Lower School Students Bring to Life the Magical Ocean World in Finding Nemo, Jr.

The Arts at St. Margaret’s presented Lower School musical Disney’s Finding Nemo, Jr. in the Hurlbut Theater last week. This production featured two casts of grade 4 and 5 students and a technical crew of Middle School and Upper School students. Over 50 students comprised of the Coral Cast and the Reef Cast, each working together to tell the familiar story of Nemo, the clownfish, who lives off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. When the story began, Nemo’s dad, Marlin, was focused on keeping Nemo safe at all costs. Nemo rebels and finds himself captured and taken to the Sydney Harbor Aquarium. Meanwhile, Marlin sets off on his own adventure to find Nemo. In the process, he made new friends such as Dory, faced challenges with sharks and jellyfish, and rode the East Australian current on his way to the Harbor. 

 

At the end of the 60-minute show, the characters had developed trust, teamwork, humor, bravery and love. The audience was delighted by the colorful underwater projections, set pieces and sparkling costumes.

Finding Nemo, Jr. was directed by Zach Hanna, music directed by Lex Leigh, assistant directed by Abby Illenberger, choreographed by Carly Taberski. The technical aspects including fog, lighting and sound effects headed by technical director and resident designer Gordon Richins with assistance from Justice Musick-Corson and Spencer Keane ’10. Student designers included Jack Justus ’24, Gavin Shams ’26, and stage manager Keagan Pichardo ’28.