Plants taking over the world would never be ideal, but for the past few weeks a venus flytrap takes over the WHS auditorium. It is taken over by Audrey II, a type of venus flytrap who eats every human in the USA.
This Nov. the Wenatchee Highschool drama department took on the musical, Little Shop of Horrors. The sci-fi horror comedy show had eight performances over two weekends and its music was played by WHS band students.
Senior Kade Devereaux plays the lead role of Seymor Krelborn.
“I was very excited, I knew it in my brain, I knew before anyone else knew,” said Devereaux. “It’s fun, it’s very different than previous roles I’ve had because I have to be shy and nerdy, so it’s been fun to explore something different.”
Seymour works at a flower shop on Skid Row and one day he finds a venus flytrap at a plant cutting store.
Seymour’s co-worker Audrey played by Iris Jaffe convinces the owner of the flower shop Mr. Mushnik who’s played by Elijah Knemeyer to display the odd plant in the window because it might attract customers. He names the plant Audrey II who is voiced by Cruz Matrinez and after putting it in the window a customer promptly orders 100 dollars of roses.
Seymour then discovers the plant needs to be fed blood to grow and thrive. One night after a busy day at the previously stagnant flower shop, Audrey II speaks for the first time and demands more blood. The plant convinces Seymour to kill Audrey’s abusive boyfriend, Orin Scrivell that is played by Dominic Cochran the local dentist who’s strangely addicted to the laughing gas.
Seymour kills the dentist and feeds him to the plant. As the plant grows, so does the flower shop’s business. Due to the fact that Audrey’s abusive boyfriend is dead, she and Seymour confess their feelings for each other sing Suddenly Seymour,
“My favorite part is the climax of ‘Suddenly Seymour,’ it’s the one that gives me chills sometimes,” Devereaux said.
Mr. Mushnik later confronts Seymour because he figures out that Seymour may have been involved with the dentist’s death. Thinking he killed the dentist only to protect Audrey. So to keep his secret safe he convinces Mushnik to go inside the plant because that’s where he put the shop’s money and is promptly swallowed.
The plant’s fame continues to grow and many companies want a piece of Seymor and Audrey II so they can make a profit. But to keep the plant alive he must continue to feed Audrey II humans. At first he wants to kill it but all the offers and money convince him otherwise.
Seymour then becomes very famous and is going to have his own TV show. Which is supposed to be filmed the next day. Seymour and Audrey plan to take the contract money and leave town. Seymour would leave the plant all alone in the shop so it would starve.
But the plant demands food so Seymour decides to try and find the rarest meat he can to hold Audrey II over until the next day. When he leaves Audrey II manipulates Audrey to come to it and tries to eat her, Seymour stops her from being eaten but she is mortally wounded.
She convinces him to feed her to the plant to keep it alive and she will also be a part of the plant. Right after this a man comes in wanting to take clippings of Audrey II so “every house in America will have one.” After he leaves Seymour tries to kill with a machete but does not succeed, and Devereaux’s least favorite part.
“I don’t like getting eaten because I have to crawl in a really tight space and it’s claustrophobic,” Devereaux said.
The businessman comes back for the clippings and he makes even more Audrey II’s which end up taking over the world.
