Meet the Cast of West Potomac High School’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

This production of Little Shop of Horrors is 95% all green, recycled materials, even though our Plant wants to destroy the word, we want to save it; one tree at a time.

(l to r) Sarah Lore, Aubrey Blount, David Jarzen, and Nikki Amico. Courtesy of West Potomac High School.
(l to r) Sarah Lore, Aubrey Blount, David Jarzen, and Nikki Amico. Photo courtesy of West Potomac High School.

In addition to going green, West Potomac is collecting toothbrushes at the different performances for the many homeless shelters throughout the Northern Virginia area!

Here’s the cast:

David Jarzen (Seymour)

Aubrey Blount (Seymour)

Nikki Amico (Audrey)

Sarah Lore (Audrey)

Jonathan Barger (Mushnik)

Sam Davidson (Mushnik)

Sam Rainey (Audrey II)

Julian Worth (Audrey II)

Austin Harlow (Orin)

JP Havranek (Orin)

Caroline Austin (Ronette)

Lizzy Rader (Crystal)

Frankie Manazan (Juanita)

Lorna Ryan (Juanita)

Alyssa: What is Little Shop of Horrors about?

Aubrey: The show is about self-sacrifice in the beginning, it isn’t really about the plant. All the things that he [Seymour] is doing are for Audrey. Even though he is becoming famous, Seymour doesn’t really care about any of that; his main motivation is Audrey.

Jonathan: It’s about a deal with the devil with characters including: a shy, nerdy orphan (Seymour) and a carnivorous plant (Audrey II). The show takes place in a plant shop own by a greedy controlling boss (Mr. Mushnik) and Seymour’s co-worker and love interest (Audrey) who is currently dating an abusive, sadist dentist (Orin). When Seymour finds out that the plant he has raised will only grow when fed human blood he has to continue finding creative ways to keep the plant alive, so that it continues to give Seymour fame, fortune and love, it all kind of spirals from there.

Austin: Little Shop of Horrors is about Seymour and his hope, aspirations and determination to get out of Skid Row which seems to be the most rock bottom place you can be.

How would you describe the character you are playing?

David Jarzen (Seymour). Photo courtesy of West Potomac High School.
David Jarzen (Seymour). Photo courtesy of West Potomac High School.

David: Seymour is the nerdy kid on the block who lacks confidence and is sometimes a push over. With help through other characters he finds his way to overcome all of his problems.

Aubrey: Seymour is shy, but not nerdy. His character is described very well in the song “Ya Never Know”; he has very low expectations, and dreams of getting out of Skid Row. He wants a better future but he knows that there isn’t a way for him to get out of his orphan lifestyle.

Nikki: My character is Audrey; she is a vulnerable young woman who dreams of escaping her life on Skid Row and finding happiness. She has bad luck with relationships but finds hope in Seymour.

Sarah: I play Audrey, she is the love interest of Seymour, and has struggled with difficulties all her life, including an abusive boyfriend who she can’t get away from and her inability to open up. When she finally chooses to open up to Seymour they begin to develop romantic feelings for each other.

Jonathan: Mushnik is an angrier, Czechoslovakian Mr. Krabs.

Sam D: He [Mushnik] is the shop owner; he is driven by money because he has been poor and only looking to save his business.

Sam R: My character’s name is Audrey II; he is a giant plant sent to Earth by an alien and is the reason for the shop of Skid Row’s success. Eventually the plant grows bigger and bigger and becomes a threat to those who visit the shop as well as the shop owner and his assistants.

Julian: My character [Audrey II] is fairly self-explanatory, it is a man eating plant from outer space that’s only aspiration is world denomination; he’s generally a villain.

Austin: The dentist [Orin] is a sadistic bully who only wants to inflict pain and he does so. He also really listens to his mother starting from a young age, maybe not for the best but in his eyes he’s a success and always will be.

JP: My character is a dentist [Orin] who is violent because he was raised to be psychopath.

