If you walked into Bool’s Flower Shop during their regular business hours in late April, you might see customers browsing or staff preparing flower arrangements — nothing out of the ordinary. But come 7:30 p.m., Bool’s would be filled with props, lights, actors and spectators enjoying a production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The brains behind this unique twist on the horror comedy musical about a floral shop worker who raises a man-eating plant from outer space was producer Jacob Stuckelman ’19, a theatre studies student at Ithaca College. Stuckelman and his crew of IC students — cast, creative team and orchestra — held an initial run of six performances from April 24-28. Due to high demand, they extended the run with three additional performances.
Stuckelman was inspired to stage the show after he saw a site-specific production of “Ragtime” on Ellis Island. In site-specific theatre, the production is staged in a location where the majority of the plot takes place.
“Site-specific theatre is a way to enhance traditional storytelling and adds layers of specificity and realism that can't be achieved through other mediums,” said Stuckelman. “What excited me about this production is that Seymour and Audrey's world was inside the flower shop while our reality was right outside the front doors.”
