The Little Mermaid, Jr. Runs Five Nights at the Washington Theatre

Five performances, one week, and a cast made up of local homeschool students: Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr. runs at the Washington Theatre at Patterson Park from Wednesday through Sunday. If you have been looking for a first piece of theatre to try with a younger child, this is close to an ideal one.

Why this one works for younger kids

The junior edition runs about an hour with no interval. That single fact does more work than anything else on this page. An hour is roughly the outer limit of what a four-year-old will sit through cheerfully, and it means the whole outing — parking, seats, show, walk back to the car — fits comfortably inside a weeknight without wrecking bedtime.

The story needs no setup either. Ariel wants legs, Ursula offers a deal, Sebastian spends the entire show trying to keep everyone out of trouble. Children who have never seen a stage production still know exactly what is happening, which frees them up to enjoy the part that is genuinely new: real people singing in a real room, close enough to see.

Performance times

• Wednesday, September 9 — 1:00 p.m. (afternoon matinee)
• Thursday, September 10 — 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, September 11 — 7:00 p.m.
• Saturday, September 12 — 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday, September 13 — 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $10. The two afternoon shows — Wednesday at one and Sunday at two — are the easier ones with toddlers and preschoolers, since neither runs up against bedtime. The evening performances suit school-age children better and tend to draw the bigger, livelier crowds.

Before you go

The Washington Theatre sits inside Patterson Park Community Center at 521 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, with parking on site. Arrive with a few minutes in hand: a short run like this one can sell well on the strength of family and friends alone, so it is worth confirming seats rather than turning up on spec.

One quiet thing worth saying out loud. A homeschool production is a different animal from a touring show. The cast is drawn from families who live here, the audience is full of people who know them, and the room reacts accordingly. That warmth is most of the appeal, and it is the part your children will remember.

More family events across Murfreesboro and Rutherford County are on our Family Events calendar.