A man-eating plant, musical harmonies and peculiar love story continue to make the horror musical “Little Shop of Horrors” a cult classic. The show, written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, was inspired by a 1960 film. Many fans have also been exposed to the title through a 1986 film version starring Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Greene and Vincent Gardenia.
Valley Youth Theatre will put on the musical from Saturday, Nov. 1, to Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Herberger Theater Center.
The show tells the story of Seymour Krelborn, a flower shop worker who discovers a strange and mysterious plant. The plant, which he names Audrey II after his crush, brings Seymour fame but also has a thirst for blood.
The musical features doowop and 1960s-style music, including the popular songs “Feed Me (Git It),” “Somewhere That’s Green,” “Skid Row (Downtown)” and “Suddenly, Seymour.”
The production stars two young adults from the West Valley, Morgan James from Avondale as one of the puppeteers for Audrey II and Valerie Winch as one of the street urchins/“doo-wop girls” Crystal.
James, 19, lives in Peoria and is a senior at ASU Prep.
He will be puppeteering the two larger Audrey II pods. Beni Bermudez will also act as a puppeteer for the smaller version of Audrey II, and Ra’jihya Givens will voice the character.
James recently played teacher Mr. Scary and Junie B.’s father Daddy in “Junie B.’s Essential Survival Guide to School.”
He has been working with Valley Youth since 2017, since he was10 years old. He has been in their productions of “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Secret Garden,” “The SpongeBob Musical,” “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” and “Annie.”
James has previous puppeteering experience with TheaterWorks, where he operated hand puppets in shows such as “Secret of the Rainforest.”
He also did other shows, including “Frankenstein” and “Matilda,” with TheaterWorks. In their production of “Disney’s Frozen JR.,” he played the villain Hans.
James did general auditions for “Little Shop of Horrors” and was asked to play Audrey II because of his previous puppeteering experience.
“I definitely remember being a little kid and watching ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ for the first time. I watched the one with Rick Moranis. When I got cast, I did watch the older one from the ’60s as part of my research,” James said.
He said that playing Audrey II is different from the puppetry work he did with TheaterWorks because he will be inside the puppet.
“I had only worked with the hand puppets that go over your hand or cover most of your forearm. I was just reaching my arms up, and I was dressed in black performing. For these puppets in ‘Little Shop,’ I’m going to be on stage for much of the show and inside of the puppets. Even pod three, I’m operating not only the mouth, but I’m wearing leggings that look like roots. At one point during ‘Feed Me,’ I kick my legs out because the plant is able to move its roots around,” James said.
James said that he will be controlling the puppets through levers.
“Pod three, which is my first puppet, I’m sitting on a stool and covered in the puppet. They have two horizontal levers. I assume it’s a scissor action where I’m operating the mouth. There’s also a tongue that I can stick my arm in and flick the tongue,” James said.
Bermudez will be operating a smaller version of Audrey II by reaching his hand out from under a table.
James will start working with the puppet the week before tech. Until then, he has to pretend he is handling the puppet.
“They are preparing me by having me mime the motions that it would be for the puppet….It is a little strange, but I think it’s going to be a nice, seamless transition to having the puppet. I’m going to get a little while to practice with the puppet before the show,” James said.
James said not having the puppet has allowed him to become more familiar with the scenes.
It has been a challenge to have the voice of his character be played by someone else.
“Because the voice is separate from the puppet, I’m having to predict how Ra’jihya is going to say lines or sing. Especially when there are a few parts where she’s supposed to riff or adlib, I’m supposed to predict that,” James said.
Along with Valley Youth, James has had the chance to work with Arizona Broadway Theatre, Desert Foothills Theater, Almost Famous Theatre Company and Phoenix Theatre Company.
He became interested in theater after doing a workshop as a kid. From a young age, he focused on singing, dancing and acting. He also plays the piano and guitar.
Theater runs in his family. His mom has done shows as TheaterWorks and Fountain Hills Theater, and his younger brother recently became interesting in acting.
