University of Charleston's
Department of Speech and
Drama
in conjunction with
The Department of Music
And Theatre Aside
presents
Thursday, November 5
& Saturday, November
7,
1998
8:00 PM
Geary Auditorium
Little Shop of Horrors
Books and Lyrics by
Music by
Howard Ashman
Alan Menken
Based on the film by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffith
Originally produced by the WPA Theatre
(Kyle Renick, Producing Director)
Originally produced by at the Orpheum Theatre, New York City
by the WPA Theatre, David Geffen, Cameron Macintosh and the Shubert Organization
Vocal Arrangements By Orchestrations By
Robert Billig Robby Merkin
Puppets Designed By Martin P. Robinson
Produced by special arrangements with Music Theatre
International.
Little Shop of Horrors was originally directed by Howard Ashman
with Musical Staging by Edie Cowan
There will be one 10-minute intermission between acts.
Audience members are requested to refrain from
taking flash photographs during the performance. Please
turn off all alarm watches, cell phones, beepers and pagers during the performance.
The videotaping of this production is a violation of United
States Copyright Law and is an actionable Federal offense.
Director: Stephen A. Schrum
Costumes Designer: Dianna L. Bourke
Dramatis Personae:
Ronnette...................................Britany
Fisher
Crystal...................................Beth
McKinnon
Chiffon.................................Mandy
Marchani
Mushnik.................Stephen Anthony
Beasley
Audrey.....................................Mandy
Kinder
Seymour.................................E.
Ryan Helton
Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.............Dave
McBrayer
Audrey II.....................................Brian
Roller
Interviewer/Bernstei...........Suzanne
Lawrence
Agent........................................Kamisha
Hart
Customer...............Mariela Soledad
Gonzalez
Baglady....................................Morgan
Elliott
Woman in the Street...................Jedida
Oneko
Alien Musicians
Musical Director/Piano......Kimberley Snyder
Keyboard...............................Nancy Morgan
Guitar..........................................John
Verryt
Bass.........................................Jason Wilson
Trap Set...................................Stevie Grimes
Percussion..........................Brandon
Shuping
ABOUT THE CAST
Stephen
Anthony Beasley (Mushnik), from
Louisville, KY, is a freshman Vocal Performance/Music Administration major.
Stephens past experience includes Blacks in the Old West, Ho Jon in M*A*S*H, Yearbook
(the high school musical) at Nia Day Camps.
Stephen also sang a solo at his Class of 1998 graduation ceremony. He was a member of the Kentucky All-State
Chorus for three years, and also attended the Governors School for the arts
in the summer of 1996.
Morgan Elliott (Baglady) is a freshman Respiratory Care major
from Wellsville, NY. Her past theatre credits include: Chorus in Annie,
Pippin, and Bye Bye Birdie; Belle in Beauty and the Beast;
Anybodys in West Side Story; The Tornado, a Poppy and a Townsperson
in The Wiz, and the Mayor in Lola
Abner.
Britany Fisher (Ronnette) is a junior Music-Vocal Performance
major from Racine, WI. Prior
to this show, Britany played Sandy in Grease and Mrs.
Brown in Fame. She also participated in the
University of Charleston's production of Man of La Mancha and the College Musical Chorus in Meet Me in St. Louis at Northwestern College. Brittany other experiences include the University Singers,
solo performances, and the 1998 WV Symphony Opera Chorus. She also studied voice at the Milwaukee,
WI, Conservatory of Music.
Mariela Soledad Gonzalez (Customer) is once again onstage, last seen in
the Kanawha Players production of Witness for the Prosecution. She
also participated in theatre and TV Performances in her home country of Argentina.
Mariela is a sophomore Language Arts major.
Kamisha Hart (Agent) is making her theatrical debut with this show. Kamisha, a freshman Biology and Sports
Med major from Long Island, NY. has previously performed in McDonald's Gospel
Feast, high school workshops, and choral programs.
