Actress now loves Ariel after playing her in Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'

Ariel wasn’t Leianna Weaver’s favorite Disney princess growing up.

But she sure is now. For Weaver’s starring as Ariel in the touring company of Disney's "The Little Mermaid," which comes to the Lied Center for Performing Arts starting Tuesday.

“I grew up loving Disney,” she said. “I think my personal favorite when I was a kid was ‘Mulan.’ I mean, I am Asian American, so that's really what I gravitated towards. I don't really know if I ever fully believed that I could be in a role like this. When the audition came and I got the appointment from my agent, I was like, ‘Oh, I really would love to do that.’ So it's become such a big dream since landing the role."

A San Diego native, Weaver studied acting at Cal State Fullerton and worked her way up through regional theater before she got the role in the Los Angeles-based touring production of the musical that ran on Broadway 16 years ago.

“It's not my first lead, but it is my biggest job I've done so far,” she said from L.A. on Monday. "It's really been surreal. It's been so much fun. It's been a huge challenge leading a show like this, especially with all the technical elements in the show, like the mermaids are swimming across the stage, so I'm flying and singing at the same time, which is the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

The flying and singing come in as the stage version of the Disney animated picture that was based on a Hans Christian Andersen story finds ways to create an illusory underwater world where Ariel, a young mermaid princess with a thirst for adventure, wants to explore the human world above the sea.

Against her father King Triton’s wishes, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to trade her voice for legs. The plot unfolds as Ariel navigates the human world, seeks true love with Prince Eric and battles Ursula’s dark forces.

“It's physical," Weaver said of acting as if she’s underwater. “There is constant movement that we do to signal to the audience that we're in the water. That kicks in subconsciously. But it is different. There are times where I have to, like, tell my brain, you know, OK, we're on land. You can ground yourself and you can hold your own right now."

That’s also where the flying comes in, allowing her to move around above the stage as if she’s going through water.

Flying and singing is no easy trick, as Pink, music’s top aerialist, has long demonstrated, once at a Pinnacle Bank Arena show getting hit by a loose strap while flying and gasping for air, only to quip “That’s how you can tell I’m not lip-synching.”

“I’m not lip-synching either,” Weaver said. “It’s hard. It's a lot of stamina. But eventually I don't really think about it anymore. It's become kind of second nature. I can't imagine singing “Part of Your World” any other way. It needs to be up in the air or in the water, you know. So it is hard, but it has set in, luckily, as muscle memory at this point.”

“Part of Your World” is one of the handful of songs from the movie that have been incorporated into the production, which added two dozen more to turn it into a musical.

With the tour, Weaver, who’s received strong reviews for her performance and singing, is taking a step up, personally and professionally.

“This is produced by McCoy Rigby, so we started at La Mirada Theater in California,” Weaver said. “That is the theater that I have looked up to so much as a Southern California actor. So reaching that stepping stone felt huge for me. Then the fact that this show is getting to tour a little bit is another huge stepping stone for me.”

The company was in rehearsals Monday as they prepare to come to Lincoln for a six-day, eight-show run, one of the final stops on the company’s tour.

“I'm just gonna try to soak it all in for the last couple months that we have it,” Weaver said. “It’s already brought me so much. All the people I've met through the show, that alone is enough for me. I don't really know what's next right now. But I'm grateful for whatever comes after and just for this experience now.”