SAN MARCOS — North County musical education and theater company Luminary Arts is kicking off its production of “Little Shop of Horrors” this weekend with a series of performances featuring two casts — one comprised of adults and another of teenagers.
The show’s two-weekend run is set for July 14-16 and 20-22 at Mission Hills High School’s Redwood Hall, with both casts performing two shows per weekend.
Actors said audience members can expect two very different experiences from the horror comedy musical, which follows a flower shop assistant who discovers a sentient plant with a taste for human flesh and blood.
Josh Click, who plays the role of Seymour in the adult cast, said he was very curious about how the double-cast process would go initially but has greatly enjoyed working alongside his teen counterpart, Nicholas Damian.
“I’m blown away by what he brings to the table. We watch each other rehearse very carefully and often share ideas and insights. But at the same time, we allow each other our own takes on Seymour,” Click said. “I like that a lot. You won’t be seeing the same show twice between the casts!”
An incoming sophomore at San Marcos High School, Damian said working alongside professional adult actors has been a great experience. The 14-year-old budding thespian returned to Luminary Arts after performing in its production of “13” last year and loves the environment it provides.
“Josh is such an amazing actor, and I love seeing all the acting choices he makes,” Damian said. “I can see these people who have way more years of experience than me, and I can watch them and take notes.”
Hannah Roskelly, who plays Audrey in the adult cast, said the two-cast model has made the process especially enjoyable.
“This has been very, very fun. It’s been really cool to have a teenage counterpart,” she said.
This “Little Shop of Horrors” production includes many firsts for Luminary Arts, said vice president and show director Amy Throckmorton. This is the company’s first show with two casts divided by teens and adults, and for the adult cast, the first time it’s been opened up to both professional actors and community members.
The main goal of having a split cast like this, Throckmorton said, was to expose the younger actors to professional performers and allow them to collaborate.
“It’s been a real success,” Throckmorton said. “I wanted to give them that experience, to work alongside adult actors who have had that experience. I think it’s been really great — I’ve seen these teenagers grow exponentially in terms of attitude, but also their acting skills.”
Some of the teen cast members have been involved with Luminary for years, having participated in the company’s in-school or after-school programs in San Marcos, Poway and Fallbrook school districts.
Luminary Arts’s in-school programs, which offer theater, dance and music classes for all students at participating schools, are the company’s bread and butter. In the past few years, it’s expanded to after-school classes for tap and ballet dance, musical theater jazz, improv and even RPG acting.
“That’s kind of our outreach, where we touch kids that wouldnt know about theater or music and get them interested in that,” Throckmorton said.
Luminary typically has three to four shows per year. From June to early July, the theater held a three-week kids’ day camp ending with a performance of “101 Dalmations” on July 8 and 9.
The actors in “Little Shop of Horrors” have been working on the show since May. Athena Woessner, 17, who plays Audrey in the teen cast, said she is excited to move from rehearsals to the actual performances.
“I love ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’ This is definitely a dream role of mine,” Woessner said. “It’s great to see the shift in the musical when we have all our costumes and lights and makeup and all that — it brings it all together.”
The performance schedules are as follows:
Adult cast — July 14 at 7 p.m., July 16 at 2 p.m., July 22 at 2 p.m., July 22 at 7 p.m.
Teen Cast — July 15 at 2 p.m., July 15 at 7 p.m., July 21 at 7 p.m., July 23 at 2 p.m.
Tickets for “Little Shop of Horrors” are available online at luminaryarts.org. Mission Hills High School is at 1 Mission Hills Court in San Marcos.
