NL_091219

newlenoxpatriot.com life & arts
the new lenox patriot | September 12, 2019 | 21
NL teen stars in upcoming Curtain Call production
T.J. Kremer III
Contributing Editor
“Feed me, Seymour.”
Those chilling words
from perhaps the most
iconic, man-eating space
plant in the history of theatre
will soon be heard on
the stage of Mokena’s Curtain
Call Theatre, as it prepares
to debut “Little Shop
of Horrors” in eight performances
spanning from
Sept. 26 to Oct. 6.
It’s been a long time
coming, but Director Mark
Frost said now the stars finally
aligned to bring the
cult classic to Mokena.
“I’m on the board and I
also wanted to direct the
show for a long time,”
Frost said. “And we finally
got to a point, quite honestly,
where we were able
to find the plant rentals at
an affordable price.”
Frost said that Curtain
Call was able to find a
place in Michigan that was
willing to rent out the puppet
plants — named Audrey
II in the production
and played by New Lenox
resident Ben Radeke —
as well as an old dentist’s
chair.
“He’s very grungy
and very gospel-souly,
and creepy up to a point
where it’s funny,” Radeke,
a 17-year-old student at
Lincoln-Way West High
School, said of his role as
Audrey II.
The plant, owned by the
character Seymour Krelborn,
winds up in Mushnik’s
Flower Shop just as
Mr. Mushnik is about to
give up all hope and close
the shop’s doors.
Ken Czechanski, of
Frankfort, plays the downtrodden
Mr. Mushnik.
Czechanski said that his
character’s view of the
world is indicative of the
overall feelings of the
rest of the characters who
are all trying to make
their way to the American
dream, but ultimately end
up sacrificing too much to
get there.
“From my perspective,
I think [Mr. Mushnik] is
(Left to right) Geoffrey Purvis (Seymour Krelborn), of Homewood, rehearses a scene
from “Little Shop of Horrors” with Lara Heritage (Ronnette), of Hobart, Indiana;
Amanda Mascarello (Crystal), of Mokena; and Jamie McGuffage (Chiffon), of Tinley
Park, at Curtain Call Theatre Sept. 3. T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media
very jaded because he’s
been around long enough
to see all this happen,”
Czechanski said. “I just assume
he’s always been on
the losing end of things. I
think he takes everything
with a huge grain of salt;
he doesn’t think anything’s
going to work. But, once
he gets that taste of it, he’s
so desperate to hang onto
it — the whole show everyone
is manipulating
everyone in the show. The
plant, Mr. Mushnik, Seymour,
everyone is pushing
their own agenda. Musnik
does it with aplomb. He
pushes pretty hard, and
bad things happen.”
Serving as a sort of
Greek Chorus throughout
the show are a trio of characters:
Ronette, Chiffon
and Crystal.
Amanda Mascarello, of
Mokena, plays Crystal,
one of the trio of the sort
of Greek Chorus in the
show. Mascarello said that
the trio are often looked
upon by the other denizens
of Skid Row as the sea urchins
of the town.
“I see them as the narrators,”
Mascarello said of
the trio. “But, sometimes
in the show, they act as
the narrator, so they know
what’s going on, and other
times they’re part of the
show. So, it kind of changes
throughout.”
For a full listing of
showtimes and to purchase
tickets, visit ccctheatre.
com, or call (708) 607-
2281.
faith
From Page 20
vide the opportunity for attendees
to engage in an indepth
dialogue about the
church’s mission, beliefs
and approach to ministry.
To register, sign up at newlifenewlenox.org
or call
the church office at (815)
462-0202.
The Hub (1303 S. Schoolhouse Road, New
Lenox)
Xtreme Church
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
every Sunday. The Hub
partners with Xtreme Ministries
to host a church service.
There is loud music
and preaching. For more
information, call (815)
717-8002.
Cherry Hill Church of Christ (2749
Lancaster Drive, Joliet)
Sunday Services
10:30 a.m. every Sunday;
1 p.m. on the first
Sunday of each month
and 6 p.m. every Sunday
except the first Sunday of
each month.
Grace Episcopal Church (209 N. Pine St.,
New Lenox)
Sunday Services
8 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Rite II. 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Rite II with music,
followed by coffee hour.
For more information, call
(815) 485-6596.
Saturday Service
5 p.m. the first, third
and fifth Saturday of each
month.
Cornerstone Church (1501 S. Gougar Road,
New Lenox)
Men’s Bible Study
6-7:30 a.m. every Friday.
For more information,
call (815) 462-7700.
Parkview Christian Church (2121 S.
Schoolhouse Road, New Lenox)
Worship Services
4 p.m. Saturdays; 8:30
a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30
a.m. Sundays.
Peace Lutheran Church (1900 E. Lincoln
Highway, New Lenox)
Church Services
5 p.m. Saturdays; 8:30
a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays.
Ruth Circle Quilters
9 a.m. Mondays. No experience
necessary. You
just have to know how to
have fun to join. And if
that’s not enticing enough,
we always have snacks!
For more information, call
(815) 462-9527 or (708)
479-7338.
Prayer Group
11:45 a.m. Wednesdays.
Denise Jones hosts
a monthly gathering for
prayer. The prayers include
our church, our young people,
those on the prayer list
from the bulletin, and any
other concerns or celebrations.
The group will meet
on the third Wednesday of
each month at 11:45 a.m.
Please call (815) 838-0388
or the church office (815)
485-5327 if you will be attending.
A Man in Recovery
7-8:30 p.m. Every Tuesday.
This recovery group
is for those who are struggling
with addiction or
those who love someone
struggling. For more information,
call Tom at (815)
354-3195.
The Journey Church (14414 W. Ford Drive,
New Lenox)
Reverberate Youth Group
1-3 p.m. Every first
Sunday of the month. The
group meets to discuss a
message geared toward junior
and senior high school
students. For more information,
email youth@ourjourney.cc.
Have something for Faith
Briefs? Contact Editor
Sean Hastings at sean@
newlenoxpatriot.com or
call (708) 326-9170 ext. 48.
Information is due by noon
on Thursdays one week prior
to publication.