E. Ryan Helton (Seymour Krelbourn) is a sophomore Mass Comm major from
Cincinnati, OH. His past theatre
experiences include Man of La Mancha (here at UC), Bye
Bye Birdie, South Pacific, and Music Man. His other notable
experiences include studying voice with Gwen Coleman and Stacy Rouche.
Mandy Kinder (Audrey) from Bridgewater, VA, is a freshman Mass Comm major.
Mandy's prior roles include Sandy in Grease, Ariel
in The Little Mermaid, the Fairy Godmother in the musical Cinderella, and a principal role in Oklahoma. Ando other experiences include singing the national anthem at the
NCAA Division 3 Memos National Basketball Tournament, participating in
one year of drama at Turner Abby High School, and being involved in contemporary
and classical ballet for eight years.
Suzanne Lawrence (Interviewer/Bernstein) is a junior psychology major from
Charleston, WV. Her past acting experiences include A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Faugh.
Mandy Marchani (Chiffon), from Moundsville, WV, is a freshman
psychology major. Mandy has appeared in productions of Runaways, The Magic
in Me, Rendezvous, Ten Nights in a Barroom, and Member of the Wedding. She also has taken nine years of
dance classes, sung in choir, and participated in high school drama and speech
classes/teams.
Dave Other Bravo McBrayer (Orin Scrivello, DDS), a freshman Mass Comm major from
Hurricane, WV, was voted "Most unusual Senior" in his graduating
class. Before coming to UC, he played Big Poppa Clod in The Clods of Hopper, Galen in Alky, Allen Lefenfeld in This is a Test, and Judas in The Living Last Supper.
Beth McKinnon (Crystal) is once again on the UC stage having previously
appeared in The Butler Did It Singing, Winnie the Pooh and Rumpelstiltskin. Beth is a senior Biology/Pre-Med
major from Davidsonville, MD.
Jedida Oneko (Woman in the Street) appeared as a monkey in her high school's
production of The Jungle Book. A freshman
Environmental Science major, Jedida comes to UC all the way from Nairobi.
Brian Roller (Audrey II) lists, among his many previous theatrical
experiences, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Baby, Faugh, Anything Goes, and Up the Down Staircase, all at Capitol, High School here in Charleston.
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Kimberley Snyder (Musical Director/Piano) is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
major, planning to graduate in Spring Œ99. Previously, Kim served as accompanist
for The Butler Did It Singing and Man
of La Mancha last year here at UC. This show owes much
to Limos tireless work with the singers and musicians.
Stevie Grimes (Trap Set) previously served as a musician in Best
little Whorehouse in Texas. An active musician around
his hometown of Charleston, he lists singing, songwriting and arranging among
his many talents.
Nancy Morgan (Keyboard) played flute in UC's production of Man of La Mancha and served as the rehearsal accompanist
for Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music in Marietta,
OH. She also played a Nurse (and not the keyboards) in Equus with the Kanawha Players and last year's The Butler Did
It Singing here at UC. A
native of St. Albans, WV, Nancy is a senior Music Education major who sings
in the UC Concert Choir. For her senior recital, she presented works of Aaron
Copland.
Brandon Shuping (Percussion) is a multi-instrumentalist and a
member of two local bands, Blackwater Hollow and Cain. Brandon is a native of
Charleston, and has acted and played music in Oklahoma and Anything Goes at Capitol
High.
John Verryt (Guitar) is making his theatre debut with this show. John is a
freshman Music Administration major from Auburn, NH.
Jason R. Wilson (Bass) is a freshman Music Education major from Looneyville,
WV. While Jason has no prior theatre experience, he has much performing experience,
being a National Directors A-ward Recipient for Music and Outstanding Drum
Major in Music in the Parks. Here at UC, he is active as a Student Ambassador
and singing in the Concert Choir.
ABOUT THE CREW
Rachel Miller (Publicity) is a Senior Mass Comm major from Charleston.
