When a student rushed onto the Athens High School stage Saturday night asking for a doctor, it didn’t take the audience long to realize the words weren’t part of the script.
The curtains closed early that night after a sudden headache and dizziness struck Patrick Crist, who plays Seymour, the lead character in Little Shop of Horrors.
“It was the proverbial, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ thing,” said director Carol Patterson.
Once Crist was taken to the doctor, the medical professionals who had stepped up were thanked, and Patterson decided to reschedule the show.
Although Crist performed in Sunday’s show, the rescheduled performance will be held at 7:30 tonight at Athens High School for those who missed the ending Saturday. Admission will be free, and there will be a donation box.
“This is just to say, ‘Thanks, and sorry your evening was interrupted,’” Patterson said.
The play tells the story of a flower shop worker who attempts to romance a co-worker while dealing with a gigantic, ever-growing, man-eating plant.
The Athens High School version of the play adds a chorus, with about 30 people presenting a script originally written for about 10. The total number of participants, including those working on props and costumes, exceeded 50, Patterson said.
Lynn Sullivan, a retired music teacher from Nelsonville, directed the music portion of the performance. Adding the chorus allowed more students to be involved, she said.
“They’ve worked so hard,” she added. “There’s lots of really good talent here, especially with some kids who I think don’t realize they have talent.”
The high school also had some help from Ohio University when it came to creating the man-eating plant. Tom Fiocchi, a props technology specialist in OU’s School of Theater, constructed three different-sized versions of the plant for the student actors’ use.
The largest version of the plant is a costume a student wears onstage, Fiocchi said.
“This is an inanimate object he’s bringing some life to, and he’s doing a good job,” Fiocchi said. “It’s not just putting a hand in a sock.”
Fiocchi, who said he has always enjoyed Little Shop of Horrors, has a daughter in the high school’s performance.
“I’ve seen it every night,” he said. “It’s a bizarre piece of theater and really pretty fun.”
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