From the opening note struck by the doo-wop girls (played by junior Morgan Josef, senior Haley Flannery, sophomore Zoe Sherman, and sophomore Carly Shick) to the ending crash of the pit crew's drummer, Little Shop of Horrors never missed a beat.

   Directed by Brian Bertram, Little Shop of Horrors was the second production in our new performing arts center. The play centers around Seymour Krelborn, played by junior Joe Barch, a lowly flower shop employee who has only ever known life on Skid Row, a dumpy looking place where bums can congregate in their self pity. While Seymour hates working for the shop’s owner Mrs. Mushnik (played by senior Kylie DeHaven) he finds enjoyment in tinkering with a hybrid plant he calls "Audrey II," voiced by senior David Kearns and operated by junior Lily Huntzicker, named after his co-worker Audrey, played senior by Heather Priedhorskey.

    "I feel like my teaching style, and my directing style are extremely similar, in the fact that I bring a lot of energy," said director Brian Bertram 

   Despite the shop's economic challenges, Seymour is confident that putting this strange and unusual plant on display will attract business. Much to Mrs. Mushnik's surprise, the plant makes the shop more noticeable and business skyrockets. With all the sudden success, Seymour and Audrey II gain notoriety and the plant continues to grow, eventually becoming bloodthirsty, and will stop at nothing to get even a few precious drops of blood.

   "My favorite part was when Seymour was trying to kill the plant," said sixth grader Miranda Esser.

   With the pit band playing exceptionally well (lead by Jody DeHaven), the music added an element of drama and suspense that made the play intriguing. (Ensemble including junior Shay Morris-Doty on guitar, senior Heidi Christensen on bass, sophomore Nolan Hamar on drums and freshman Ryan DeHaven on piano). The make-up, the set, and all the different lighting were superb and added to the performance's overall success.

   Overall, Little Shop of Horrors was nearly perfect. The only thing that could have been better is the fact that there were some microphone problems throughout, but the story was still excellent.

   As junior Morgan Josef (who played do-wop girl Chiffon) adds, "The show is only as good as the time and energy you put into it, and I think that our efforts really showed."