The Crookston High School Drama Department will present the musical Little Shop of Horrors on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School auditorium. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students.
The three-act musical is being directed by Adrianne Winger and Allison (Reinhart) Richards, two Crookston High School alumni. Winger said practice has gone well, but they have had several hiccups along the way. “It’s gone pretty well. We didn’t have many people come out to audition. So we did pull some seventh graders up into parts that are needed, and they’re being amazing,” said Winger. “We’ve had some struggles with snow days, just like everything else. And we do have some students who are excelling and having amazing opportunities in other curricular events, like dance and Knowledge Bowl. FFA speech, and we’re so grateful and glad that they are involved in that, but that has taken them out of our practice. They’re very dedicated, they’re doing their best every night, they’re putting it all out there, and they are ready for a show.”
Zac Plante is a senior and plays Seymour Krelborn, and he said it has been a lot of fun. “The play practices, they’ve been long every day, but they don’t feel long at all to me. It just feels like hanging out and being able to enjoy time with my friends,” said Plante. “And I think that we are going to be ready. We’ve had some setbacks, and we’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations, but I think that we’re going to be ready by the time that the play is being performed.”
Plante added that it is more difficult than a normal play. “It definitely is a lot more work than just a normal play. There’s a lot of extra stuff that needs to be put into it. A lot of costume changes happen too,” said Plante. “It’s like a lot of just needing to memorize like harmonies, melodies, just a lot of note stuff, and like timings to come in, stuff like that. So it’s definitely more difficult.”
Another senior in the cast, Nashelle Tellez Vasquez, said it has been a great experience. “I love it. It’s really gotten everyone out of their comfort zones, boosting their confidence. It’s really just been a benefit for everybody. It has been a lot of fun,” said Tellez-Vasquez. “There were some minor setbacks and some stressful moments, but overall it’s just been an exciting process just going through every single day, going through the play. I’m so excited just to show everyone what we’ve made.”
Little Shop of Horrors is a big production, even with a plant that actually eats people! “Little Shop of Horrors is a huge, huge production. I don’t think many small-town schools even get the chance to perform something like this. It’s usually something collegiate,” said Richards. “I think giving this opportunity to the kids has been great, and they have kind of really come forward and been present and been able to develop their characters well and bring their own special flair to the characters, which I think is important when they have iconic characters that everyone knows to have their own little touch.”
Winger added that the kids have done a great job. “They’ve done amazing. They have done amazing. It is a small cast, so everyone that is out here is on stage pretty much all the time, whereas in a lot of the other large musicals, they might be out for a couple of scenes and not seen again,” said Winger. “I think they’re having a great time being on that stage and getting to show what they can do, which is what we want.”
The Little Shop of Horrors will run Friday and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School auditorium. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students.
CAST –
Chiffon – Jocelyn Johnson
Crystal – Peyton Krenzel
Ronnette – Summer Laundis
Mr. Mushnik – Ciaran Mulvey
Audrey – Nashelle Tellez Vasquez
Seymour Krelborn – Zac Plante
Orin Scrivello D.D.S. – Leah Johanneck
Audrey II (Puppeteer)/Prologue Narrator – Hayley Leckie
Audrey II (Voice) – Lily Olmstead
Mr. Bernstein – Stormy Luckow
Mrs. Luce – Keeva Kliner
Skip Snip – Evan Kofoed
Derelicts/Skid Row Occupants – Lily Olmstead, Keeva Kliner, Stormy Luckow, Evan Kofoed
PRODUCTION CREW –
Directors – Adrianne Winger and Allison (Reinhart) Richards
Light Board – Mollie Samueslon
Spotlight – Emilee Smith
Stagehands – Grant Moe and Becky Kofoed
Set – Rob Larson
