HORSHAM Arts Council’s production of Little Shop of Horrors has officially wrapped.
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The show finished on Saturday night after nine performance-run at the Horsham Town Hall. Preparations have already started for the council’s next show – Rock of Ages – which will be staged in May.
Little Shop of Horrors was directed by Debbie Boutcher, and starred Chris Versteegen as Seymour and Belinda Elliott as Audrey.
The council had originally planned to stage Urinetown until a shortage of male cast members forced a last minute change to the cult-classic musical.
Council president Simon Dandy said he was proud of the cast and crew of the show.
“It was an amazing production, especially given the short time frame,” he said.
“To produce a show of that high quality is a credit to everyone involved. Debbie and the team did a fantastic job and we couldn’t be more proud of them.
“Every show is different, and if you look at our most recent productions – The Wedding Singer, Annie, RENT, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and now Little Shop of Horrors – it’s impossible to compare.”
Mr Dandy said the production had forced the council to face a number of challenges.
“The biggest thing with this show was the effort to create the puppetry. The whole team was on the task to create the four Audrey II puppets, but Beau Ladlow and Milly Henley were responsible for it,” he said.
“In the short amount of time we had, to get what they managed to create on stage was so impressive. Normally that kind of thing you would want to have nine months, whereas we only had three. It shows the huge amount of effort that goes in.”
He said the feedback from the community had been overwhelmingly positive.
“Everyone I’ve talked who saw it absolutely loved it; they were wowed by the sets and said the standard of the performances were great,” he said.
“We were probably a little bit disappointed with the attendance numbers, but that could be due to a number of factors – could be there was heaps happening in Horsham at the time, I'm not sure.
“It would have been nice to get more numbers there as a reward for the effort everyone put in – but we can’t control that.”
The council’s next show Rock of Ages features a range of classic rock songs by artists such as Journey, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard.
It follows small town girl Sherrie Christian who travels to Hollywood to achieve her dreams of becoming a singer. There she meets an aspiring rocker named Drew Boley works as a busboy in a club called the Bourbon Room.
The musical was turned into a film in 2012 starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise.
Mr Dandy said the show would appeal to a wide demographic.
“This will bring a lot of people out of the woodwork. There will hopefully be some rock singers who will come and try out for the show,” he said.
“It’s completely different to any other show we’ve done, so it will be really exciting. When you look at the song list, it’s just awesome.”
Rock of Ages will be the HAC directorial debut for Erin Boutcher, who directed St Brigid’s College production of The Little Mermaid earlier this year. Ms Boutcher said she was thrilled to get the job.
“I’ve been involved in the council for many years, so it’s so exciting that this will be my first time in the director’s chair,” she said.
“It’s an 80s, glam rock spectacular. There will be a rock band and lots of colourful costumes – it's a very high energy, funny show. There will be a few things that I’ll put into the set design to make it different to the original. I think it will bring a different crowd to the theatre, which is always exciting.”
Ms Boutcher played the role of Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors, and was also the show’s set designer.
“The show was just amazing; I’m really fortunate that my mum (Debbie) will be mentoring me through this process ahead – I feel really lucky about that,” she said.
An information night for Rock of Ages will be held on November 4 from 4pm at 19 Hamilton Road (Henty Highway), Horsham.
“People will be able to hear about the show and what they can expect from the auditions,” she said.
“I’m thinking there will be between 30 and 35 in the cast, which is a medium cast fro a HAC show. Even if you haven't been in a show before, I want to encourage them to come along for the experience – we’re always looking for new people to get involved in Horsham Arts Council.”
Auditions will be held on November 17, 18 and 19.