Raymond Playhouse Society goes under the sea with ‘Little Mermaid’

Raymond Playhouse Society goes under the sea with ‘Little Mermaid’
By Stan Ashbee
Westwind Weekly News

Until Saturday afternoon, the Raymond Playhouse Society proudly presents its annual production. This year’s live show is Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” at the Raymond Theatre.

Society member Myrna Sopal said this year’s production is pretty exciting. “The colours and the amazing sets and the costumes are quite elaborate — they always are. The under the sea part really comes to life. The cast — they’re really fun to work with,” she noted. “It’s a musical. A lot of singing and dancing. They’ve been working for six months on this to get it ready for everybody.”

According to Sopal, the society has been running for just over 35 years. “We have a board with 15 people on it. We do all kinds of fun things and we try to change up our plays every year. They’re usually musicals, but we try to change up the themes. Sometimes they’re more for an older audience and sometimes for younger audiences. The kids really like this one,” she added.

With cast and crew, Sopal explained, there’s close to 40 members of the community on stage and behind the scenes. “On stage, probably close to 30.” This year’s production has two directors — Michelle Dick and Lori Garner. “They’ve been doing it for years. They know what they’re doing. And we have an awesome costume mistress,” she said.

Show runs until Mar. 23. Weekdays the show starts at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday matinees only at 2 p.m. Tickets are $21 for adults and $16 for youth. Tickets are available online to purchase at raymondplayhouse.com. For more info call 587-800-5871.

All funds raised from the productions go back into the society to fund future shows and to possibly complete a few upgrades. “We are trying to add onto the building, eventually. But, that takes a lot of funds,” she said.

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