KM’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ swings for the fences

Kasson-Mantorville High School is putting on “Little Shop of Horrors” April 23 through May 9. Play director Mel Ferris said because of COVID-19, she and her drama team selected a play that could be done with fewer actors than their normal cast of 65 kids, 25 in the stage crew, backstage parents and a full pit orchestra of 25.
“We chose what we felt was the right show for this moment,” Ferris said. “The show could be performed by as few as eight actors, though we chose to expand up to 17 students, and it has a really small pit orchestra of five people.”
“Almost everyone who likes theatre has heard of the show or seen the 1986 movie, so we knew people would want to come to see the show,” she said.
KM’s play is based on the original 1982 version of the musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. It is based on the 1960 movie by Roger Corman. There was a movie version of the musical made in the 1980s with Rick Moranis as Seymour and Ellen Greene as Audrey, but KM’s version has a different ending from the actual stage musical. “Not everyone lives ‘happily ever after’ in this version,” Ferris said.
“Little Shop of Horrors” has “excellent name recognition,” Ferris said. “The show also provides a great opportunity for the kids. When you really start to look deeper at the story, it provides a lot of opportunities to talk about the moral aspects of the characters and what was going on in America in the early 1980s.”
 “The show is also really challenging for the tech kids for many reasons. The set is a little more complicated, there are a lot more props, there will be a lot of lighting effects, and well, there are giant man-eating plants to contend with as well.”
 
Ferris said the play is different in that it’s not your standard Disney musical. This is a high school production, so unlike the fall musicals they have done in the past, this one contains some naughty language, a scene with domestic violence and drug abuse, and some situations that some people might find a little disturbing. “It’s definitely not a princess musical for young ones,” Ferris said.
“But everything is done in a very campy style, so while the material could be really serious if it was presented as a straight play, the way the story is told with the music and overly large characters makes it a comedy that makes you think.”
Ferris said the play is going surprisingly well. The kids are all working really hard to learn the music, which is more complicated than past shows with a lot of three-part harmonies, and the lines. The KM Drama Booster volunteers have been working on the set, props, and costumes, which are coming along well.
“I think people are going to be really impressed with the quality of the show and the talent on and off the stage,” Ferris said.
“Little Shop of Horrors” will play live onstage in the Minnesota WiFi Performing Arts Center at KM High School on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m., and then again on Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, May 2 at noon. The show will be streamed on the Internet the following weekend, on May 7 and May 8 at 7 p.m., and May 9 at 2 p.m.
Ferris said they expect to seat at least 400 people per performance, unless Covid guidelines change. For information on how to buy tickets, follow the KM Drama Boosters Facebook page or the KM High School Drama activity web page.
Tickets for the spring play go on sale online and at the box office on April 5.
 
 
Cast of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
Seymour, Lead: Gabe Bungum; Understudy: Kaiden Beliveau
Audrey, Lead: Lydia Gillis; Understudy: Greta Wright
Audrey II, Lead: Hannah Olson; Understudy: Julia Christenson
Mushnik, Lead: Julia Christenson; Understudy: Ethan Barnum
Orin, Lead: Ethan Barnum; Understudy: Victoria Reese
Crystal, Lead: Olivia Smith; Understudy: Megan Giese*
Chiffon, Lead: Rachel Tuma; Understudy: Paige Vogel*
Ronette, Lead: Greta Wright; Understudy: Victoria Reese
Customer, Lead: Allie Eggler*; Understudy: Mia Pappas
Bernstein, Lead: Kaiden Beliveau*; Understudy: Chelsea Pierick
Mrs. Luce, Lead: Chelsea Pierick*; Understudy: Megan Giese
Skip Snip, Lead: Victoria Reese*; Understudy: Molly Bartz
Patrick Martin, Lead: Molly Bartz*; Understudy: Mia Pappas
Radio Announcer, Lead: Mia Pappas*; Understudy: Allie Eggler
Skid Row People*, Lucy Anderson, Brooklyn Reding, Emma Wilson and everyone with a * by their name