LCVI revisits Little Shop of Horrors
Iconic musical was last performed in 2006

Nearly two decades have passed since LCVI students last staged Little Shop of Horrors, the macabre musical in which a carnivorous plant overtakes a struggling florists’ business on the wrong side of the tracks. While the hand-painted props and sets built for the 2006 production have long since been scrapped or repurposed, programs, newspaper clippings, and photographs documenting the experience yet survive in the personal collections of former cast members.
It’s a testament to the impact Little Shop had on those who were involved with bringing the show to fruition 18 years ago. “Getting to see Audrey, a human-eating Venus fly-trap, is a fundamental experience in one’s theatre career, one that sparked a decision I would later make to pursue a career in performance production at Ryerson,” says Claire Williams, née Imrie, who played the part of Chiffon in the 2006 show. Now an educator in Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Williams is thrilled to see her alma mater revisit Little Shop of Horrors once more.
The Advocate arrives in LCVI’s second-storey drama room on an overcast day in late March, where cast and crew are busily engaged in rehearsal for this year’s production. Assorted props have been carefully arranged to represent Mr. Mushnik’s flower shop. At stage right is a grotesque-looking thing, all fashioned out of spray foam over a framework of chicken wire and wood, and painted a dazzling shade of green. This is Audrey II, the horticultural antagonist, who was skillfully made by Jen Lacombe, LCVI’s talented media arts and communications technology teacher.
Of course, the real stars of the show are the students who make up an energetic eight-person cast. Under the direction of drama teacher Lindsay Curran, they run through the choreography of the ‘Finale,’ their remarkable voices filling the classroom with song. Some students adjourn to the adjacent dance studio to run through more choreography while a flustered Seymour Krelborn (Abby Wilson) furiously types away on an ancient-looking typewriter, keeping up a dialogue with the diabolical plant that has caused him much fame – and agitation.
“He is a very shy, nervous guy,” Wilson says of her character. “He’s very funny, so I think the audience will find him hysterical to watch.” Asked about what message she hopes the story will send to audiences, Wilson is unequivocal. “Some things look super good, and they’re almost too good to be true, but those things can go downhill (quickly) – so it’s really important that people are watching what they’re doing,” she remarks. Wilson’s sister, Ella, has been cast in the role of Ronnette, one of the three girls from skid row who narrate the action – the other two being Chiffon (Laura Fairbairn) and Crystal (Shiloh Flowers). Describing her character as having a lot of spunk and being very sassy, the younger Wilson’s role offers a marked contrast to that of Seymour.
For some students, taking on an alter ego has reinforced their own sense of self-understanding. “Orin’s a very confident, one-sided, one-minded character. He’s an absolute jerk – and he’s the exact opposite of me,” says Murphy Graves, who takes on the role of the cunning dentist, Orin Scrivello. Scrivello’s estranged girlfriend, Audrey, becomes Seymour’s love interest over the course of the musical – with Audrey II being named in her honour. The latter is voiced and controlled by Emma Howard, who admits to seeing some of her own character traits in the plant.
“Audrey II has an insatiable hunger for success as well as a flair for the dramatic, and while it’s hard to relate to a bloodthirsty, man-eating plant, I’d say those key factors of her personality are things I admire within the character and would like to see in myself,” Howard explains. “She’s beyond charismatic, with a larger-than-life character that reverberates across the stage. She’s entertaining, she’s witty, she’s captivating – what’s not to love?”
The enthusiasm among both cast and crew is palpable, and obscures the uncertainties of last autumn, when a series of hurdles had to be overcome in order for Little Shop to go ahead– not least the financial constraints that come with securing rights to perform a full musical. Initially, the school was only going to run select numbers from the show in the school library; thanks to some very generous donors and sponsors, LCVI bought the rights to perform the entire musical from start to finish. Lacking a suitable performance space at the school, Curran and her team then had to find an affordable venue that would accommodate them. They located one in the Glenn Crombie Theatre at Sir Sandford Fleming College, and for two days later this month that stage will become the Little Shop of Horrors.
“It has really come together,” an emotional Curran tells the Advocate. “The staff, the community of Lindsay, the parents, the teachers…people have really rallied to make this happen. It really has taken a village. I think every audience member is going to love this play. It’s fun, quirky in its own way, and we have a phenomenal cast and crew that have really brought this to life.”

And cheering them on from the audience will be Claire Williams, late of Little Shop’s 2006 cast. “There are few experiences that bond a group more than bringing a show to life, and I am so glad that these young people get to experience it,” she observes. “There is something truly poetic about them picking up exactly where we left off many years ago. Break a leg – and remember, ‘don’t feed the plants!’”
Little Shop of Horrors goes up at the Glenn Crombie Theatre (200 Albert Street South) on April 25 and 26. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. on both nights, with doors opening at 6:30. Tickets are $10 at the door, can be purchased in advance online, or by scanning a QR code on posters displayed in various locations around the community.