Folger McKinsey Goes Down Under In “Finding Nemo Jr.” Production

After a particularly cold and snowy winter in Severna Park, Folger McKinsey Elementary School is inviting the community to experience a warm, underwater adventure to Australia and Wallaby Way in, “Finding Nemo Jr.,” a musical adaptation of the 2003 Pixar film, taking stage March 21 and 22.

Atticus Boidy, a local theater stalwart and winner of the 2025 Annie Award for Arts Education, takes the director’s chair in this much-loved musical. More than 50 fourth- and fifth-grade students are in the strong ensemble cast and crew, who guarantee this performance will warm your heart and your toes (just try not to tap your feet during the heart-thumping choreography and powerful vocal performances).

Fifth-grader Everett Clarke plays Bruce, the shark who famously says, “Fish are friends, not food,” and Everett is confident that families will enjoy “Finding Nemo Jr.”

“When we put hard work into something at this school, we get a great result,” he said about Folger McKinsey. “We are just the best here. I have no other way to describe it. We have more enthusiasm, more craziness and more fun. When people come, we can show them that!”

Boidy is thrilled with the level of excitement felt by everyone in the production. “Enthusiasm is through the roof!” Boidy said. “All of these kids are naturals onstage, and they have taken to their parts so strongly!”

Brooke Harrison plays Professor Ray, a spotted ray who takes Nemo and other young sea creatures on adventures in the Great Barrier Reef and warns of the “drop off.” The fifth-grader said she loves playing Professor Ray because he’s smart and uses fancy words for everything. But what she loves most is being with her longtime friends to produce this magical production.

“Most of us have known each other for five years, so it’s really easy and fun to work together because we know each other really well,” Brooke said. “It’s so much fun to bring characters to life together with our friends.”

Boidy, known for his innovative approach toward productions many audiences have already seen, said creating a stage that is set underwater for much of the show lent itself to creative use of scale and puppetry like costuming and set design. With the help of a talented parent costume crew, Boidy said their challenge was to make kids look like fish without putting on costumes of the character. The custom-made costumes feature embellishments that help show the flowy, underwater nature of movement.

Despite being more than 20 years old, “Finding Nemo” is a story that continues to excite children and adults no matter how many times it has been viewed.

Auditions took place before Thanksgiving break last November, and every student who auditioned was given a role.

“I love this show because every single actor has a named part. Everybody has a solo. Everybody has a spoken line. Everyone has their shining moment. They all have something,” Boidy explained. “I think that is really important because it gives them ownership and autonomy in choices for their character. I encourage them to act as big and as hard as they possibly can.”

Fourth-grader Renner Riley plays Nigel, the leader of the pelicans. This is her first Folger McKinsey production. “This experience is just amazing. Everyone has talent!” she exclaimed. “The directors pulled everything together to ensure that this production is going to be amazing. Everyone deserves this!”

Nelly Mongello plays Pearl’s parent, a flapjack octopus in Professor Ray’s class. She summed up her experience and that of the entire cast and crew with a giggle. “Everyone worked really hard for this play,” she said. “But the set and the cast is really very fun. We have fun every day.”

Catch your “Finding Nemo Jr.” tickets before they swim away! Choose from three show times: Saturday, March 21, at 2:00pm or 7:00pm, or Sunday, March 22, at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at cur8.com/40303/project/137477.