Audrey II getting ready to stir up 'Little Shop'
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

JACKSON -- With a cry of "Feed me, feed me," a man-eating plant will take to the stage at Jackson Liberty High School for the new school's  first major production.

Joining the hungry plant, Audrey II, will be the cast of "Little Shop of Horrors," directed by Nicole Mathias with the assistance of Roger Schneider.

Mathias and Schneider are teachers at Jackson Liberty.

"The kids are working so hard to make sure this is a great show," Mathias said. "I think the public will be very pleased with the performance and with the energy they have. I'm very proud of them."

"Little Shop of Horrors" will be performed at Jackson Liberty on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be $10 at the door.

Jackson Liberty is on North Hope Chapel Road, just north of Cooks Bridge Road and south of New Central Avenue.

"Little Shop of Horrors" started as a dark comedy film in 1960 with a screenplay by Charles Griffith and directed by Roger Corman.

The story became a Broadway musical in 1982 with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

"Little Shop of Horrors" was made into a musical film in 1986. Rick Moranis, Vincent Gardenia, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin starred in the film. Frank Oz directed the movie.

In the Jackson Liberty production, Seymour Krelbourn, played by sophomore Jordan Gochman, is a poor young man working at a run-down flower shop on skid row when he encounters a miracle. He discovers an alien plant after a total eclipse of the sun.

After bringing the plant to the flower store, Seymour gains fame, fortune and love. The only problem with the story is that the plant feeds on human blood.

Seymour and the plant make a deal: If the plant continues to bring Seymour positive attention, he will continue to feed the plant human bodies. Eventually, the evil plant eats Seymour, his close friends and acquaintances.

"Seymour is the nerd in all of us," said Gochman, who has been acting since he was 5 and who was in last year's production of "Footloose" at Jackson Memorial High School. "He's just so eager to please because he doesn't have much of a social life and he is always trying to impress people so he can feel like they are his friends."

The cast also includes sophomore Jillian Robinson as Audrey. Robinson has been in chorus for years, but she is a newcomer to the stage.

"Audrey is kind of ditsy and finds herself getting mistreated by men who take advantage of her," Robinson said. "It's fun to play someone totally different from yourself."

Sophomore Paul Maier (Mr. Mushnik) said he is looking forward to the audience's reaction when the plant that Seymour finds ends up eating people.

"It is this huge plant, 6 feet long," he said. "It makes for a great special effect and I think the audience will love it."
Also a newcomer to the stage, Maier said he is looking forward to sharing the play with the public.

"It actually has a good message in it about not succumbing to greed," he said. "But mostly it's just very funny and it's a very clever story. People will definitely have a good time if they come and see it."

Also in the cast are freshman Andrew Taylor (Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.) and sophomore Rachel Gill, who will play the role of Crystal. Ronnette will be portrayed by sophomore Brittany Jacobson and Chiffon will be played by sophomore Nicole Milillo.

Featured in the production will be the voice of Audrey II, the bloodthirsty plant, which will be voiced by freshman Dylan Kaplan. Sophomore Jordan DiZenzo will be the animator of the huge Audrey II.

Musical selections will include "Some-where That's Green," "Suddenly Seymour" and the title song "Little Shop of Horrors."

The design and production manager for the Jackson Liberty production of "Little Shop of Horrors" is art teacher Jessica Ventrello and the construction crew manager is teacher Todd Engle.