A 'shining, shimmering, splendid' show

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins' Aquatones will expose its audience to "A Whole New World" through its production of Aladdin. From Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m., the Perkins community can travel to Agrabah, the fictional city setting of the show, in this mix of acting and synchronized swimming. The shows will be at Perkins High School's pool and tickets are available at the door: $8 for adults and $6 for students. "It's definitely family-friendly," senior performer Anna Ferback said. "Young to old, everyone can enjoy the show." This week's show is one the team of girls has wanted to do for a while, according to senior performer Brianne Bucher. The story follows Aladdin, a poor "street urchin," who falls in love with Jasmine, the princess. Aladdin is tricked by the story's villain, Jafar, who convinces him to take a magic lamp from a cave. After rubbing the lamp, Aladdin brings the Genie to life, who grants him three wishes, which he uses to get closer to Jasmine and defeat Jafar's plan of taking the throne. "I feel like it's really unique," Bucher said. "You can't find this in a lot of other places, especially the way we make it into a whole production." Senior Ella West added that the team choreographs everything they do. They decide how to share their own style and express themselves through the characters. The cast includes seniors West as Aladdin, Bucher as Jasmine, Ady West as the Sultan, Ferback as Jafar and other high school and middle school students portraying the other story characters. They are under the direction of their adviser, Lily Gross, a Perkins High School graduate and former member of the club. This leading cast of senior swimmers has years of synchronized swimming experience, ranging from Ferback's five years to Ella's 12-year career. The Aquatones club itself has been around for a long time, according to Ferback. The reason students like her and Ady joined the team is because of family members who also went through the club, like sisters, mothers and grandmothers. Ella said the students at Perkins Schools like to promote the club. She encouraged those who are interested in joining to try it out.