Albion students perform ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Audrey II, a giant plant in “Little Shop of Horrors,” tells Seymour, Elijah Van Epps, to feed him.

Connor Zicari plays the plant and Zach Shaffer provides the voice for Audrey II, which is a crossbred from a butterwort and a Venus flytrap.

Albion students will perform “Little Shop” today at 7 p.m., and Saturday at noon and 7 p.m. at the Middle School Auditorium.

There are 12 students in the cast and another 20 are in the stage crew and pit orchestra.

Elijah Van Epps (Seymour) holds the Audrey II when it’s in its second stage of growth. The plant would grow radically throughout the show through five stages.

Seymour accidently pricks his finger and discovers the plant needs human blood to grow and thrive.

Van Epps is on stage with Riley Seielstad (Crystal) and Angela Tarricone (Chiffon).

Seymour works in Mushnik’s Flower Shop in the slums of New York City in 1963. The struggling neighborhood is known as “Skid Row.”

Nick Arieno plays Mr. Mushnik and worries about the lack of customers to his flower shop. The Audrey II would become a phenomenon, bringing lots of publicity and customers to the store.

Cheya-Rain Eagle plays Audrey, Seymour’s love interest. She works at the flower shop but has an abusive boyfriend Orin Scrivello, who is a sadistic dentist.

Eagle is joined on stage by Bethany Bowman, Angela Tarricone and Riley Seielstad.

Enoch Martin plays Orin, the violent dentist. He is performing with Hailey Bader, who is Taffetta, a member of the chorus.

Cheya-Rain Eagle (Audrey) is in a bad relationship with Enoch Martin (Orin).

Nick Arieno (Mr. Mushnik) frets that Elijah Van Epps (Seymour) will leave the shop due to his newfound fame.

As Audrey II gets bigger and more dangerous, Seymour needs to find a way to destroy it, or else the human race will be threatened.