Stephanie Castro/Staff Writer
Debuting Jan. 27, 2017 at 8 p.m. in the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, the Theatre Department will premiere their first musical of the year, “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Little Shop follows a florist’s assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. It was originally a black comedy horror film that, through the course of time, developed a cult following and eventually became a Broadway musical.
In this rendition, the musical will take place in 2017 Los Angeles as opposed to 1986 New York.
“We don’t want to copy the movie, we just want a general idea of the theme,” said senior BFA performer Ernesto Gonzalez.
Junior Stefen Suttles who is part of the ensemble cast echoed that sentiment.
“We’re really trying to make this an FIU production of Little Shop and not just another Little Shop performance,” he said.
According to Philip Church, theatre professor and Little Shop director, the production will include several elements that pay homage to current world affairs and will have a political foundation.
“That plant eating up people is the corporate world,” said Church.
Phillip Church, director, gives notes to cast after rehearsals.
Originally, the film was written in response to Richard Nixon’s government, his downfall, and his successor Ronald Reagan which then followed the golden age of capitalism.
Junior Matthew Pastor, who plays Seymour Krelborn, the male lead in this production, mentioned that those political and social undertones have always been woven into the musical.
“Hidden inside of a ‘cutesie’(sic) jukebox musical is a tale about how capitalism and greed can lead to the downfall of individuals pursuing what they perceive to be the American Dream,” Pastor said.
The production will also exclusively consist of students in the Bachelors in Fine Arts Performance program, making Little Shop the first FIU musical to do so.
In the past, FIU productions have brought singers from the School of Music over to collaborate with the theatre students for musicals.
With 120 theatre majors, Church tries to use as many possible on stage throughout the course of the year.
“It’s proving that actors really got the voices and they just need that extra bit of training to bring them up” said Church.
Church even tries to change character’s genders to allow students to “have their moment on stage,” as the ratio of male to female performers may vary.
Junior Robert Ayala will be playing five characters: Orin Scrivello, Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, Skip Snip, and Patrick Martin. He described this as an exciting yet challenging task, but one he was ready to take on.
“I think all five of those characters live inside me. It’s just a matter of expanding them into something larger,” said Ayala.
Senior Nora Pantoja, who plays the female lead Audrey, said researching information about skid row made it easier to get into character and added to her character’s backstory.
“Broadway Audrey is a lot more high-pitched and I wanted to make her a little more grounded,” said Pantoja. “She’s a woman who’s gone through a lot and has developed a backbone.”
Vocal coach, Natalie Brenes, practices song harmonies with actors during rehearsals.
As for the dancing aspects of the musical, assistant choreographer Rachel Willis found ways to make the actors more comfortable with movement.
The choreography took two weeks to complete, which included blocking the entire show to see which pieces fit and which ones had to be changed around.
Willis would take notes on blocking, get back to choreographer Crystal Patience, and then rehearse the dance with the actors.
“It was the most amazing thing to pull these non-dancers out of rehearsal, give them their steps, and watch them put it together,” said Willis. “They did it flawlessly.”
One of her proudest moments was when she practiced a dance with Pastor and Pantoja separately. The duo was never able to practice the choreography together until their last rehearsal.
“The show can be and is compelling because these actors are delivering truth,” said Church. “The objective is for the audience to empathize and connect with these characters onstage.”
Little Shop of Horrors showings:
Friday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 29, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 3, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 4, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2 p.m.
Tickets are $20 General Admission, $18 Seniors, FIU Faculty & Staff, and $15 FIU Students and are available for purchase at http://go.fiu.edu/littleshop.
Featured image retrieved from Flickr.
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