Two Reviews of Reagan’s 2019 Musical
Review #1
Written by Freedom Gobel
Little Shop of Horrors was surely a strange and interesting decision for Reagan’s 2019 musical, but despite what the story may reveal, that isn’t always a bad thing.
The journey begins in Skid Row, where life is far from desirable and all anyone can dream of is escaping their current reality. Business is scarce for Mushnik, Audrey can’t seem to grasp her self-worth, and Seymour is hardly aware of what phenomenon waits at his fingertips, literally. Suddenly, with careful attention and a little blood, the strange and interesting Audrey 2 brings about fame, fortune, and hope of a better life. In the meantime, we find the original Audrey facing the consequences of an abusive relationship with Orin, a fairly sadistic dentist, all while Seymour (quite gentle, in contrast) navigates his growing hope of life with her. Destruction is the end result for almost everyone, and if one thing is clear by the end of the show, it’s that you DON’T FEED THE PLANT.
Elijah Wall plays similar characters in the Reagan theater scene: straight, innocent male leads. His performance as the sweetheart in crisis, Seymour, was less consistent than expected based on previous roles, giving the show an interesting and far from negative contrast. While the characters he has played years past were always good, Wall seemed to embody Seymour to a greater extent. He possesses phenomenal talent for making the audience fall in love with his story, all while giving us samples of his quite impressive vocal ability, although sometimes his softer voice was overpowered by other actors or the accompanying music. On a specific note, he showed skill for acting both as Seymour and a tiny puppet Audrey 2 at the same time. A+ on the coordination, Wall.
Kaycee Lang (as Audrey) was able paint both a heartwarming and heartbreaking story for herself. Her acting was good, don’t get me wrong, but her vocals were obviously the defining factor of her character’s success in a production standpoint. Her best moments usually ended up being shared with Wall; they had a chemistry to remember — one that radiated through stage presence and satisfying harmonies.
While much of the show was sweet, much of it was emotionally painful. Alekzander Timmerman’s entrance as Orin may have been the most attention demanding moment of the show, where even if I was unaware of his character’s involvement with the plot, his body language and piercing attitude felt dangerous upon introduction. His character was probably one of the most challenging to fulfill, but Timmerman tackled these challenges with excellent execution. His gas-induced explosive laughter, purposefully ridiculous, was believable for his intoxicated state. He possessed a scarily accurate ability to play a person in love with inflicting pain (I genuinely hope Lang closed the show without any bruises), and though his time on stage was limited compared to others, I found myself most often thinking back to his eerie, yet occasionally comedic performance.
As for the ensemble, I found much improvement from previous years. The stage was often full, but not once did it feel overcrowded — moreso a realistically buzzing flower shop and street corner, which was often occupied by the urchins, played by Katie Gillingham, Lauren Barta, and Ava Gessner. They were, without a doubt, a strength to the musical. Lingering off the side of almost every scene, they were able to achieve entertaining, but not distracting, characters. Each were more than proficient vocalists, making their talents clear during pockets of solos throughout the show. Gillingham, specifically, was a special element to the performance.
Finally, we come to the strange and interesting plant, Audrey 2. For starters, each puppeteer (Erika Spychala, Daisy Kiekhofer, & Niall Carr) really showed out in what seemed to be quite a difficult task. Well done. In terms of the voice, performed by Matthew Voith, we find yet another great character embodiment. Clearly, Voith was able to achieve all that is hoped for Audrey 2’s character: evil mostly, with a hint of charm and a pinch of great capability.
Voith, acting with only his voice, also took part in creating the music for the show. In front of the stage, dozens of Reagan students and other musicians made their talents clear. I give a good amount of credit to them for making the musical feel so close and personal. Without music —good music —the show would crumble.
I’ve found myself wrapping this review up with little to no criticism. Perhaps I just love the story or perhaps all the moving parts of this year’s musical have peaked in the last 4 years I’ve attended Reagan, but I have a feeling it’s a combination of both. At the end of the day, I’m just simply impressed. Quality, Reagan, quality.
Review #2
Written by Abdullah Al-Bassam
Written by Abdullah Al-Bassam
On January 19th, I was able to go see Reagan’s “Little Shop of Horrors” musical. The overall performance was exciting and fun to watch, from the characters acting to singing with each other. All of the cast who were in the show did a great job at playing their roles. The most enjoyable roles were the old and grumpy, Mr. Mushnik, played by Christian Griffin, a sophomore. He was able to act humorous and expressively tempered with Seymour, who’s the main character of a show that works at a plant shop.
