HEART Does ‘Mermaid,’ Shares Its Heart

A cast of 47 youths from Hawaii Education for the Arts will perform on the Paliku Theater stage July 18-27, bringing Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. to Windward audiences.

Directed by Megan DeBoard, the show features hit songs Part of Your World, She’s in Love and the Oscar-winning Under the Sea. Gabrielle Awai plays the title role of Ariel and Jordan Klein is Prince Eric in the much-loved, magical underwater kingdom, where family tension and an evil sea witch enliven the tale.

Showtime is 7 p.m. July 18, 19, 25, 26 and 27, and 2 p.m. July 20 and 27. Tickets for the Kailua-based HEARTS summer musical cost $20 to $10 and can be ordered at showtix4u.com or at 387-4355.

The HEARTS entourage has had a busy summer all-around. After a fundraising concert June 6 in Kailua, some 55 singers flew to New York City June 10-18 for sightseeing and performances, supported in part by Castle Foundation. (Half of the travelers also are in the July play.)

They sang at Lincoln Center’s 2,700-seat Avery Fisher Hall and at a public school in the Bronx.

They also gave a concert at Far Rockaway Metro Community Church of the Nazarene, in an area devastated last fall by Superstorm Sandy. As they ended with He Never Failed Me Yet, the crowd “stood and clapped and cheered,” said founder Pamela DeBoard. “This was also a popular song at their school because it gives them hope for some of the hardships they have suffered.”

For more on HEARTS, visit heartshawaii.org.