When Juniper Rooze heard they got the role, they were ecstatic. Even though Rooze had done other productions before and was super comfortable in the space, when it had come time for auditions, they couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. On top of that, they also had come down with a cold a few days prior and thought their chances of being a lead were lost. So when they heard they were cast as Audrey, a prominent role, the news came as a shock. Rooze couldn’t wait for the upcoming weeks.
The Royal Players debuted their first musical, Little Shop of Horrors, to three nights of sold-out crowds last Friday. The group is a youth-driven project, emerging from Neutral Zone’s teen programming. From the opening act to bows at the end, the cast had their audience hanging onto their every word.
Little Shop of Horrors follows Seymour, a lovestruck worker in a failing flower shop, as he raises a giant plant that brings him popularity and fortune. The problem? The plant, now named Audrey 2, is carnivorous and must feed on human blood. While he loves his newfound fame, he can’t help but feel guilty and think about Audrey, the girl of his dreams whom he named the plant after.
With difficult characters and challenging set pieces such as the plant, many things got in the way. For months before, the cast and crew practiced every Wednesday afternoon to perfect the production. During tech week, they met up every day after school to rehearse the entire show. It was a lot of work, and they hoped it would pay off.
The giant plant had difficulties leading up to the show; the Royal Players borrowed the plant from Garden City High School, who had recently done the same production. The structure has four parts, as the plant grows throughout the production. When they first received the plant, the bottom was broken and they had trouble carrying the plant around, as it was hefty and hard to move. Luckily, the team worked through it and had no problems on stage during the shows.
Rooze, a CHS junior, found the biggest challenge to be learning her accent. Audrey, being a complex character, was difficult to master, but they learned a lot through the role.
“All of the cast put so much love and joy into this production,” Rooze said. “I think, through all the rehearsal tracks, it turned out great.”
CHS freshman Diego Drake was the head of the stage running crew and took a lot away from the production. Like Rooze, they also saw the growth of the cast and crew as opening night crept closer and closer.
Neutral Zone staff member and show director Dani Davis didn’t go unnoticed. She worked with the teens from beginning to end, helping to make their vision of the show come to life. Teens such as Rooze mentioned all the hard work Davis had put into the show and talked about how they couldn’t have done it without her.
Needless to say, the Royal Players cast and crew saw the production as a smashing success and everyone involved learned a lot from the show.
“I’m so proud of what we were able to accomplish as a beautiful company,” Davis said on closing night. “We highlighted teens of color and did a show that really brought the community together.”
