CONNEAUT – There are aspects of school that are completely forgettable, then there are aspects that change everything about the high school experience.
The Conneaut Theatre Department’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” falls into the latter category.
“It has been, literally, life changing,” Natalia Bermudez-Colon, who played the role of Audrey, said. “The cast, the people here are just so awesome. It was just amazing to work with them and make all of it happen.”
The Conneaut High School Students performed “Little Shop of Horrors” once a day between Friday, March 20, and Sunday, March 22.
“It was so fun. I’m really sad it’s over, but I’m happy it happened,” Jackson Birt, who portrayed Seymour Krelborn, said. “It went really well. It’s a great show. I had a great time doing it.”
The students truly enjoyed performing the show.
“It was probably the most fun show I’ve ever had,” Sean Young, who played Orin Scrivello, DDS, said. “(I enjoyed) everything, the people, the cast, the pit, because I played trumpet for it, too.”
The show drew a good crowd for each performance throughout the weekend.
“We get, probably, about 200 to 300 people per show here in Conneaut,” Director Austin Blair said. “We got about 200 or so each night, which I’m very happy with.”
The actors appreciated performing for an audience.
“I feel like it’s a lot for me,” Bermudez-Colon said. “It’s very nice to see people come here and support the theater department, and see all the hard work that we put into it. The audience definitely helps us have a better show. We perform (better) when we have people watching us, because we want them to have as much fun as we are having.”
Sunday’s performance was the culmination of a long season for the department.
“It has been a whole lot of fun,” Blair, said. “This was a great rehearsal process and performances. It was a little rough around the edges going through the rehearsals with our snow days and illnesses and stuff, but that’s pretty much always.”
“It’s a 180 (degree change from rehearsals to performance) almost,” Blair continued. “When you’re not performing in front of people, you’re kind of just waiting for that energy to happen. When you don’t have an audience, it’s so much harder. And when they’re finally here and they’re reacting to things it’s like ‘Oh, yeah, I forgot that’s funny,’ or ‘That’s a good song.’ You hear all the cheering and it really revitalizes you. I’m just super proud of what they were able to do and how they accomplished it.”
The cast included Birt as Seymour Krelborn; Bermudez-Colon as Audrey; Conneaut Area City Schools teacher Tyler Pew as Audrey II; Aurelia Huya, Ella Elliott and Allison Lucas as The Street Urchins, Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon, respectively; Jonathon Carpenter as Mr. Mushnik; and Sean Young as Orin Scrivello, DDS. The ensemble included Mike Baldwin, Gabriella Collins, Annaliisa Curtiss, Meredith Irick, Larissa Plats and Theo Vaughn.
The production team included Blair as director and music director; Jason Walker as assistant director; Grant Bennett as technical director; Susan Trost as rehearsal accompanist/pianist; and Kenzie Bennett as stage manager.
Alizabeth Hayes, James Faidley, Gerhett Faidley and Lillianna Faidley served as puppeteers for the different iterations of Audrey II.
Birt, who played significant roles in a number of productions, became the leading man for “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“I feel I’ve become a lot better actor and a lot better singer,” Birt said. “I guess (I learned) I’m better than I thought I was. I really am proud of how I sing now. I feel I’m a lot better. I’m a lot more confident. Doing some of those really high, difficult songs I used to struggle with, now I can sing. I’m just fine. That’s something special me. I’m really happy I can do that now.”
Bermudez-Colon was tasked with singing two of the show’s most iconic songs.
“‘Somewhere That’s Green,’ I like to put emotion into it, because it is a very emotional song,” Bermudez-Colon said. “When you think about it, she wants all this stuff, and then ‘Suddenly, Seymour,’ is fun. I like belting out the notes and having a little duet.”
Young’s character, Orin Scrivello, DDS, is over the top if not outrageous and the student leaned into it.
“It’s a lot of fun because you get to be mean to people, and they can’t do anything about it,” Young said. “(Fully embracing the over-the-top nature of the character) just kind of happened. One day, Mr. Blair told me to laugh, and that came out.”
The CHS theatre production varied from the movie version of “Little Shop of Horrors” and Bermudez Colon enjoyed that part of her role.
“(I enjoyed) dying,” Bermudez-Colon said. “I like the scene where I die. I didn’t really anticipate that during rehearsals. I thought that was going to be the saddest part, I like being in the plant. The plant was a lot of fun.”
Other members of the cast enjoyed that scene, as well.
“That is a really good scene, her dying,” Birt said. “It’s really sad. It genuinely does make me sad, too. It’s sad. It is. She always wanted to get out of Skid Row. She never did.”
Carpenter also stepped into a larger role then he played in the past as he portrayed Mr. Mushnik.
“You’ve just got to do your thing on stage,” Carpenter said. “You’ve got to do what’s expected of you, learn your lines, learn what to do. Learn everything and it’ll all come together at the end.”
Carpenter enjoyed the process.
“I probably (enjoyed) learning it all (the most),” Carpenter said. “It’s just so much fun to learn, so much fun to sing. I (definitely) liked the scene in Mushnik’s (when the song ‘Ya Never Know’ was performed).”
“It’s been a blast, mainly because of the people the cast,” Carpenter continued. “It just makes it a great experience.”
As final bows were being taken, the students couldn’t help but feel a little sadness.
“I was really crying backstage a couple seconds ago,” Bermudez-Colon said. “This show, I love it a lot, and I’m really going to miss it now that it’s gone, but I’m really grateful that I was part of it.”
The cast and crew will miss the time they’d spent together throughout the winter months.
“It was definitely a sad moment,” Carpenter said. “All the people around here, it’s going to be hard not seeing them for the next few months.”
Blair was sure to extend his gratitude for the community support his department receives.
“We want to thank all of the sponsors we have from Conneaut, Dairy Queen, the Moose Lodge, the Elks, lodge the Eagles Club, the American Legion, all of these great businesses that just keep supporting theater because they want to see it,” Blair said. “They just want to keep seeing it grow like it has been. Our administration, the board (of education), as always, and I feel just very fortunate to keep being able to teach in a district that’s so supportive of the arts.”
