Wego Drama to bring 'Little Shop of Horrors' to life April 28-30
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Mikail Herrera of Winfield, left, as Mr. Mushnik, Philip Calabrese of Carol Stream as Seymour Krelborn, and Maggie Hancock of Carol Stream as Audrey, check out an exotic plant at Mushnick's Skid Row Flower Shop during rehearsal for "Little Shop of Horrors." Courtesy of Wego Drama
Wego Drama at West Chicago Community High School continues their 2021-2022 season with the return of live musicals.
"Little Shop of Horrors" will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, April 28-30, in Weyrauch Auditorium, 326 Joliet St., West Chicago. Reserved seat tickets are $8 or $5 for students, available at www.d94.org/littleshop or at the door.
"Little Shop of Horrors" is a hysterical comedy. It tells the tale of the people working at Mushnik's Skid Row Flower Shop who discover a new and exotic plant that can make magical things happen. The only problem is the plant thrives by consuming human blood. The antics in the shop will make the audience laugh a great deal.
Sophomore Alex Bradley, who plays a Skid Row dentist, states, "'Little Shop' is so funny. Every day we laugh in rehearsals."
Senior Grace Miller loves the show. "After being a part of Wego Drama for the last four years, I am so happy that we are doing this fun musical here at West Chicago."
"Little Shop of Horrors" features a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken. The success of this comedy musical later led to their classic Disney animated films, "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Aladdin."
In the off-Broadway musical, the meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names "Audrey II" after his co-worker crush. This foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it blood. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II's out of this world origins and intent toward global domination!
Vinny Lamantia states, "This musical is one that every member of the audience will love. I know that they will laugh so much at the show. It is what we need for bringing musicals back to West Chicago. Simply, come see it -- you'll be amazed."
The company of actors and crew for the show includes from Carol Stream: Reese Brandt, Philip Calabrese, Hailey Gutierrez, Maggie Hancock, Emily Heath, Sarah Larimer, Grace Leonard, Logan Reed, Alysa Solomon, Kathryn Wenberg and William Wenberg.
From West Chicago: Mariana Acosta, Sebastian Alarcon, Rebecca Alison, Alyssa Amabile, Michael Angeles, Kenya Bahena, Leo Barrientos, Alex Bradley, Miranda Bucio, Chris Correa, Pamela Cruz, Ava Fini, Chris Garcia, Daniel Guevara, Christina Guo, Ariana Hernandez, Andrea Hernandez, Esmerelda Hernandez, Dinah Humphrey, Sentia Irakoze, Enaya Kazmi, Vincent Lamantia, Daniela Luna, Ali Manspeaker, Alizee Marquez, Jocelyn Mercado, Grace Miller, Karidja Monjoro, Leah Nika, Romina Pietanza, Kaitlyn Pilon, Baron Plumlee, Jocelyn Ramirez, Jack Risconoscuto, Vincent Ross, Ryley Salazar, Nancy Sanchez, and Olivia Wesling.
From Winfield: Sasha Baumgartner, Ryan Blackburn, Hannah Brown, Carolyn Fleming, Mikail Herrera, Elizabeth Hurley, Avery Moffatt, Ryan Pencek, Liz Ryan, Mariah Varnado, Nic White, and Jaz Wilkins.
The Wego Drama production is directed by Mark Begovich, with technical direction by Christopher Jensen. Costume design is by Clare McKellaston with hair and makeup conceived by Jaime Elsa.
The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film by Roger Corman with a screenplay by Charles Griffith. It was originally produced by the WPA Theatre and later had a five-year run on off Broadway,
"Little Shop of Horrors" is produced through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York City.