dimensions, and how it looks in relation to the rest of the scene and costuming.

On April 7, the props will be introduced into rehearsals. Day says before then, she’ll create a wedding cake prop and have “only a few things to finish styling and gluing, and getting everything organized.”

Musical notes

H-F Band Director Sarah Whitlock is directing the 31 musicians providing music for “The Little Mermaid.” She had interest from so many students that she held auditions. The players for the Pit have been rehearsing after school four days a week since mid-February but they didn’t get their first rehearsal together with the performers until March 25.

This is a large show with a lot of action on stage, and the music doesn’t stop, it just segues into the next number making it “a little more challenging,” Whitlock said.

A few of the players will be playing multiple instruments.

“It’s cool to see them put themselves out there,” she said.

Whitlock works closely with teacher Steve Sifner who serves as the music director.

Leading the show

All questions and concerns for the show rest with Anne Calderon, the director.

“The Little Mermaid” wasn’t on Calderon’s agenda when the theater season was planned out in May 2025, but she pivoted to give more students an opportunity to perform. She’s also happy to have a show that can appeal to all ages.

How the musical comes together rests with Calderon, who works with several departments at H-F and more than 100 students to present a classic written by Hans Christian Andersen and popularized by Disney.

“Sort of my vision is we’re bringing the audience a classic that’s reminiscent of the movie,” she said. “We sort of have moments where a couple of costumes that are iconic, a couple of moments that are iconic. We really wanted people to sit in the audience and feel that nostalgia. And at the same time feel like they’re watching something new.”

Choosing the right performers took some time with auditions and call backs. Calderon finds the auditions “are so much fun. You never have any idea of what’s going to happen.” Roles that seem perfect for one cast member can flip, and “then someone just pops out of the woodwork and you’re just blown away.” 

“We’re really excited about the surprises we have in store for everybody,” she said.