Set between two worlds, land and sea, the Nānākuli High and Intermediate School Performing Arts Center (NPAC) put on the production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” telling a powerful story of longing and transformation from March 28 to April 2, 2026.
“The thing I’m most proud of is my cast members. Like I feel like even though it’s been like a short amount of time that I’ve been with them, I had so much fun working with the older kids as well as the younger kids because we all had, we were all able to be ourselves and really be out there. It was fun,” said Freshman Lia Kekawa who played Scuttle.
Back in 2020, NPAC was set to do Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” in March. However, production was shut down due to the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“I remember being pretty sad that we couldn’t open the show. We had to shut down the week before we were set to open,” said NPAC Co-Director Chloe Kitsu. “It felt like time stopped. All the costumes still hung on the racks and everything just stood still for about a year.”
In 2021, NPAC was able to put on a virtual production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” Jr. This version of the show is condensed down to an hour, whereas the full production is over two hours. Much of the original 2020 cast was able to return, however, the production looked much different.
“Everyone had to film their parts individually. We had some students film from home while others came in and filmed with myself and Mr. Kitsu,” said Chloe Kitsu. “After everyone filmed, I had to end the entire show together. It was pretty cool to see all their voices and faces come together on the screen. It wasn’t what we originally intended to do, but I was happy we were able to at least do most of the show with the majority of the original cast.”
When it came to picking a show the directors looked at things like who they have in their cast, marketability of a show, and decide on what show they would be able to do from there. “To me, I’ve always loved the story of The Little Mermaid. It’s a timeless tale that groups from all ages can enjoy. This show is special to me because now we finally got to perform it for a live audience,” said Chloe Kitsu.
Directors Robin and Chloe Kitsu made the picks when it came to casting that started back in January.
“What we look at is vocal ability, acting ability. That’s why the students are asked to sing to demonstrate their vocal ability along with giving them sides. Along with physicality, how you look and how everyone looks together,” said NPAC Co-Director and founder Robin Kitsu.
Rehearsals for the “The Little Mermaid” started in late January following 35: NPAC Eras show, cast worked hard to perfect it by the deadline, the puppets for the little mermaid weren’t finished till the week of the show.
“At times the rehearsal process was challenging because there are many moving parts when it comes to the show. From the puppets to the moving sets, it took a lot of fine tuning to make sure it was right,” said Chloe Kitsu.
Students faced challenges with things like characterization, eye contact, and vocals.
“I’ve never been in theater and I would never expect myself to play someone who was evil like that,” said Freshman Olivia Jones, who played Flotsam.
Chloe Kitsu added, “What made the process even more special to me was to be able to see the growth and improvement in the students’ performances.”
This production was the second to the last show in NPAC’s 2025-2026 season. NPAC produced one last show on May 2, 2026, NPAC Rewind which was a musical revue showcase.