James has gotten a chance to play a variety of different parts, including more serious roles and dance-heavy parts. One of his favorite parts was being in the ensemble in “SpongeBob the Musical.”
“In one of the songs, Squidward’s main song, Squidward was tap dancing with a chorus of sea anemones, and I was one of them,” James said.
Winch will be playing opposite two other street urchins, Isabella Penza as Ronnette and Alyssa Morrison as Chiffon.
Winch, 14, hails from Glendale and is in 10th grade at Apollo High School.
This is her first show with Valley Youth.
She said thus far, she has had a positive experience working with Valley Youth because of the relationships she has formed with others.
“I’m honestly really glad that the first show I’m doing with them is a small cast. I get to connect a lot more with people,” Winch said.
During the height of COVID, she was part of a live performance troop for tweens offered through the company.
“When I was in it, all the rehearsals were on Zoom. You would record yourself alone, and they would put it all together to make a video,” Winch said.
Winch auditioned because she likes the musical.
“The first time I saw the ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ it wasn’t the musical. It freaked me out really bad, and it was very sad. I vowed that I would never be a part of the show because it’s just so dark. I think especially now that I’ve seen the musical twice, the music just brings it so much more to life. It’s a really fun show, and it takes away from how dark it is. It’s so fun to be contrasting, with the music being so bright and cheery and then the plot being really dark,” Winch said.
Winch said when she auditioned for the show, she was interested in being one of the street urchins, who act as narrators and a Greek chorus in the show.
“They’re not really a part of the story, but they are omniscient. They’re in a lot of songs. It’s definitely one of the most challenging roles I’ve been in, just because there’s so much singing and dancing. And we’re still acting….We have moments where it’s more Greek chorus and then more like ‘Dreamgirls’ or Beyoncé,” Winch said.
The show is set in the ’60s, which is reflected in the costumes that Winch and other characters wear.
Winch said in the show, it’s important that she, Penza and Morrison are in sync.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve had this much harmony. The urchins are definitely always in three-part harmony. The singing is a beast, obviously, and the dancing too…. I think just as a whole, it’s definitely one of the hardest roles I’ve had to tackle,” Winch said.
Winch had worked with Penza before through Spotlight. This is her first time working with Morrison. She said the three of them have quickly become a tight-knit group.
Winch started out doing theater with Spotlight Youth Theatre at 8 years old. Over the years, she has done more than a dozen productions with the company, including “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play,” “13 the Musical,” “Annie” and “SIX The Musical: Teen Edition.”
She has also worked with Arizona Broadway Theatre, Desert Stages Theatre and TheaterWorks. One of her first leading roles was as Nala in TheaterWorks’ production of “Disney’s The Lion King JR.”
She took an interest in theater after doing summer camps with Spotlight and Phoenix Theatre Company.
Over the years, she has gotten to do different types of roles. She tends to do shows because she is drawn to the characters or music.
She has played a number of villainous roles, including Dragon in “Shrek the Musical JR.” and Tamatoa in “Disney’s Moana JR.” She said she enjoys these parts because of their show-stopping musical numbers.
Along with acting, Winch has also gotten to act as a stagehand and do sound in a few shows.
At her high school, she is part of choir and does musical theater.
In the last few years, she has done training programs in New York through the Broadway Artists Alliance and the New York Performing Arts Academy.
For the Broadway Artists Alliance, she has performed in showcases for panels of agents, managers and casting agents.
“After you perform, you get your showcase video. That’s really good audition material….You get some notes from the people on the panel, so that’s really helpful. They have workshops throughout the week too where you can also get notes,” Winch said.
Valley Youth Theatre’s Production of “Little Shop of Horrors”
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 1-Sunday, Nov. 16.
ASL-interpreted performance on Sunday, Nov. 9.
WHERE: Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix
cost: Tickets start at $17.50
INFO: 602-252-8497, vyt.com