Notre Dame revives Little Shop of Horrors
Production of popular musical brings both comedy and horror to the stage
Notre Dame College School is bringing a blast from the past to its theatre stage with its production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Jackie Breton, arts chair and drama teacher at the Welland Catholic high school said the school has put on a musical every year for the past nine years, but this one is different.
Originally written in the 1980s and set in the 1960s, the musical is both a horror and comedy piece, she said. To her, this is one of the reasons people still love it all these years later.
That’s certainly one of the draws for Owen Demers. The 17-year-old plays Seymour Krelbourn, keeper of the carnivorous Venus flytrap-esque plant called Audrey II, named after his love interest Audrey.
Audrey, the human, is played by Sydney Bergevin, 17.
Both leads agreed on Monday, at the first dress rehearsal, that it’s been a lot of hard work putting the production together. But that’s not to say it hasn’t been enjoyable
From auditions, to learning lines and lyrics, and being part of the experience, they agree it’s been a lot of fun. Everyone in the cast and on the crew has become close, and Bergevin said people will even be singing along to the songs in the hallways or in class.
“We all turn into the biggest theatre nerds ever,” she said.
The notoriety of Little Shop of Horrors is a big plus. Demers said when they mention what production they’re working on, people typically chime in with the line, “Feed me, Seymour!”
Part of that infamy is thanks to the 1986 film of the same name starring Rick Moranis.
Breton said, however, that the school is sticking strictly to the original musical version, which is a bit different than the film.
She said work on the musical has been ongoing since October, starting with the leads and then building from there. In total, 41 students are a part of the cast.
“They’re having a blast and are super talented,” she said.
Many more teachers and students have also put time and effort into making the musical a success, said Breton.
Saint Francis Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines has also had a hand in making the production what it is. The plant puppets seen on stage are borrowed from Saint Francis’ drama collection.
Breton said there are three puppets in total: two hand puppets and then a full-body puppet.
People will be able to see the play from April 12 to April 15 in the Leon Theatre at the school. April 12 to April 14, the shows will be at 7 p.m.; on April 15, the show starts at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults. Breton said tickets are available at ncdsb.schoolcashonline.com under the items tab or at the school’s main office.