North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, a story of Seymour, a man tempted by an evil plant in exchange for human blood.
NRACT’s diverse group of talent produced a pleasant mix of pity for the orphaned Seymour and comic relief in sarcastic quips by Mr. Mushnik (Jaraad Samad).
Audrey, female lead (Dakota Hood), had a ditsy but humorous performance which contrasted against Seymour and Mushnik ‘s scene as well as the dreary setting of Skid Row.
Orin, (TJ Broadhurst) shakes up the first act with his improv jokes about oral health and strikes fear into the audience with his abusive interaction with Audrey and the audience. The plant Audrey II’s voice (Raymond Jaquez) also featured improv in the phrases used to tempt Seymour. The keyboard sounds by Craig Johnson and David Oberst for Orin’s dentist drill and motorcycle added to this effect.
Music by the female trio, Chiffon (Sarah Zimmer), Crystal (Brianna Gilmore), and Ronnette (Hannah Woodcock) and the ensemble cast gave each musical scene excitement and energy.
Kelly Taylor, costume designer, also played a big part in making the show eye-catching and memorable. The trio’s outfits change with the mood of the play, from casual, punk, dainty, and formal dresses, with authentic, colorful clothes.
What more could a theater enthusiast wish for in Shop of Horrors, when it includes a fantastic cast, man-eating plants, greed, love, death and deceit. The audience walks away questioning the morality of Seymour’s decisions, is success and happiness worth the price of his character and his castmates’ lives? Or rather, would they have also given in to their desires at the cost of feeding the plant.
Altogether, Little Shop of Horrors is a musically and visually stunning play that is enjoyable for people of all ages.
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