By Arielle Hughes
Nepean High School’s theatre course is closing in on its opening night for Little Shop of Horrors, a musical written by Charles B Griffith.
Featuring students from the program alongside an 11-foot-tall plant built for the show, the actors say this production is going to stand out.
Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy about a flower shop assistant named Seymour, played by Saul Felman, who discovers an unusual plant, played by Samuel Lafortune, that only feeds on human blood. The plant attracts a great deal of business for the struggling store, but its thirst for blood only increases as time goes on.
“I think that the humour of the show is going to be really great and the audience is going to laugh a lot,” said Maddy Seatter, who’s playing Chiffon, one of the shows three main narrators.
“I like how it tells a story about sincere characters without taking yourself too seriously,” Felman added
The show has been in production since November 2022, and every aspect of the show from sets to costumes and lighting is done by the students.
“I love that we do all of our production and costumes and sets and props in house. And so I want everyone to keep a look out for what we’re wearing, what we’re using, the rooms that we’re in, because they do take a lot of work” said Maria Delaney, who plays Audrey, the shows main female lead.
This show is aimed at an audience which enjoys a big spectacle with catchy music, a lot of humour and with Motown or soul energy.
The cast has a sense of community and encouragement, with everyone agreeing that the best part of being part of the show is the friends and connections they’ve made.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to spend time with people who are like-minded, people like you who all like theatre and performing” said Grady McVey, who plays Mr. Mushnik.
For a lot of these students it’s their last performance before graduation. With the loss of high school years to COVID lockdowns, they are itching to get on stage and perform again.
“This has been the big Holy Grail,” said Delaney. “You know, after COVID, we can do a musical and we’re able to sneak on in. A lot of us are graduating high school this year so this was really our last chance to be able to have a big production like this.”
The opening night is April 26, with performances following on the 27, 28 and 29. Tickets are available on the Nepean High School website and at the door for $20. Children under 12 are free.