A community take on ‘Little Shop’

Isham Farm hosts Williston Community Theatre production

BY TAYLOR ANTONIOLI Special to the Observer

In the play “Little Shop of Horrors,” Audrey II, a sentient and carnivorous plant, claims in defiance of its caretaker, Seymour Krelborn, “If I can talk, and I can move, who’s to say I can’t do anything I want?”

Williston’s own Helen Weston took a bit of that “who’s to say?” attitude and put it into building the Williston Community Theatre. When asked what her mission is for the theater, she summarized it as “(a) mission to bring people together. When we get together, no matter our backgrounds we can do great things.”

She also shared that part of theater’s mission is to protect the environment, as they give any excess revenue to a different environmental organization each year. The theater is a part of the “First: Earth Project” founded by Weston, a non-profit that, according to the Isham Family Farm website, “promotes and unites the community, performing arts and the natural environment.”

June 22 is the premier of the Williston Community Theatre’s version of “Little Shop of Horrors,” a play adaptation of the 1986 musical-horror movie by Howard Ashman featuring a man-eating plant. Seymour, the meek assistant for a flower shop in the bad part of town, pines for his coworker, Audrey, and hopes to impress her with this “strange and interesting plant,” as he calls it, which he then names after her. Despite it bringing success for the shop, it comes at a price. The Audrey II has a taste for blood and is willing to force Seymour into doing whatever it takes to get it.

Kyla Paul, director of the theater since November 2022, said that the- ater members decided on the play because of its classic nature, fun music, and the 1960s nostalgia. They also determined that the limited requirements for set and cast worked for the small stage in the Isham family’s barn.

Paul said that those working on the play, such as herself, wanted to put their own spin on it while attempting not to change it dramatically. With gender-inclusive casting and a “glow-up” on the puppets used to create the Audrey II, Paul hopes to create a memorable impression on the audience and get them excited for more shows in the future. The theater’s ticket page describes their version as a “delicious sci-fi smash about a man-eating plant, boy meets girl. All wrapped up in a moral tragedy.”

There are three shows from June 22-24. Tickets are on sale at www. sevendaystickets.com.