Taylor Goodyear

Staff Writer

This post was originally published on October 22.

It’s autumn again, which means the leaves are falling, the mornings are getting colder, and Behrend theater is rehearsing their fall productions. For this semester, two musicals are being put on: the Studio Theater is performing Little Shop of Horrors, while the Behrend Theater Club is putting on Starkid’s Trail to Oregon. Both shows are student-directed and run with Dr. Emily Cassano as the producer.

If you’ve never heard of Little Shop of Horrors, the horror-comedy show goes as follows: A poor man from Skid Row named Seymour Krelborn discovers a plant he names Audrey II. While the plant brings him fame and fortune, she also has evil intentions. Seymour must decide whether he should do what the plant wants to get what he desires, or if he should do what is right. The entire musical is roughly two hours in length.

From left to right: Audrey (Norah Dana), Seymour(Owen Gilroy), Audrey II (Voiced by Jaymin Willis, puppeted by Sienna Exler and Bella Eibl), and Mushnik (Aiden Herrell-Ward)

Little Shop of Horrors is being directed by Jack McBride, a fourth-year early childhood education major from Moon Township, PA. “I love the show,” McBride said when asked why he chose to direct it. “It was the first show I was ever in, and if it wasn’t for this show, I definitely would not be the person I am today. It holds a special place in my heart— it was the only show my [high school] theater director was unable to finish due to Covid, and I feel like I get to finish what he started.” While this is McBride’s first major directing project, he has plenty of previous directing experience, including being the assistant director for the Studio Theater’s production of Hope Springs this past fall. “I did a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff [for Hope Springs],” he remarked. “This felt like the next logical step.”

From left to right, top-down: Ronnette (Anyssa Keeling-Oliver), Crystal (Grace Freer), Chiffon(Grace Garrity), and Shirelle(Melanie Blevins)

Little Shop of Horrors opens Thursday, October 30, at 7:30 pm, and runs for two consecutive weekends. If you’re interested in seeing the many talented actors at work, tickets can be found here. McBride suggests seeing the show on Halloween: “They’re all going to be great… but it’s a horror show.” If you enjoy theater, comedy, or just want to support Behrend’s actors, this will be a great show to attend. 

The second show, Trail To Oregon, follows a plot you may expect: A family of five— Mother, Father, Son, Daughter, and Grandpa— make their way down the Oregon Trail to reach the Willamette Valley, getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. This musical holds the title of “Most Accurate Musical about the Oregon Trail”, but don’t let that fool you— the show is full of jokes that keep the audience in stitches from start to finish. And as the only musical on the topic, it’s also the “Least Accurate Musical about the Oregon Trail.” The show is about two hours long.

From left to right: Father (Logan Boyle), Mother (Taylor Goodyear), Son (Antony Falk), and Grandpa (William Mortimore)

Trail to Oregon is co-directed by Hadleigh Jae Bills, a senior DIGIT major from Erie, PA, and Beauregard Hernandez, a sophomore Political Science Major from Lubbock, Texas. “It’s a really funny show,” Bills said. “You’ll fall out of your seats from laughing so hard.” This hilarity was the main reason they chose to direct it. “The actors get so much freedom…it lets the actors play [with the role] more, and I like that.” Bills is far from new to the directing scene, although this is her first college directing experience. She used to direct at a local children’s theater, the Footlights Performing Arts Center. “I’m used to directing six to twelve year olds,” she stated. Hernandez has similar directorial experience, directing multiple younger shows in the past while this is their “college directorial debut.” However, with two solo and two assistant/co-directed shows under Bills’s belt and four under Hernandez’s, there is no doubt that this performance will be spectacular.

From left to right: Daughter (Ace Moore) and Mr. McDoon (Sylas-Maxwell Fromyer)

Trail to Oregon opens Thursday, November 13, at 7:30pm, and runs for only four consecutive nights. If you’re looking to have a good time, tickets can be found here. The show is interactive, so be ready to shout out names and vote on which characters survive the show. Bills recommends coming as many nights as you can. “It’s going to be different every single night, so no matter which day you come, you’ll get a unique experience.” If you only want to come once, Hernandez recommends Sunday night in particular: “So many shenanigans!” They said. This show is a great way to support the up-and-coming Behrend Theater Club and have fun while doing it. 

Photos by Hadleigh Jae Bills, Jaymin Willis, and Taylor Goodyear.