Hopefully you had the chance to go out and see the classic 1982 musical, Little Shop of Horrors, at Shawnee last weekend! I’d like to thank everyone who worked on the production, from cast, pit, crew, and directors, for putting on a spectacular show, especially a big shout-out to Mrs. Roth, the director, Mrs. Kehl, the music director, Mrs. Atmore, the stage director, and Mr. Frank, the technical director .
In case you missed the production or needed a review, Little Shop of Horrors is a horror-comedy rock musical and was composed by Alan Menken. The show had many interesting moments, from funny to suspenseful. This show had a twist with some horror elements that Shawnee hadn’t seen in its previous shows. The characters were outstanding, with spectacular actors from our own Shawnee cast playing their parts outstandingly, Seymour Krelborn, Audrey Fulquard, and more. We even had a voice actor for Audrey II, who sat in the pit with a microphone, to evoke life into Audrey II, the giant alien plant.
The most notable aspect of the show was definitely the Audrey IIs. The process consisted of three separate Audrey IIs. The first Audrey II was a puppet that stood atop the counter with a hole underneath. The off-night Seymor would sit under the table and move the puppet to mimic life to it. Once Audrey II was fed and began to grow, then came the larger Audrey II. This one was much bigger than the hand-held puppet and required the off-night Seymor to go inside to move it. The process involved numerous people backstage helping off-night Seymour go into the plant, and then it required a few people to get it onto the stage. The third and final Audrey II is the most massive one out of the three. It was placed onto the stage during intermission with the help of a vast number of people. This Audrey II was controlled by a separate cast member. One interesting insight of the largest Audrey II is that while one person remains in it at all times, other cast members such as Seymour, Audrey, and Mushnik go into the plant once they are eaten. They then crawl through it and exit out from the back and into a door to get backstage. The process of setting up and operating the Audrey II’s couldn’t have been pulled off without the amazing help of the stage crew and the cast who worked with it.
Little Shop of Horrors had lots of creative aspects that engaged and entertained audiences, including its practical special effects, and of course, its cast of amazing actors and musicians. In case you missed the chance to go see the fall musician or are waiting for the next SHS production, make sure you go see Shawnee’s production of Newsies in the winter.
