The Heritage Players Community Theater is already a few weeks into their rehearsal schedule for this year’s summer musical, “Little Shop of Horrors” and the cast is ecstatic to be back on the stage. The show will perform for audiences on July 17th – 20th at the Pine City High School Auditorium.
This summer will see Emily Schueller taking the lead as Artistic Director for the production with Jennifer Krinke working alongside her as the Music Director. Together the duo has welcomed an amazing cast onto the stage with a mix of new and returning faces that will dazzle the audiences each night this summer.
The cast for “Little Shop of Horrors” will be led by Rachel Bigelow as Audrey, Nate Brown as Seymour, Wes Sorum as Mushnik, Jon Bigelow as Orin, and Michaela Engh as the Voice of the Plant.
“I absolutely loved this show when I first performed as an ensemble member in high school and was able to revisit the show as the director at North Branch High School a number of years ago,” said Rachel Bigelow, “Now to have the opportunity to star in one of my dream roles as Audrey has me really looking forward to a great summer.”
Engh shared that her first experience with “Little Shop of Horrors” was in high school as a freshman watching the Pine City High School students rehearse for the show. “I came to every rehearsal because my sister was in the show and she was my ride. I fell in love with the music, but most of all the plant. It was inspiring,” recalls Engh.
When casting the production, Schueller expanded the cast of street urchins to a group of 6 female voices. “There were so many talented ladies that it just felt right to make room for them,” said Schueller. The urchins include Shayla Mihelich, Allie Gosen, Rebecca Piersdorf, Lisa Tomczyk, Angel Kidd, and Signe Reistad. Tomczyk is returning to the Heritage Players stage for her second summer and confessed that she wasn’t familiar with the show when she auditioned this year. “I just love being involved in a show and I was free this summer. I love being part of making a show come to life.”
Rounding out the cast is a talented ensemble: Maggie Schultz, Laura Dennis, Cheyenne Sandell, Kathryn Steiner, Davanie Wodash, Angel Anderson, Tracy Welker, Christin Caza, Cassandra Olson and Jay Schueller.
Schueller shared that “Little Shop of Horrors” was also one of the first productions that she felt a connection to. “I went with my dad to rehearsals at Masquers Theater when I was 9 years old and found myself singing along each night. Having the opportunity to direct this production is literally fulfilling my childhood dreams.”
Little Shop of Horrors can be seen this summer at the Pine City High School Auditorium for 4 performance dates running from July 17 – 20, 2025. Tickets for the production will go on sale June 17. Follow the Heritage Players website at www.pinecityheritageplayers.com for all the details.
