‘Little Shop’ to horrify Waldron audience with man-eating flower

Flowers have long been a symbol of love and romance, and they’re a sure way to win a girl over.

Just make sure when your bouquet takes your girl’s heart away, it doesn’t do it literally.

The famous talking, singing, man-eating flower from Cardinal Stage Company’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors” will premiere Friday for an evening of music, manslaughter and general merry-making.

Performances will begin Friday with a 7:30 p.m. performance and additional shows will be at 7:30 p.m. May 6-9 and May 13-16 at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium.

Tickets are available at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Box Office and range from $12 to $24.50.

Shy Seymour’s bland and boring life as a florist turns around completely when he discovers the predatory plant Audrey II, named after the woman of his dreams.

The flytrap brings excitement and even wealth and fame to Seymour, but when Audrey II’s taste for blood gets out of control, Seymour discovers he’s bit off more than he can chew.

“‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is about what risk you would take to make your wildest dreams come true, what you’ve always hoped would come true,” said sophomore Charnette Batey, who plays singing narrator Ronnette. “Seymour gets tempted by this talking plant to kill and he ends up doing it because he’s so in love with Audrey.”

Penned by IU alumnus Howard Ashman, the show had its amateur premiere on campus in 1987 and includes every ingredient necessary for wacky, fun theater.

“The musical came along after the movie back in the ’60s, and that was sort of a B-movie horror film, so the movie kind of spoofs that. So it is horror, but it’s romantic and completely funny,” said actor Scot Greenwell, who portrays Seymour. “It sort of incorporates comedy, romance, horror, science fiction and spoofing.”

One distinctive feature of the show is the puppeteering required to bring life to the man-eating plant Audrey II.

Junior James Moffat, who is the plant’s puppeteer, said making the creature appear alive even before it starts speaking is a challenge.

“To make a puppet seem real, you have to breathe life into it. You have to give it eyes, so to speak, so it seems like a living creature,” Moffat said. “All I’ve got is the sound and the extreme heat that’s inside this puppet, and there are just three little slits that I can look out of every now and then.”

Batey said she is excited for opening night and hopes the audience will leave a bit disturbed, but very entertained.

“They should expect a lot of fun,” Batey said. “They should not expect to just sit in their seats and chill. They’re going to be bouncing in their seats.”