When Tracy Wagner, director of the Lancaster Catholic High School (LCHS) musical, looked into securing the rights for a spring show that the school would be able to stream, she did not know that her choice of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" would be met with intense student enthusiasm.

"This group was jumping out of their skin with excitement," recalled Wagner, who added that the students know the characters and the melodies and wanted to work on learning the show as soon as the books arrived.

"'The Little Mermaid' is the story of Ariel, played by Sheridan Riva, a mermaid princess with a beautiful singing voice, who lives in an undersea kingdom. Ariel should be content, but she desires the one thing she cannot have: life on land. When Ariel recues a human prince named Eric, played by Henry Greiner, from a storm at sea and falls in love with him, she is even more determined to realize her dream. She defies her father, King Triton, played by Zac Snyder, and bargains with sea witch Ursula, played by Kati Lyle, who demands Ariel's voice in exchange for entry into Prince Eric's world. With help from Flounder, played by Oliver Hughes; Scuttle, played by Caroline Erb; and Sebastian, played by Isabelle Titzer, Ariel works to gain the love of the prince without being able to speak. If they fail, she will lose her soul to Ursula.

The show will be presented at the school to a limited audience by invitation. The stream will be available from Sunday, April 18, through Sunday, May 2, at 7 p.m. each evening. Tickets to watch the streamed show may be purchased through the Fine and Performing Arts link under Student Life at http://www.lchsyes.org or by searching for "Lancaster Catholic High School" at http://www.showtix4u.com. A discount is available for family ticket purchase.

"The Little Mermaid" is known for big musical numbers such as "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl," but also for "Positoovity," which will feature tap dancing seagulls, led by experienced tap dancer Erb as Scuttle.

Wagner has been directing rehearsals for the 46 students in the cast, crew, and orchestra. She noted that the students' masks make it harder for her to judge the work of the ensemble, but she praised the singers in the lead roles and noted that many members of the small orchestra will need to play more than one instrument during the performance. Wagner noted that creating convincing underwater scenes through choreography, staging, lighting, and costumes is also a challenge.

During a year of uncertainty, Wagner said she is happy to offer students roles playing the iconic Disney characters. "They needed something they love and can grab on to," she said.