A bloodthirsty and man-eating plant is cultivated by a nerd in a small floral shop. Soon enough, the plant grows in both size and hunger and wreaks havoc on everyone in the shop. I promise you, it’s not as horrifying as it sounds.
For their fall semester musical, Hinman Production Company (HPC) and Dickinson Community Players (DCP) are combining to present “Little Shop of Horrors.” Premiering Off-Off-Broadway in 1982, the musical was originally written by Howard Ashman and composed by Alan Menken (who you may know for his music in such Disney movies as “The Little Mermaid” and “Pocahontas”). The HPC/DCP production features a cast and crew composed of Binghamton University students, a handmade set and live music accompaniment.
In “Little Shop of Horrors,” an awkward flower shop employee named Seymour discovers an exotic plant that soon makes him and his shop an overnight sensation. Seymour then uses the plant as a way to escape his mundane life and win Audrey, his co-worker and the girl of his dreams. However, there’s a small catch … the plant, named “Audrey II,” has a taste for human flesh.
According to Marisa Freeman, who co-directed the show with Jordan Gagnon, the show was chosen to contrast with the darker-toned plays from last semester.
“This had a lot more exciting female characters and that’s a thing that’s not as prevalent in musicals,” said Freeman, a sophomore majoring in biological anthropology. “It’s an enjoyable show. It’s a fun show, a funny show. We did dark shows last semester and we kind of wanted to lighten the tone a bit.”
Gagnon, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, added that the play was also selected because it poses an interesting technical challenge for the production companies.
“It was also pitched on its technical heaviness because we have never really done a huge, huge tech heavy production,” Gagnon said. “Sure enough it was fun, while challenging, but fun.”
This is the first time that HPC and DCP have worked together to joint-produce a musical. Part of the reason for this was HPC’s lack of space at the Hinman Commons to produce it. According to Freeman, the collaboration went smoothly and without any trouble.
“Honestly, I think the groups work really well together,” Freeman said. “We’re all theater people and we all have the same goal coming together on a show.”
According to Ben McLauchlin, who plays Seymour, the overall experience of making this musical was improved by the closeness of the cast and crew.
“It was like a family, really,” said McLauchlin, a freshman double-majoring in biology and studio art. “We all bonded so much. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we’re happy that we did this.”
Freeman also noted how positive her experience as a co-director was.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Freeman said. “We have a really great cast; they’re fun to be around. They’re really motivated and I’m proud of them. The crew has been great and the tech has been solid, it’s been a really good ride.”
The HPC/DCP joint production of “Little Shop of Horrors” will be on stage in the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center Multipurpose Room at 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 and 22, as well as a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Nov. 22. Tickets cost $5.