Feed me, Seymour: 'Little Shop of Horrors' coming to The Strand
ZELIENOPLE ― An alien plant that has a taste for blood is coming to The Strand this week. It's the centerpiece of the comedy/rock musical "Little Shop of Horrors." It is guaranteed to put you in the mood for ghosts and goblins.
Ron Carter, executive director of The Strand Initiative, said they are excited to bring everyone’s favorite human-eating, alien plant to their stage.
"Little Shop of Horrors" is the devilishly delicious Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi musical comedy that's been devouring the hearts of theatergoers for over 30 years. Now, it invades The Strand," Carter said.
Nick Navari, director, is excited to be checking it off his bucket list.
"I have wanted to do this show for a long time. It is so unique and the music by legend Alan Menken is so wonderful. This play will continue to play around the world as it is a one-of-a-kind," Navari said.
The cast of eight, which includes the puppeteer, is working overtime to get it right.
"We all feel so connected to this show and we are determined to get it right," Navari said.
AJ Prestogeorge, who is playing Seymour, made his stage debut in March as Judas in "Godspell."
Prestogeorge of Pittsburgh is equally glad to be back at The Strand. He describes theater as his guilty pleasure. Although he has never seen a live production of "The Little Shop of Horrors" and only saw the movie when he got the role, he is totally into being Seymour.
"What not to like about Seymour? He starts out as this melodramatic nerd with no confidence and becomes this chip-on-shoulder confident guy and ends up killing the people close to him. I'm enjoying playing around with the part," Prestogeorge said.
"This is like the ancient Greek tragedies. They knew how to pull on your heartstrings," he added.
In 2022, Prestogeorge graduated from Pitt University with a degree in business, but while there he had only a few theater opportunities because of the COVID shutdown.
Prestogeorge sings in the Voices Solis Chamber Choir and dances in the Grecian Odyssey Dance troupe and also is assistant director of junior musicals at his alma mater, Woodland Hills.
"I'm glad to have AJ in this production and Sam Carter, who was in the recently in '9 to 5' because she has the voice for Audrey," Navari said.
Carter, who saw the movie when she was 13, said Audrey is her dream role.
"I like her because she has so much personality and a lot of depth and so much in her head and heart. I'm enjoying exploring that," she said.
Carter describes herself as a singer because she has been doing that the longest, but also very much a dancer and actor.
Carter, a junior at Slippery Rock University studying theater and acting, is driving back and forth each day for rehearsal and doesn't mind a bit.
"I'm excited to be a part of this tight-knit cast," she said.
Navari said that no matter how many times you've been to The Strand the new look for this production is like nothing you have seen before.
"Chuck Ziegler, our set designer, and Mark Beighey, our technical director, are bringing so much to this show, making it unlike any the Strand audience has seen before," he said.
What: "The Little Shop of Horrors"
Where: The Strand Theater, 119 North Main St., Zelienople
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21: 7 p.m. Oct. 19 (bargain night) and 2 p.m. Oct. 15 and 22.
Admission: $40 Reserve Seating or $30 Limited or Obstructed View
Information: www.thestrandtheater.org 724-742-0400
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: The Strand hosting 'Little Shop of Horrors'
