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Next weekend ACT (Arts Center Theater) will perform “Little Shop of Horror,” a rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman. The play will be performed Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and there will be a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. It’s about a flower shop worker raising a plant that only feeds on human blood. The music has been described as early 1960’s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown.

“Little Shop of Horror” was a long running Off-Broadway hit that ran for years and you may remember the film adaptation from 1986 directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis as the lead role of Seymour, the florists who buys the little plant that grows into a blood thirsty potted monster. I lived in L.A., at that time, and I will always remember the giant plant that was placed on the roof of Tower Records on Sunset Blvd. It was a great marketing promo because you couldn’t help but notice this monolithic plant that looked as if it was going to consume this landmark record store at the gateway to Beverly Hills.

So why should you come to the Arts Center’s Wright Auditorium next week to see a play? I know that everyone is busy with hectic schedules. Our lives in the 21st Century are filled with electronic gadgets that keep us connected at all times. So many people are in constant communication with work, family and friends due to the explosion of high tech cell phones that provide us with endless information that at times could be overwhelming. Twenty-four hour news and advertising images bombard us in print and electronically. The TV and computer screens and now cars contain additional screens that direct and guide us so that we are on time to our next important event.

One of the first things you will be told when you come to the theater is to turn off your cell phone prior to the curtain parting for the play. Here is an opportunity to escape the noise and constant bombardment of everyday life. Going to the movies can serve this same purpose, but live theater is like witnessing art being created. “The immediacy” of live theater, for me, makes it much more special than a movie that was most likely filmed more than a year ago. The actors in a movie have probably made two or three other movies since they wrapped filming on the current blockbuster. Local talent has rehearsed for hundreds of hours, creative crafts people have constructed sets and sewn costumes. A backstage crew is anticipating an actor’s next move or line to insure that the phone will ring at the exact moment the script call for it.

Most everyone can see the value in handmade objects, like a beautifully carved duck by a wildlife artists, or the quilt that your great-grandmother made that you will pass on to your children to cherish. Theater is meaningful in this same way in the form of entertainment. There is a sensory fullness that can only be experienced in a darkened theater with actors performing for your very own personal pleasure. I don’t think that I have ever gone to New York City without attending a play on Broadway. What happens during those couple of hours while watching a Broadway production does not compare to any movie I have ever been to, even though I love going to the movies.

You may know some of the people in our community that have worked so very hard over the past several months to bring “Little Shop of Horrors” to opening night. Here is a list of those people that will be listed in the playbill that will be handed to you as you enter the auditorium:

Seymour – Beau Garner; Audrey - Adelia Ladson; Mr. Mushnik – Ronnie Barrett; Orin – Phillip Viohl; The Ronnettes – Leah Gaines, Amzie Cooper, Ashley Jones, and Kaila Howell; Bernstein, Skip Snip, Mrs. Luce, Patrick Martin, A Customer, and a Wino – Ryne Mims (boy, he is going to be one busy actor!); Voice Audrey 2 – Josh Briones; Audrey 2 Puppeteers – Melissa Bair and Carrie Viohl.  And last, but not least, Judy and Andy Cordista and Lennie Flowers as backstage crew.

Please note that the subject matter of this comedy is mature in nature and may not be appropriate for young children.  Tickets are $10 each and available at the Arts Center or prior to the performances of the play at the ticket booth.

A very important aspect of the Arts Center’s mission statement includes providing performing arts for the whole community. We are holding up our part of the bargain, now it is your responsibility to be the “provided for” part of the equation.

I would like to express my appreciation to the people at Beef ‘O’Brady’s for providing Thursday’s lunch for the fine arts campers. The hot-dogs and curly fries were a huge hit with active group of young artists. It’s this type of support that makes having a great arts center possible for the people of Colquitt County. Thanks again, the lunch was perfect! Beef ‘O’Brady’s is a family sports pub located at 1 North Main Street in the old Colquitt Hotel. Please support this civic minded restaurant the next time you are hungry.