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Little Shop of Horrors
by Marcos de Niza Performing Arts
Little Shop of Horrors is the musical spoof based on
the 1960 Roger Corman film, stuffed with delectable dark comedy and featuring a
great musical score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (The Little Mermaid,
Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin). The tale stems from when the meek and nerdy
Seymour finds a strange and unusual plant that resembles a flytrap, although he
hasn’t been able to find the exact species in any books covering terrestrial
foliage. This peculiar plant seems to bring him and his employer all manner of
good luck, turning their empty floral shop on skid row into a thriving
enterprise with profits out of this world, all while love blooms between Seymour
and his coworker Audrey who dreams of getting out of skid row to live Somewhere
That’s Green. Unfortunately, Audrey’s namesake plant, the Audrey II,
demands a steady supply of nutrients from something that’s red. The Production: Director Patrick
McChesney and the Marcos de Niza Performing Arts staged a big, splashy, fun,
and at times serious production of Little
Shop of Horrors with a deeply talented cast. Zack Mauck and Jordan Scott
lead it as Seymour and Audrey. Zack captures all facets of his character as the Sam De la Osa
transforms himself into an appropriately middle-aged man as shop owner Mr.
Mushnik, connivingly adopting Seymour in a memorable Mushnik & Son cleverly choreographed by Amanda Paige. J. Cole Shryock
embraces his inner sadist as the dentist boyfriend, infatuated with his dull,
antique drill, frantically chasing Seymour in It’s Just the Gas while using dental instruments to try to pry off
a stubborn gas mask. Avery Jones is
the voice of Audrey II, his remarkable vocals and personality shining through as
he eggs Seymour on in Get It and
taunts in his hungry Suppertime, the
enormous plant puppet animated expertly by Dominic
Bonelli and Grant Pompa. Guiding
us through it all are the dynamic talents of Reina Montalbo, Emily
Spindler, and Peiton Bursh who
narrate with charm and style. While the cast as a whole makes the most of their
time on stage including getting things going with a passionate lament of life on
Skid Row, and wrapping it up with an
even more passionate plea of Don’t Feed
the Plants. They do it all amongst the eye-popping sets designed by Jeff Dobbs featuring a big shop set that swivels around as well as multi-level tenement apartments and dilapidated storefronts. Complementing it all are good costumes by Susan Eidson, period hair by Marianne Webb, Amanda Paige’s choreography energizing throughout, and an impressive student orchestra. To completely enmesh us into the events we have just witnessed, the night ends with vines dropping from the rafters to dangle threateningly among the audience. Performed March 5-8, 2014 Rob Hopper ~ Cast ~
Add Artist Page Seymour: Zack Mauck Director: Patrick McChesney
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The Show:
amusingly meek Seymour who excels in singing, dancing, and acting – his
conscience nagging at him as he sets up some murders, growing angry when Audrey
is abused by her boyfriend, and getting romantic for their Suddenly Seymour duet (that begins with Zack taking off his glasses,
and getting momentarily dizzy after he does so). Jordan also shines in Suddenly
Seymour and throughout with strong vocals and acting – a darker, more real
and vulnerable Audrey than usual. 
Audrey: 