A live performance of a popular Disney animated film is coming to the Central Coast this weekend.
Mesa and Judkins middle school theater departments are preparing for their renditions of "Moana Jr.," which organizers say is a thrilling and heartwarming stage adaptation of a journey of self-discovery and camaraderie set in ancient Polynesia.
The shows will be at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. The first show is Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. Two shows are scheduled for Saturday; the first at 2 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m.
You can find tickets on the Clark Center's website. General admission is $17; students and children, $12.
Organizers say the show’s director, Marcia Geyer, and the talented group of young performers have prepared for five months to get ready, including working with Na Mele o ke Kai, meaning "Songs of the Sea," a local association, to professionally train the students in hula technique and Polynesian culture.
"... Everyone has a Te Kā in them, which is anger or troubles they've had in the past," said Cadence Clift, a seventh-grader who plays Maui. "[The show's] trying to say that everyone can release their Te Kā and let their Te Fiti grow."
Te Fiti is a character in the show, a goddess with the power to create life. She became Te Kā after her heart had been stolen by Maui, according to the Disney Wiki website.
"I feel like the play is about getting out of your comfort zone," said Naima Avila Ventura, an eighth-grader who plays Moana. "Since Te Kā, [the primary antagonist in the film,] is the main point of the whole show, not everything has to be settled a certain way — it can be settled by love or connection."
The show will run for about 60 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
