Oak Park resident and OPRF High School alumnus Kiana Beverly is performing in Music Theater Works’ production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” which opened Oct 24 and will run through Nov. 17 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is a sci-fi horror comedy meets love story meets rock musical. In the show, a carnivorous plant from outer space takes over a flower shop employee’s life and threatens to ruin his hope of finding love with his secret crush, Audrey. Created by the award-winning duo Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and The Beast” and “Aladdin”), the frighteningly fantastical musical arrived just in time for Halloween to make audiences scream with laughter.
“It’s festive for spooky season and the music is amazing,” said Beverly, who will be featured as one of three members of the chorus. She plays an Urchin named Chiffon.
“Since it’s a small cast, we are the ensemble – just the three of us,” she said. “We come into every scene to kind of narrate it and add comic relief. We’re on stage the entire time, so we have 13 costume changes.”
Beverly, who graduated with a music degree from Millikin University in 2021, said “Little Shop of Horrors” is the biggest show she’s been a part of in the Chicagoland area thus far. Outside of auditioning and performing, Beverly is a private voice teacher for kids at Ovation Academy for the Performing Arts in Oak Park.
After “Little Shop of Horrors,” Beverly will perform in Music Theater Works’ production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and Drury Lane Theatre’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
“To actually be living this is humbling,” she said. “It makes my heart flutter to be able to do what I love.”
The realization that acting, singing and performing is what she loved most occurred for Beverly when she was an eighth grader at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Through the school’s Bravo Performing Arts program, she performed in the musical “The Wiz” and it turned out to be a transformative experience.
“Ever since I did that show I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do,” Beverly said. “It kind of sparked a fire inside of me.”
During her time at OPRF, Beverly performed in many shows and was an original member of the school’s Show Choir, which was established her freshman year.
“Show choir had a huge impact in my life,” said Beverly, who graduated from OPRF in 2015. “The Oak Park school system helped me grow and prepare in so many ways for what I’m now doing professionally.”
“Little Shop of Horrors” is presented at the North Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie. The performance schedule is Wednesdays at 2 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., with additional performances on Saturdays, Nov. 2, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets are now on sale from $19.50 to $106 with tickets for guests 25 years old and younger available at half-price at MusicTheaterWorks.com or by calling the Music Theater Works box office at the North Shore Center, (847) 673-6300. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more by contacting (847) 920-5360.
