As the lights came up in the Reilly theatre, three silhouettes came into view as the opening notes of “Little Shop of Horrors” began to play. Chiffon, Crystal and Ronnette played by journalism senior Gabi Taylor, social work junior Jasmine Garrison and studio art senior Nya Skipper opened the show as they harmonically sang the prologue together.
The cast of Little Shop of Horrors began rehearsals in early December. The LSU Musical Theatre Club put on the show from Feb. 1–4.
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“I loved the musical,” landscape architecture freshman Noelia Anne Borkowski said. “Literally jaw dropped the first half of the act because I did not even know what to expect. The performers were amazing. The music was amazing. Everyone should have come. If you didn’t, then you missed out. I’m very happy that I came.”
Under the guidance of first-time director and LSU graduate, Calla Harper, the cast and crew worked hard to put forth their own take on the widely-known musical. Harper said that figuring out how to help the cast portray the characters in the show how they wanted to creatively, and not as boxed-in stereotypes, was the most challenging part of the production.
“I just wasn’t really interested in playing into those stereotypes, specifically because it’s just not as interesting to watch,” Harper said. “I wanted to show all these real-life situations and give that respect and make sure that everyone in the cast is doing that and thinking about that when they’re making choices.”
It was also Harper’s idea to create a fundraiser called Little Shop Gives Back that ran throughout the course of the show with proceedings that went to Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless, which supports the homeless population of Baton Rouge. The club collected items and money during the day and at each performance to donate to the CAAH. By Sunday night, their GoFundMe received $205 in donations.
“I noticed the homeless are represented in Little Shop and it caused me to look at the homeless statistics in Baton Rouge,” Harper said. “I think musical theater in general is a really good place to connect hearts and minds. I think Little Shop is a perfect example of it because it’s a classic musical. All the kids in the Musical Theatre Club are so passionate, and so I just knew that I just felt like it would be a really good fit for them.”
The show is set in a plant shop on a street named Skid Row. The main character Seymour works under Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the shop. Seymour discovers a new plant species and throughout the show the audience watches his rise to fame and its consequences. Seymour was played by psychology junior Thomas Becnel.
“Seymour Kilbourne is kind of like the quintessential doofus,” Becnel said. “He is the epitome of someone who has nothing, came from nothing and kind of gets immersed in this world of getting everything that he wants and then falling victim to those who are telling him what he wants to hear and giving him what he wants to manipulate him into doing other things.”
Audrey II, or the infamous plant in the show, was played by theatre performance freshman Ashari Harper who found that getting into character was difficult at first.
“Usually when you are on stage more than I was, you get a chance to get the chemistry and build chemistry with other characters,” she said. “I had to build my chemistry backstage. It was a lot of mentally preparing myself to be villainous, and I’m not villainous. Once I got on stage, it was also like, ‘this is your five minutes of fame so do what you got to do.’”
PHOTOS: LSU Musical Theatre Club puts on “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Reilly Theatre
The Musical Theatre Club is a place where students can both explore themselves creatively and also build strong bonds with fellow performers. Becoming a villainous plant or a dorky leading character is no easy feat, but with support from each other, cast members were able to pull off the show seamlessly.
“I decided to join (the club) last year,” Becnel said. “Since then, I’ve made some amazing friends and connections. I’ve just found a place where I can express myself through an art form that I love.”
As for future Musical Theatre Club events, the club will be holding their annual Singeaux on April 12 in the Union Theatre.