Caroline: I am part of the Greek Chorus [Ronette] of the show, in the Original Show each of our characters are named after Doo Wop groups of the 1960s; the Ronettes, the Chiffons and the Crystals. They narrate the show while also taking on various roles in the background.

Lizzy: Chiffon is one of the four Doo Wop girls who live in Skid Row; they all are very poor but somehow find joy in their life by telling the story of Audrey II.

Frankie: I’m Juanita and she’s one of the Doo Wop Girls, they are these omnipresent girls who narrate the show who are neither good nor bad.

Lorna: Because the show is double casted and our [Frankie and herself] role was added in, Frankie and I created an entire backstory for Juanita. She went to school until fifth grade and then dropped out; she then became a dancer and had 9.5 husbands, one whom was a scientist. Juanita actually had a secret affair with the dentist and still does but is also married Chiffon but then divorces her for Crystal. Juanita is 1% Cambodian, 2.5% Filipino and 25% Columbian and 25% South African and the rest White.

Is this your first time appearing in a West Potomac High School production?

​(left to right) Aubrey Blount, and JP Havranek. Photo courtesy of West Potomac High School.
​(left to right) Aubrey Blount, and JP Havranek. Photo courtesy of West Potomac High School.

Aubrey: This is not my first West Potomac show (I played JoJo in Seussical and Paperboy/Various Roles in Young Frankenstein) but even having participating in previous West Potomac shows it is still a totally different experience.

Sarah: I kind of knew what I was getting into because my older sister, Eliza, did West Potomac theatre throughout her high school career and because of her I knew lots of the people in the department. But finally coming here and actually participating has been a different experience.

Jonathan: I feel like I am actually the only who is appearing in my first West Potomac show. I only started doing theatre related things last year so this whole process is a bit more intense than the one middle show I did. The stakes are higher and it will end up being better in general.

Sam D: I get everything that Clark asks of me done on time, I arrive on time, and just practice a lot.

Julian: Well it’s really nice seeing all the older people who I’ve worked with in other community productions and finally getting to work with them again now in high school. I wasn’t in theatre in middle school so this is all together my first theatre school experience, and it’s great to be able to come straight from a school setting into a theatre setting without having to come home first.

Lorna: I have worked a lot harder because I feel like I should be as good as the seniors and not look stupid and out of place.

What is it like working with Clark knowing he once played Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors?

David: It’s a great honor to share a role with my director knowing that he played the character makes me want to work harder to fulfill the role to his standards.

Aubrey: He’s constantly motivating me to be better and help my character grow.

What is your favorite scene and song to watch when you are not on the stage?

Austin: I would say “Get It” but I’m on stage for part of that… so I would say “Closed for Renovations” because it is just a happy upbeat tune that symbolizes good change.

JP: “Get It” because it’s interesting to watch a plant speak and watch a person talk to a plant

Caroline: “Get It” because it has the best tune and beat and really shifts the plot of the show

Lizzy: “Get It” because it is the first time that Seymour and Audrey II talk and throughout the song you can see them start to bond and I find it pretty hilarious

Frankie: Probably “Get It” because  it’s definitely the most fun because it’s the most rock and roll and Seymour is so much fun to watch

Alyssa: What do you want audiences to take away with them when they leave this production of Little Shop of Horrors?

Nikki: Enjoy every moment in life because you never know when you’re going to be eaten.

Sarah: I want the audience to be singing the songs all the way home.

Caroline: Don’t feed the plant!

Lizzy: I want them to walk away feeling overjoyed and also for them to remember the deeper meaning of the story.

Frankie: I want them to realize how much theatre is part of these students’ lives and continue to support us on our road to Scotland.

Courtesy of West Potomac High School.
Courtesy of West Potomac High School.

Little Shop of Horrors plays on November 6, 8, 13, 14and 15, 2014 at 7:00 pm and November 8, 9, and 15, 2014 at 2:00 pm, at West Potomac High School’s Kogelman Theatre – 6500 Quander Road, in Alexandria VA. For tickets, order them online.

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