'Little Shop of
Horrors' opens for business August 5
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July 30, 2011 |
By Kathryn Star Heart
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The cast of
"Little Shop of Horrors," ready to take
the stage at the Becker Auditorium
August 5. |
With a cast of 15 Boundary County youth, a
technical crew of two local teens plus some
stalwart, hardworking parent volunteers, David
Carpenter is bringing his seventh Bonners Ferry
Summer Youth Theatre production to the Becker
Auditorium stage in early August. Slated for
four performances, “Little Shop of Horrors,” a
campy musical theater production in the style of
an over-the-top “B” movie is sure to delight
audiences.
“Little Shop of Horrors,” written as a rock
musical, tells the story of a nerdy, hapless
florist who inadvertently grows a giant
man-eating plant that helps him find success and
romance…..well, sort of. The music is a
rollicking combination of 1960’s rock and roll,
1950’s doo-wop and early Motown. You may have
seen the 1986 film starring Rick Moranis and
Steve Martin. This production has been carefully
edited by David and Assistant Director Dawn
Carpenter to exclude anything graphic or gory.
David considers the Bonners Ferry Summer Youth
Theatre production to be “fairly tame,” making
it dramatically different from the movie.
“I consider this to be a “kid friendly” show,”
commented David.
Now in its fourth summer, Bonners Ferry Summer
Youth Theatre has grown into a mature theatrical
program which offers youth a positive activity
during the summer months. This particular
production has been a somewhat bittersweet
experience for both David and Dawn as four of
the starring cast members, who have been part of
the Summer Youth Theatre program since its
inception, have graduated from BFHS and will be
leaving Bonners Ferry in the fall.
Ben Heart, who stars as Seymour Mushkin, Sara
Owinyo, starring as Crystal, Jesse Tobin,
starring as Ronnette and Charena Branscum,
choreographer and puppeteer, have all been
involved in the program since the summer of
2008.
“This production is bittersweet because we are
losing our senior performers. Ben, Sara, Charena
and Jesse will all be going to college and each
of them will be pursuing a different aspect of
the performing arts in some fashion,” David
said.
Not only have the seniors worked very diligently
on this production but the younger cast members
have gained valuable performing experience as
well.
“It’s been exciting to watch the younger
performers jump in with both feet to create
believable characters,” David related. “I’ve
really enjoyed watching the older kids
shepherding and mentoring the younger
performers.”
Not only have the youth become involved, but the
parents have pitched in a much-needed hand as
well.
“This show has been especially fun because the
parent involvement has been exceptional,”
commented Dawn who has also worked as the show’s
Music Director. “For example, this is the
largest set we’ve ever done and the help we’ve
had from parents has been really phenomenal.”
The entire cast is adamant about giving credit
to Bruce and Charlie Spradlin, Chris Dinning and
Jerry and Tamy Branscum who have worked
tirelessly on behalf of the cast and crew. Dawn
gives special credit to “an adult volunteer”
(who wishes to remain anonymous) who
hand-crafted three different versions of the
man-eating plant that grows during the course of
the play. In addition, the Branscums created the
intricate puppetry that allows the full-grown
plant to seem to come alive on stage.
“I never realized how many hours the volunteers
put in until I was part of this play,”
emphasized McKaela Spradlin who plays Miss Snip.
“They worked for hours and I never before
realized how much they worked or how much they
care about us. They should be thanked.”
The exceptional artwork that transforms the
blank canvas of the Becker stage into Mushnik’s
Flower Shop and the street outside was completed
by Dawn and the parent volunteers.
Both Chase Dinning and Charena Branscum
commented on the intricacy of the set.
“This set is better than any we’ve ever had,”
said Chase.
“In fact, this is probably the best set we’ve
ever had,” added Charena.
Two different actresses, Katrina Svec and Brook
Wilson, will be performing the lead female part
of Audrey on different evenings. “Techies”
Marshall Watts and McKenzie Nash will be behind
the scenes with the lights and sound for all
four performances.
In a first for the Summer Youth Theatre program,
David Carpenter himself will sing the part of
the man-eating plant.
Carl Svec, in his first “big kid” production
with the Summer Youth Theatre program, has been
impressed with the level of commitment and
dedication it has taken to put on a performance
of this intricacy and high caliber.
“I think this play has been a lot more work
compared to doing the younger productions I’ve
been in,” he said. “We’ve spent more hours and
done more work. There has been a lot more
critique from Carp but it’s all been
constructive. The players have missed a lot of
family time in the evenings in order to do this.
It has really amazed me to see how well things
have come together.”
Perhaps Caitlin Alexander, who plays Chiffon,
summed it up best.
“The community always expects the best from
Summer Youth Theatre. This is definitely the
hardest production we’ve done and the best as
far as singing, acting and dancing. In my
opinion, this is the best performance that
Summer Youth Theatre has done yet.”
“Little Shop of Horrors” will play on the
following dates and times:
Friday, August 5, 7 p.m.
Sunday, August 7, 6 p.m.
Friday, August 12,7 p.m.
Saturday, August 13, 7 p.m.
At the door, tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for
children. Tickets can also be pre-purchased from
a cast member for $5.
CAST
Ben Heart – Seymour Mushkin
Brook Wilson and Katrina Svec - Audrey
The Trio: Sara Owinyo – Crystal, Jesse Tobin –
Ronnette, Caitlin Alexander – Chiffon
Charena Branscum - Audrey II Puppeteer
Isaac Ryckeghem – Dentist
Andi Floyd – Mrs. Mushkin
Chase Dinning – Patrick Martin
McKaela Spradlin – Miss Snip
Kendra Urbaniak – Mrs. Luce
Company: Michael Brooks, Zach Cleve, Carl Svec,
Chase Dinning, McKaela Spradlin, Kendra Urbaniak
Technical Crew: McKenzie Nash, Marshall Watts
Choreographer: Charena Branscum
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