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It all started with a poor florist shop on Skid Row and a girl in an abusive relationship. Then came along a strange, unique plant that got placed in the shop’s window and changed everything.

Little Shop of Horrors was a well crafted, creative, and humorous musical put on this year by the Renton High School Drama Club. Language Arts and Drama teacher, Ms. Khelghatian, was the director of the play, and piano teacher, Mr. Lim, was the musical director. The actors put in an immense amount of hard work to practice and learn lines during IB testing season and spring break. Their dedication truly paid off when they got the chance to sparkle on stage, confidently executing their lines and showing off the height of their vocal talents.

“We got all of it done in 25 days which seems rushed, but every single minute was just very exhilarating” mentioned Selena Fanning who played a ronnette.  The short amount of time that the Drama Club had to put everything together made the show all the more impressive considering how professional and enjoyable it turned out.

The musical itself is centered around multiple characters seeking to find a prosperous life in Skid Row. Character Audrey works with a man by the name of Mr. Mushnik at a small flower shop that does not get many customers despite all their efforts. All the while, another worker named Seymour starts his work on a new botany project. The plant that Seymour is nurturing looks like a large venus fly trap with an abundance of teeth. He shows the plant to Mr. Mushnik, calling it Audrey 2. As soon as this strange and interesting plant goes up into the window a customer comes in and buys $100 worth of flowers. The shop immediately becomes popular and gains publicity due to the plant’s unique nature, however, the flower will not stop wilting even after it is given water and sunlight. Soon Seymour realizes that the plant does not live off of water, it lives off of blood! With this newfound knowledge Seymour must contemplate the lengths that he is willing to go in order to sustain both Audrey 2 and his newfound popularity. In this thrilling tale full of plot twists and romances, it was not hard to keep the audience fully engaged while the story ran its course.

Before the Friday showing of the play started, a number of graduating seniors lined up and Ms. Khelghatian was able to express what amazing qualities they offered to the drama program and how much everybody will miss them in the coming years. After talking about everybody’s contributions, a junior named Selena Fanning handed each of them a beautiful bouquet of flowers. This very touching scene added to the show, allowing the audience to connect with the actors on a more personal level.

Those who watched the play can easily attest to its humor and engagement. The actors were having a great time up on stage, allowing the audience to enjoy the performance just as much. The play keep people on the edge of their seats while also managing to make audience members scream with laughter. The actors’ ammusing lines and gags were well timed and illicited just the response they wanted to from the audience.

“I was able to be sassy which was fun and I had a little New York accent” states Fanning.

As for anyone who has considered doing drama, Fanning encourages them to at least try it out. “The whole point of drama and theater is just to express yourself and it’s a no judgement zone; this is the place where you can just be silly and goofy and even be over the top sometimes. If you feel like you wanna do it, just do it.”

Photo Credits: Corey Eichner