The NHHS theater is finalizing the creation of their final semester presentation: Little Shop of Horrors. It is a satire on capitalism and the modern world, a representation of the upper and lower class dynamic, and splashed with horror and musical elements.

Directed by Junior NHHS student Ghino Lee, Little Shop of Horrors will be the next big hit at NHHS. Theater members speak on how this musical will attract the attention of those who overlook theater with its mature elements, and will also teach the audience life lessons. 

Lee played Chad in the last NHHS musical, High School Musical, and said he “found the magic that all the theater kids feel.”  He said during summer he wondered if anyone would step up to take the place of director and how he wanted to continue that magic for more people. He expresses his excitement about the show, saying, “This opportunity to direct was such a moment of luck.”

Lee said, “Since this auditorium was going to be demolished in March, I wanted our last musical at this auditorium to go out with a bang.” He looked into other shows such as Mean Girls and Legally Blonde, but these felt too similar to High School Musical. He found Little Shop of Horrors and immediately fell in love with the idea of a giant plant puppet, who will be played by Rock Edwards.

Besides an amazing story, with Little Shop of Horrors, NHHS is looking to showcase a series of found talents in its students.

Attila Dobrovics, playing Seymour, is working on this show as his first musical experience. Dobrovics mentions the big difference between Seymour’s personality and his own personality. “His character is very timid,” he said, “You would describe me as excited and overly energetic and the total opposite of Seymour.” 

However, Dobrovics said it was not very hard to portray this character because he could understand his way of thinking. He said he also watched the movie before auditions to try to capture Seymour’s speech and body language.

Dobrovics says, “It’s a very nice show.” He comments on the plot, saying that the plant is “very manipulative, and Seymour is easily manipulated.”

Little Shop of Horrors is about Seymour Krelborn, an orphan and low-life in Skid Row. In the story, Seymour seems to have won the lottery by getting a plant that grows to be very unique. The plant eventually talks and requires human blood to survive, leaving Seymour with a challenge. 

Sean Lee, playing Orin Scrivello, shares his experience in portraying such a crazy character in the show. Sean described his character as a dentist, psychopath, and wife-beater who “finds joy by hurting people.” Sean says the similarity between him and his character is confidence. He said he used the Batman movies as inspiration, specifically the Joker, to help bring out this maniac personality. He said, “I mainly tried to focus on having a huge ego- I’ve been working really really hard on nailing the crazy laugh.”

The presentation of Little Shop of Horrors will also demonstrate the talents behind the spotlight, with people like Melany Luna (second spotlight manager and manager for lights), Mariam Tutuyan (props manager), and Angel Ruiz (sound manager). 

Melany Luna says that people in charge of lights need to worry about working lights according to the movement of the show and characters, but also need to work on lighting to fit the mood of the show. She said this musical has a lot of sim lights of red, green, and blue since it is “spooky” and takes place in places like alleys or a pawn shop.

Mariam Tutuyan says her responsibility as prop manager is basically “anything you see on stage”. From the very symbolic and specific things of the show to the most minuscule things, they all require work and have their own complexity. 

Angel Ruiz shares his experience as sound manager, saying he has had experience with sound at a church before, so he knows about sound systems. However, he said that there is still a challenge in getting used to a specific sound system and complications in putting together a show.

The NHHS theater members are not the only ones excited for the show. Word about Little Shop of Horrors has spread, and the rest of North Hollywood students are looking forward to seeing what this show has in store for them. NHHS senior student Kelly Lopez said, “I watched Chicago in my freshman year and have not had the chance to return for another show. I’m excited to go to another show now because it’s like a wave of emotion for my last year of high school.”

Director Lee is excited to be able to open this show. He mentioned all the obstacles that he faced with such an overwhelming job as leader, but is now looking forward to “the fruits from all the labor.” NHHS theater members want everyone to know that this show is not the typical stereotype of musicals. It brings out emotion and will be a final big hit for our auditorium. They cannot wait to see everyone on December 2nd and 3rd at the NHHS theatre at 7pm.