She says her previous experience includes too many to list.
Amanda R. Mullins (Light Board Operator) is a freshman from Ripley, WV.
Currently examining her options for a major, Amanda has worked on numerous
shows in the past, including Where Have All the Lightning Bugs Gone?,
Thurber Carnival, The Wizard of Oz, Hold Me, The Man Who Died and Went to
Heaven, Christmas Carol, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Dracula, Arsenic and
Old Lace, and
Our Town.
Amanda Rush (Set Construction/Followspot Operator) is a junior English major working
on her first theatrical production with this show.
Krista Southern (House Manager) is a sophomore Nursing Major from
Alum Creek. Prior experience for Krista includes shows at her high school shows
and with the Kanawha Players.
Production Staff
Producer... Dr. Mark Hornbaker
Stage Manager..Suzanne Lawrence
Set Construction..Suzanne Lawrence, Dave
McBrayer,
Beth
McKinnon, Rachel Miller,
Amanda
Mullins, Brian Roller,
Amanda Rush,
Krista Southern
Light Board Operator..................Amanda
Mullins
Followspot Operator...Amanda Rush
House
Manager..................................Krista Southern
Publicity..............................Rachel
Miller, Jeanna Graley
Some students working on this show
earned credits for
SPCH 314, Play Production.
Acknowledgments:
The Director, Cast, Crew and Musicians would like to
thank:
Janet Cogar
Alice Holstine
David Cottrell
Elizabeth Powers
Dr. Robert Frey
Dr. Barbara Yeager
And special thanks to
Kathy Frank and Kanawha Players for the loan of the plants.
Coming Next!
Auditions for the Spring semester production (show TBA; under consideration: David Ives' All In The Timing, a hilarious look at aspects of modern life) will be held during the second week of the semester—watch the campus bulletin boards for dates and times.
Director's Notes
Last Spring, during a meeting with Mark Hornbaker
(head of the Music Dept.) and Ryan Helton (president of Theatre Aside), the
three of us discussed possibilities for a fall musical production. Ryan
suggested Little Shop of Horrors and, since the show is on my (lengthy)
list of plays and musicals that I would like to direct, I agreed immediately.
One of my immediate concerns was the familiarity many
potential audience members would have with the show. Little Shop has
been produced in countless high schools and community theatres, and the movie
has been shown repeatedly on TV (including the weekend prior to auditions).
Since I have a tendency to approach any show from a fresh perspective, I first
set myself a goal to make the show different from previous productions and,
especially, different from the movie.
As I began to consider staging possibilities for the
play (my Charleston directing debut, no less!), two components stood out from
the rest: first, the plant manipulated as a puppet by an onstage actor; and
second, the almost-constant presence of the female chorus (perhaps modeled
after the witches of Shakespeare Scottish play?). While considering how to
handle these elements, I began to think about each in relation to Japanese
Kabuki theatre and Bunraku puppet theatre.
While this production uses no overtly obvious Japanese
or Asian conventions (such as Invisible stagehands dressed in black handing
props to actors or changing the set), some inspiration from those conventions
helped me determine placement of actors onstage, and how the plant would relate
to the other actors on stage and to the audience.
As for the play itself, Little Shop of Horrors is a traditional
Broadway musical about a plant that has world-domination as its goal. Yet,
there are greater implications. The quotation, ÒW hat does it profit
a person to gain the whole world, yet lose his/her soul?² applies to various
characters in the play. Are the agent or the TV executive (or, by extrapolation,
anyone who exploits the weaknesses of others) any less insidious than the
alien flytrap who devours human flesh and ruins human lives? The green monster
from outer space has many allies in our contemporary society.
Little Shop of Horrors is an
enjoyable musical entertainment, and at the same time, a morality play that
demonstrates to all of us the lesson that, no matter what they offer us, donor
feed the plants—or its agents.
Enjoy the show!
—Dr. Stephen A. Schrum