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Singing students and man-eating plants: Little Shop of Horrors comes to LSPU Hall

Mount Pearl Senior High is bringing the dark musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors to the LSPU Hall in St. John's.

Quirky musical comedy production by Mount Pearl Senior High students runs April 27-30

Mount Pearl Senior High students Jon Miller and Jacob Martin star in Little Shop of Horrors. (Paula Gale/CBC)

Students at Mount Pearl Senior High are bringing the quirky musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors to St. John's.

The rock musical horror comedy tells the story of floral assistant Seymour Krelborn who stumbles across a new breed of plant.

A plant that happens to be a carnivore.

It's a great chance to support some amazingly talented young students.- Tim Matson

"He's a clumsy dork, [that's] the best way to put it," student Jon Miller, who plays Seymour Krelborn, told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

"He's always being awkward, he doesn't really know how to be as chill as one would like."

The plant, which isn't the typical bit of background scenery but an essential part of the show, is played by Jacob Martin.

"I'm a plant. A man-eating plant. That's pretty much the only thing he's passionate about, eating people," Martin said.

Jon Miller performs Grow for Me from Little Shop of Horrors

8 years ago
Duration 2:15
Mount Pearl Senior High Student Jon Miller stars as Seymour Krelborn in the production of Little Shop of Horrors playing at the LSPU Hall Thursday-Sunday.

"It's a tough character to get into, but I would say throw the voice down to a deeper tone and think potty-mouthed and savage."

Students and teachers worked on designing and creating the plant, teacher and director Tim Matson said.

It needed to be made in three different sizes to accommodate the plant's growth throughout the show.

"Once Audrey II, [that's] the name of the plant, really starts eating people it grows to a much bigger height. It's about seven feet tall, and starts to take over most of the stage at the LSPU Hall," Matson said.

Tim Matson is a teacher at Mount Pearl Senior High and the director of the school's production of Little Shop of Horrors. (CBC)

Little Shop of Horrors — which runs April 27 through 30 — highlights the different talents of students both on and off the stage, Matson said, including performers, puppeteers, technicians, musicians and artists.

"It offered so many opportunities to showcase the amazing talent that we have at the school … Plus it's a really, really fun and funny show," he said.

"It's a great chance to support some amazingly talented young students."

With files from the St. John's Morning Show