The confident, egotistical Orin Scrivello DDS, who was played by Alekzander Timmerman had a stuck-up presence with his deepening tone throughout the show. On another note, the singing was suitably superb to the show. Some of the best singers from the musical that really caught my eye during the show were the Urchins, which consisted of three teenage dancing girls named Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette. They were played by Katie Gillingham, Lauren Barta, and Ava Gessner. They were pretty impressive in their singing skills and were in the majority of the songs, such as Skid Row and the Prologue, in which they were able to become the shining stars of the show among the rest of the characters. I especially thought that Ava Gessner who played Ronnette from the group had the nicest singing voice when she sang in both songs.
The lighting was fit to match each scene of the show. The sounds of the voices and the instruments playing were able to make the performance come to life. I enjoyed the smooth, soft instrumental music that was playing in the song, Somewhere That's Green. It helped to bring a soothing ambiance for the audience. Additionally, the costumes were visually appealing for all of the characters. I felt that Audrey's black and white dress and her flashy yellow wig had the most dressy costume set worn on stage.
What drew me most in the show of “Little Shop of Horrors” was actually the storyline. The show focused on a human-eating plant named Audrey II that lived in a plant shop. This storyline seemed to be different from other musicals, in a good way. You don't ever hear about a man-eating plant that’s would play in a performance anyway. Thus, I had to go check it out and see how the story can be performed on stage. I was pretty impressive on how the plant moved animatedly from the puppeteers. It seemed as if it was a real plant coming to life. The deep voicing of a plant and how it constantly yelled for more food from Seymore was what made this character incredibly entertaining.
Overall, Little Shop of Horrors was an impressive show. For its acting aspects, I would have to get the show a 5 out of 5. All of the actors did an excellent job performing on stage and told the story throughout the show. They were able to project different kinds of moods, such as the show being romantic and scary in various scenes. The singing would have to be a 4 out of 5. The singing of the performance was mostly good to hear, especially from the Urchins. They were clear, loud and concise too. The technical aspects are a 5 out of 5. The lighting, instruments and the props were appropriately used for developing the story in the musical.
Whenever there was an uplifting scene, the music would be played in an upbeat or smooth manner. If there was a sad scene, the music would have a dark, gloomy tone. I was impressed by the quality and performance of this show and I hope to see more of Reagan's musicals in upcoming years.
The confident, egotistical Orin Scrivello DDS, who was played by Alekzander Timmerman had a stuck-up presence with his deepening tone throughout the show. On another note, the singing was suitably superb to the show. Some of the best singers from the musical that really caught my eye during the show were the Urchins, which consisted of three teenage dancing girls named Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette. They were played by Katie Gillingham, Lauren Barta, and Ava Gessner. They were pretty impressive in their singing skills and were in the majority of the songs, such as Skid Row and the Prologue, in which they were able to become the shining stars of the show among the rest of the characters. I especially thought that Ava Gessner who played Ronnette from the group had the nicest singing voice when she sang in both songs.
The lighting was fit to match each scene of the show. The sounds of the voices and the instruments playing were able to make the performance come to life. I enjoyed the smooth, soft instrumental music that was playing in the song, Somewhere That's Green. It helped to bring a soothing ambiance for the audience. Additionally, the costumes were visually appealing for all of the characters. I felt that Audrey's black and white dress and her flashy yellow wig had the most dressy costume set worn on stage.
What drew me most in the show of “Little Shop of Horrors” was actually the storyline. The show focused on a human-eating plant named Audrey II that lived in a plant shop. This storyline seemed to be different from other musicals, in a good way. You don't ever hear about a man-eating plant that’s would play in a performance anyway. Thus, I had to go check it out and see how the story can be performed on stage. I was pretty impressive on how the plant moved animatedly from the puppeteers. It seemed as if it was a real plant coming to life. The deep voicing of a plant and how it constantly yelled for more food from Seymore was what made this character incredibly entertaining.
Overall, Little Shop of Horrors was an impressive show. For its acting aspects, I would have to get the show a 5 out of 5. All of the actors did an excellent job performing on stage and told the story throughout the show. They were able to project different kinds of moods, such as the show being romantic and scary in various scenes. The singing would have to be a 4 out of 5. The singing of the performance was mostly good to hear, especially from the Urchins. They were clear, loud and concise too. The technical aspects are a 5 out of 5. The lighting, instruments and the props were appropriately used for developing the story in the musical.
Whenever there was an uplifting scene, the music would be played in an upbeat or smooth manner. If there was a sad scene, the music would have a dark, gloomy tone. I was impressed by the quality and performance of this show and I hope to see more of Reagan's musicals in upcoming years.