A plant with a talent for singing R&B and a voracious appetite for blood takes over the lives of Seymour, a floral assistant, and Audrey, his co-worker crush, in “Little Shop of Horrors,” at Leyden Township High Schools, March 10-13.
This is the third time that special education teacher and theater director Mark Bernstein has directed “Little Shop” at the school. It will also be his final directing project at Leyden after 27 years.
“I did it in 1999 and then I did it again in 2015 with a group of special education students,” Bernstein said. “It’s fun. The community loves it. It’s got comedy. It’s got a giant man-eating plant. It’s got great tunes. To me, it’s a perfect musical.”
Bernstein admitted that this show does present a challenge to his cast. “Even though it’s absurd and out there and bizarre, they’ve got to play the truth when they’re onstage,” he explained.
To give more students a chance to have a lead role, this show is double-cast.
West Leyden junior Beatriz Ruiz is one of the Audreys. “She’s kind of insecure because she has a relationship with an abusive boyfriend and he always puts her down,” Ruiz said. “So she thinks less of herself until she meets Seymour. That’s when she starts to realize what she’s worth.”
Ruiz is enjoying playing Audrey because of her dream. “She doesn’t want to be famous. She just wants to have a nice peaceful life and just be happy,” the actor said.
Athiana Moran, an East Leyden sophomore, also plays Audrey. “She is very adorable and also gullible,” Moran said. “She’s very open with her feelings. She’s a person that loves a lot even if she doesn’t get that kind of love in return.”
Moran is enjoying this role because, “I’ve never played a grown woman.”
Angel Morales, a junior at East Leyden High School, plays Seymour. “He’s definitely a very expressive character,” Morales declared. “His emotions are right out front. You can see what he’s thinking before he utters a line.”
Morales said that he enjoys playing every aspect of Seymour. “He’s completely honest,” the actor said. “He is genuinely a really nice guy. The music is awesome and the story is really good.”
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Seymour is also played by East Leyden Senior Joel Arreola. “This musical has been such a big influence on my love for theater,” Arreola said.
The actor said that Seymour is “a very klutzy sort of guy, very nerdy. He has the same desire for love that everyone has.”
Arreola enjoys the diversity of his character’s moods. “He has these moments where he’s very reserved most of the time. But then he has these great moments where he lets out all of his emotions,” the actor said. “That’s a really fun thing to play around with.”
Arthur Kot, a senior at East Leyden, will be out of sight but not out of mind because he is the voice of the man-eating plant Audrey II.
“I definitely wanted to be the plant because I really like the idea of voicing it,” Kot said, reporting that he studied for this role.
The actor added, “Towards the beginning of the play, Audrey II’s a bit hungry. It just wants to be nourished. Towards the end of the play, it becomes more cunning with how it gets its meals.”
He doesn’t mind not being onstage for this show.
“Of course I miss it because I have done musicals in the past where the role was onstage,” Kot related. “But this is sort of a unique experience because I don’t have to memorize any lines. But also, being close to the orchestra is fun.”
Bernstein concluded that with this production, as with any production he has directed at Leyden, “It’s about kids who have never done anything like this before discovering that they have something inside them that is waiting to get out. To watch that happen is a thrill.”
If You Go
‘Little Shop of Horrors’
When: 7 p.m. March 10-12 and 2 p.m. March 13
Where: West Leyden High School Auditorium, 1000 N. Wolf Rd., Northlake
Tickets: $5
Information: our.show/leydenlsoh
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press
