With spring almost here, the annual musical is also getting closer to its premiere date. This year, The Nightingale Theater Company will be performing Little Shop of Horrors and the actors, musicians, and stage crew are now preparing the show for its April curtain call.
Musical Director and interim Acting Assistant Principal of English Ryan Dunbar spoke to The Classic about his expectations and hopes for the play — as well as some current obstacles to be overcome.
“I think our theater program is growing, and every year we get a little bit better, so I have high expectations for Little Shop of Horrors this year. With this particular show, one of the biggest challenges is the puppetry, but I do have faith in the students we have and I think we’ll be able to do it,” Mr. Dunbar said.
The musical tells the story of Seymour Krelborn, who discovers Audrey II, a mysterious, one-of-a-kind plant species from another planet. When Seymour learns about the plant’s horrific bloody diet and demands, the plant eventually grows from a generic flowerpot to a giant plant monster, taking up the entire stage, and seeks world domination. “Fortunately, we have an Audrey II puppet on loan,” said Mr. Dunbar, “and that saved us a ton of money.”
Alongside the Audrey II puppet will be a cast of humans from the THHS theatre community.
Senior Julia Waters, a returning lead actress for three years, said, “[The musical is] just something that I have always wanted to do every year. I love singing, performing, my friends, Mr. Dunbar, Mr. Schwab [the co-director], and Mr. Heathwood [the musical director]. So, I just really like the community of people.”
Senior Ethan Ben David, this year’s lead actor, shared his feelings about performing in the school musical for the first time: “I like how close-knit a lot of the people are at Nightingale […] While I do wish that I joined earlier, I have had less free time in prior years, so doing this senior year worked out perfectly.”
Sophomore Lukas Cooper, a second-year returning actor playing a supporting role this year, said, “The thing that made me come back was the people. I had so many fun experiences last year hanging out with the cast and that was the main reason why I came back to do that all again.”
Freshman Benjamin Wilkinson, who is also playing a supporting role in his first THHS production said, “My middle school never offered drama, so it’s incredible to be making my school theater debut as Mr. Mushnik here at THHS. I saw The Addams Family last year and […] I saw a great group that seemed to love to be around each other. […] I feel like the community now is very welcoming and I’m having a great time.”
While the cast is excited, Stage manager Heidy Estrada is getting ready for the stresses of bringing it all together. “I’m expecting a lot of puppet work, given we have a humongous puppet,” Heidy said. She also anticipates long rehearsals and lots of work. Nonetheless, despite all of that, she does share in the excitement as well.
“I’m just really excited to see this show come together,” she said.
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