Creating the 'Little Shop of Horrors'

"Little Shop of Horrors" isn't the typical high school musical.

It doesn't involve a Rogers-and-Hammerstein score and the lead characters aren't the usual combination of swashbuckling male, plucky female. In fact, one of them is a plant.

And not just any plant. Audrey II is a talking and singing plant from outer space that grows from a colorful seedling to a sharp-toothed, man-sized monstrosity. Making that happen has been a production in itself.

"We rented some of the plants and built others," said Demetrios Pappageorge, the show's director and head of the North drama department.

It fell to the build crew to construct Audrey II's enormous, vining and flowering arms. And it is the task of students Sam Gottlieb, Becca Johnson and Emily Hook to to serve as the plant's puppeteers.

Pappageorge won't disclose the tricks for keeping the puppeteers of little Audrey II out of the audience's view. As for the full-grown Audrey, let's just say she's a real maneater, with Gottlieb working from the inside.

"He's developed abs of steel," Pappageorge said of Gottlieb, who volunteered to serve as the plant's puppeteer. To operate Audrey II from the inside, Gottlieb must crouch over, using his arms and upper body to lift the top half of the plant and his legs to move the bottom.

There also are scenes where he has to stand up and walk , supporting the 140-pound plant puppet across his shoulders. It's a hot, confining job, and Gottlieb is equipped with a hand-held fan and water bottle while he's onstage.

"He has not complained," Pappageorge said. "He's been really good. He's in there for half hour—all of Act Two."

Pappageorge, who also teaches English and drama at North, said the time was right to try a different sort of musical. "You look at who the horses are in the stable and charge forward."

Students hadn't used puppets before in a production and the school hadn't done a rock musical in more than a decade. "Little Shop of Horrors" has offered not just those opportunities, but also the chance to learn by doing.

"It's about the learning process for the kids," Pappageorge said. "If the product is also good—great."

"Little Shop of Horrors" continues at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7 in the North auditorium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $7 for students. The 20-plus member cast includes Connor Leigh as Seymour, Devin Collett as Audrey, Cameron Box as Mr. Mushnik, Max Becker as Orin the dentist, and Colin Ludlow as the voice of Audrey II.