Weber School Presents ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
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Weber School Presents ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

The student production, directed and choreographed by Brad Bass, had its final performance on May 25.

By Robbie Garber June 14, 2022, 1:36 pm Edit
The cast, back row (left to right): Evan Schneiderman, Chris Chapman, Elliott Furie, Sammy Lebowitz, Ammit Bezalel, Milo Medoff, Olivia Rocamora. Middle row (left to right): Matthew Steinberg, Miriam Burmenko, Naomi Furie, Aiden Fladell, Daniella Zalik, Hannah Mandel. Front row: Jack Anderson.
The cast, back row (left to right): Evan Schneiderman, Chris Chapman, Elliott Furie, Sammy Lebowitz, Ammit Bezalel, Milo Medoff, Olivia Rocamora. Middle row (left to right): Matthew Steinberg, Miriam Burmenko, Naomi Furie, Aiden Fladell, Daniella Zalik, Hannah Mandel. Front row: Jack Anderson.

Low lighting and an unfinished basement at the Weber School set the scene for the second and final performance of the campy black comedy horror musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” on Wednesday night, May 25.

The student production, directed and choreographed by Brad Bass, kicked off with a raucous chorus composed of Aiden Fladell (Ronnette), Naomi Furie (Chiffon) and Miriam Burmenko (Crystal) singing the opening number while the ensemble (Olivia Rocamora, Hannah Mandel, Mathew Steinberg, Evan Schneiderman and Chris Chapman) performed “Skid Row.”

Miriam Burmenko, Naomi Furie, Aiden Fladell.

Milo Medoff (Mr. Mushnik) added comedic flair, but it was Elliot Furie who took the zany performance wonderfully over the top. Furie’s portrayal of the sociopathic dentist and terrible boyfriend Orin Scrivello earned him cheers from the audience after nearly every scene, as well as praise from his peers after the show.

While the vocals of the leading pair, Sammy Lebowitz (Seymour Krelborn) and Ammit Bezalel (Audrey) were excellent, Daniella Zalik absolutely stole the show. Her singing voice as the monstrous plant Audrey II had audience members on the edge of their seats.

Left to right: Elliott Furie, Ammit Bezalel, Sammy Lebowitz, Milo Medoff.

Meanwhile, sweating up a storm inside the giant rented puppet, Jack Anderson manipulated the possessed plant’s every movement. While most of the cast and crew had been working on the production since February, Bass explained, Anderson had joined just over two weeks ahead of the first performance and still somehow found time to get his parts down perfectly.

Bass thanked musical director Ali Ramsaier and especially technical director Scott Leaderman, who, alongside the tech crew (Zachary Goldstein, Eden Malka and Gavri Newman), pulled off an excellent production of the notoriously challenging play.

Sammy Lebowitz starred as Seymour Krelborn.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is likely to be the last spring production in the unfinished space.

A new grant from the Zalik Foundation will fund a full renovation as part of the new Music and Performing Arts Academy, slated to open just in time for Weber’s spring 2023 production.

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