Large cast, lots of laughs in Aurora University's 'Little Shop of Horrors'
Aurora University's spring musical has something for everyone: a great score, singing and dancing, a love story, and a menacing plant seeking world domination that feeds on human blood.
When Stacy Searle, assistant professor of theater and coordinator of musicals at Aurora University, was deciding on the spring musical, she chose “Little Shop of Horrors” for a number of reasons.
“I felt it got many students engaged. It's a large cast with many different types of characters to sing and dance,” she said. “It's also going to bring together the music department and the theater department.
The show opens Friday, March 31, with performances at 7:30 p.m. March 31, April 1, April 5-8, and additional 2:30 p.m. shows April 1 and 8. Performances are at the Perry Theatre in the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley Center for Cultural Enrichment, 349 S. Gladstone Ave., Aurora. Admission is free, but audience members are asked to register at aurora.edu.
Not only are there a large number of roles in the musical, but “Little Shop of Horrors” is probably the only Broadway musical that features an ever-growing, cannibalistic plant from outer space that threatens life as we know it. This dangerous plant is depicted by puppets created by Tavia DeFelice of St. Charles.
The plant, named Audrey 2, is owned by a poor shop worker named Seymour, played by Ricky Rivera of Aurora, who's in love with the human Audrey, played by Liza Scheidler of Aurora. It is operated by two people: Emily Defelice-Curran of St. Charles controls the smaller, friendlier versions; the larger Audrey 2 is manipulated by Zac Mirabelle of Chicago, who inhabits the last two puppets as it grows and turns murderous.
At first, Mirabelle wasn't sure of what he was in for.
“It's my first time doing puppeteering,” he said. “I didn't know how the plant worked; that there was a separate actor for the voice.”
It was a challenge for Mirabelle because once inside the puppet, he could no longer see and had to develop methods to coordinate his performance with the people on stage, including learning Audrey 2's songs.
“I spent a lot of time with Lea (Wantuch of Sugar Grove), who voiced the plant,” he said. “It allowed me to anticipate so the mouth matches her voice.”
Mirabelle finds it a little more challenging when the plant begins to feed on the characters.
“I have to work with the people being eaten to make it look realistic,” he said.
Ben Donahue, who plays Orin, a sadistic dentist, is pleased that members of the cast have told him they are glad to witness his grisly death, courtesy of Audrey 2.
“I'm being congratulated because they hate the dentist,” he said. “They say, ‘I relish the part where you die in the show. Not because you're you, you're a very nice person, but when you're Orin? I can't wait for you to die.'”
It took some time for Donahue to speak the dialogue of his character without wincing.
“When we first started, he's obviously a bad guy, he's very physically and emotionally abusive,” he said. “So there are some uncomfortable words. It took me about a week to say some of the things that the dentist says. I had to detach myself and then it became easier.”
Donahue also delivers a highlight of the production, a song called “Dentist!” sung iconically by Steve Martin in the 1986 movie version of the 1982 play.
“I wanted to take some inspiration from Steve Martin because people know that,” he said. “But I wanted to put my own spin on it or there wouldn't be any creative fun.”
Because performers might be intimidated and influenced by the well-known actors in the movie, Searle didn't encourage viewing it.
“The people in it are so iconic that you can't even think about replicating them, not only because it's not good for their education, but I think people might almost be disappointed if it's almost Steve Martin,” Searle said. “I'd almost rather the characters are completely different, but cool though.”
Searle found casting Donahue as Orin to be one of her easiest choices.
“This young man is such a good actor,” she said. “I was able to give him a part that is actor-focused that not only needs to have comedic timing, but allows him to switch into a complete psychopath within seconds. It's challenging to be able to keep that realistic.”
The musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, sticks with the Broadway ending, despite some grumbling in previous productions.
“When they did the movie, the test audience was furious about the end of the play, so they changed to it for the movie, but we're going with the original one,” said Searle.
Even so, audiences should love the show, according to Donahue.
“I think it's a great show, and I don't think anyone will walk away disappointed.”
If you go
What: Aurora University's spring musical, “Little Shop of Horrors”
When: Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31-April 1; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, April 5-8, with additional shows at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 and 8
Where: Perry Theatre in the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley Center for Cultural Enrichment, 349 S. Gladstone Ave., Aurora
Admission: This event is free. Reservations are taken at <a href="http://alumni.aurora.edu/s/1512/artsandideas/start-cai.aspx?sid=1512&gid=1&pgid=841">auartsandideas.com</a>.