Little Shop of Horrors entertains with songs and plants

Harlequin performed the musical “Little Shop of Horrors”, directed by seniors Jessica Atanas and Annie Hochheiser, last Wednesday through Saturday in Venable Theater to full audiences. The two-hour show was captivating and well-choreographed, with essentially no mistakes.

The show was set in a depressed urban environment where a nerdy florist named Seymour begins growing a new species of plant to appease his boss, a florist named Mushnik, and impress Audrey, the girl he loves. The plant, which Seymour names Audrey II, starts becoming famous and Mushnik’s shop gets plenty of new customers. But with the fame and success comes a plethora of problems, not the least of which is Audrey II’s increasing appetite for human flesh.

There were many amusing moments throughout the play. Mid-way through the first act, Hannah Sterrs, who played chorus girl Chiffon, made the audience applaud and laugh as she chased abusive dentist Orin Scrivello (played by Brycen Waters), off the stage and into the next musical number.

“The whole experience was amazing but the best part was definitely the cast,” sophomore Hannah Sterrs said. “We all came together and became really close. We all were one big family: the cast, crew, directors, everyone. It was a great experience all around and a pleasure to work with everyone all the way up until the end.”

The acting was quite convincing while still remaining comical. Mr. Mushnik, played by Benjamin Balon, was a perfect example of this. He interacted wonderfully with Seymour, played by Jonathan Kinney, up until the point where Seymour fed him to Audrey II.

The show featured 20 different songs, which were a lively mix of 50’s-era jazz, funk and rock.

Jacqueline Coughlin, as the voice of Audrey II, showed off a deep, impressive singing voice vastly different from the soprano she usually sings as. The plant went through four different phases as it grew, three of which were operated by The Beacon’s own Jessie Wright. The third phase was a large four-foot puppet with whip-like roots and a moving mouth. The fourth puppet was gargantuan, and took multiple people to move when changing scenes.

The band was half visible on the right side of the stage, and one could see the vigor they put into the music. Nick Raby was visible on the drums, banging out funky beats with his customary dance-in-his-seat energy.

“I am extremely impressed by the entire show, it is one of the best I have seen at MCLA,” junior Wesley St. Marie said. “The whole cast did such a great job. Everyone was doing their part to make the show fantastic. It was truly a team effort.”

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