The lights dim as the curtains slowly open to reveal the set of the Manhattan High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors” set, one unlike any other they have had before.
The Theater Department’s fall play opened last weekend with a small cast and a lot of spirit. This show served as a musical within the usual fall play spot, a shorter amount of time than regular musicals, leading to lots of hard work and dedication in preparing for the show.
“I’m looking forward to the interactions that the crowd and the cast have together during the show because of how personally interactive the show is,” said junior Jaxson Velasco, who played Bernstein.
Velasco noted the sense of community and friendship that came along with this small cast and crew. The crew members have been working many long nights after school to create the unique set and atmosphere for the musical.
“We need to add a lot of decoration and make it look really pretty and aesthetically pleasing during this week,” said senior Emmaly Hagemeister, who was lights and Aundrey II crew head. “Making everything, putting finishing touches on just about everything so it fits perfectly.”
Cast members and crew have stayed after school, late into the night for many weeks to perfect everything for the show. Things like cleaning up acting and songs, the movable (man-eating) Audrey II puppet, and the live pit on top of the set.
“I get lots of opportunities to have fun and come up with my own blocking and changing some of the songs and having more fun with it,” junior Bryce Hutchinson, Audrey II in the play, said. “[I’ve been] making the character my own, and that’s a lot of fun.”
A key part of this show is the intensive choreography. The theater department brought in a new choreographer for this show, Paige McLaughlin, who worked with all of the cast to create a funny, memorable and interesting choreography for the entire show.
“[My favorite part is] Definitely dancing, the dancing director, Paige, is a lot of fun to work with. Songs like ‘Grow for Me’ are some of my favorites to perform because of the choreography,” senior Micah Pape, who played Seymour, said.
There were many steps in production for the alien plant puppet used in the show.
“I’d say my favorite part is probably testing the plant once it’s fully built,” Hagemeister said. “It looks good, and it’s functional for the final production. It is great getting to run tests with it, and having people actually go through it and practice getting eaten by it.”
The musical has also gathered together a live pit on stage to play the music along with cast vocals. This pit was made up of Dawn Anderson on piano, Cody Toll on bass and Jay Koupal on drums.
“I get to sit up with the pit for most of the show, and they’re very talented,” Hutchison said. “I love working with them. It gives us even more creative freedom with our songs.”
The cast had a connection that was unlike any other, all being close and enjoying each other’s company. Before opening night cast members and crew got together to have pot luck, something quite unique for shows like this. Members of the cast and crew brought food items and all ate together in the drama room right before getting ready to be up on stage.
In total they had 547 people buy tickets for the show all weekend, making a grand total of roughly $6,300.
“Little Shop went really well,” senior Julianna da Silva, the character Crystal, said. “I’m so proud of all of my cast and crew. We all put all of our blood, sweat and tears into this show and it truly showed by the end of closing night.”
