January 30th was the night of Faculty Follies. This event saw the main cast of Mayfair’s production, Little Shop of Horrors, take a step back and let the staff here at Mayfair take the stage instead. It was an experiment that produced, for lack of a better word, a colossal trainwreck (from a professional standpoint, at least.) For those who are unfamiliar with the premise of the film, it tells the story of Seymour Krelborn (played by Mr. Nguyen) as he finds success as a florist on Skid Row for growing a massive plant which he names Audrey 2. Mayfair’s production of it switches the script up a bit, referencing more local things. I wouldn’t know what it’s actually like since I’ve never seen what the real play is like, but I can say with a smile that the Faculty Follies version is 100% certified comedy gold. Mr. Bacani’s over the top delivery of Orin Scrivello juxtaposed with Principal Diaz’s entirely unrehearsed performance as Mr. Mushnik was truly a sight to behold.
Digging into the actual meat and bones of the performance, it began with a rather interesting opening. It opened with Mr. Diaz taking the stage knowing absolutely none of his lines – which resulted in the hilarious necessity for Mr. Saunders to read out all of Mr. Diaz’s lines, as he was playing Mr. Mushnik, and having to hear Mr. Diaz repeat them, followed by Ms. Campbell, as Audrey Fulquard. Finally then came Mr. Nguyen. Ms. Campbell, I should add, played her role quite well and provided some phenomenal singing.
The opening sequence took around 22 minutes to get through, though having never seen the actual play in its serious form, I couldn’t say if this is how it’s meant to be or not. From what I gather, though, in listening to the accounts of those who have seen it, this was unique to the Faculty Follies version. At any rate, I’m sure that just as much preparation went into this version as the normal one. Or more accurately, how much preparation had gone into making it seem like everything was unrehearsed and not meant to be a total trainwreck.
Enough of what I thought of it, though. I asked the staff what they thought of it themselves, and it seems like the consensus was that they had a great time with it and it was a great experience for the staff. Ms. Clinton, Ms. Balogh, and Mrs. Elhessen certainly thought so. Ms. Campbell (playing the part of Audrey) in particular seemingly really enjoyed herself, saying that it was “one of the funnest things I’ve done up [on stage]. I’m enjoying getting to be a kid again.” Mr. Bacani also shared much the same opinion, with an obviously slanderous and outrageous opinion that “the cameraman…keeps overheating the camera.”
Perhaps, the most moved through it all was what Mr. Saunders, the chief architect of this whole shebang, and this is what he had to say.
Isn’t that lovely? If this doesn’t demonstrate how tight-knit the teachers and staff are here at Mayfair, I don’t know what does. A big round of applause for our wonderful teachers and staff here at Mayfair, for putting themselves out there in such a potentially humiliating way in the name of fun!
Cast:
Ms. Campbell -- Audrey Fulquard
Mr. Nguyen -- Seymour Krelborn
Mr. Bacani -- Orin Scrivello, D.D.M.
Mr. Diaz -- Mr. Mushnik
Mr. Fong -- Chang, the Chinese Florist
Mme. Fauben -- Street Urchin
Mrs. Elehessen -- Street Urchin
Mrs. Balogh -- Street Urchin
Ms. Aguirre -- Street Urchin
Mrs. Clinton -- Street Urchin
Ms. Stewart -- Hobo
Mr. Tannas -- Audrey 2 (voice)
Sam Escareno -- Audrey 2 (puppeteer)
Mr. Saunders -- Narrator, and the Masochistic Child