'Little Shop of Horrors': Patrick Martin

Since his middle school performance of “Gone With The Gust,” senior Joshua Smalley has been no stranger to the stage—and on Apr. 20, 21 and 22, he will take his final bow at with the performance of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

“I'm excited to see how the audience reacts to this musical,” Smalley said. “It's a tad bit strange. The storyline sounds like a bad science fiction movie.”

Smalley became involved with Stow's theater program early, accumulating eleven main productions, which does not include his roles at the annual Murder Mystery or One-Act Play Festival. This year, Smalley was elected to become the Drama Club President, and has directed a handful of One-Act plays and Murder Mysteries.

In other words, Smalley's role in theater has been a bit of a rollercoaster, but one he describes as “a blast!”

“I am a total theater junky; plays are more of my thing than musicals,” Smalley said. “I love to act, direct and write.”

In “Little Shop,” Smalley will play the part of Patrick Martin, who will try discussing a deal with Seymour (the main character who is played by Bryan Detweiler) to sell the man-eating plant antagonist across the globe.

“With Mr. Martin I am trying to make him as greasy and uncouth as possible, trying as well to get some giggles from the audience,” Smalley said.

Smalley is also a core dancer and will appear as a member of the chorus for every major song.

The cast has been working extremely hard to put on the show, and that includes Smalley, who started vocal rehearsals as early as January. The director, Robert Putka, started full acting sessions at the beginning of March, and since then has offered critiques for Smalley—the pair have been working together for most of Smalley's career at SMFHS.

“It's been challenging to learn the vocal parts as well as the dance numbers. While individually, each cast member sounds great, trying to make a cohesive sound and look during the numbers has been a challenge,” Smalley said.

The senior will attend Baldwin-Wallace College next year and hopes to pursue a double degree in English and Theater.

“[The degrees are] a combination of my main interests and talents,” Smalley said.

You can see Smalley and the rest of the “Little Shop” cast on Apr. 20, 21 and 22, as tickets go on presale Apr. 9.

Get a reserved seat now for 12 dollars, or look at general admission tickets for 10
dollars. If you are a student or senior citizen, the ticket price is only $8.

Email littleshoptickets2012@gmail.com for more information.