Moonshine, Mayhem, and Magic: Around Town

Bloody Good: Little Shop of Horrors

I had my doubts that he could pull it off. But he did. Robert Reid Goodson, Director of Tift Theatre for Performing Arts, scores big time with Little Shop of Horrors. The casting is spot-on and the talent is rousing.

The musical of dark comedy and sci-fi revolves around a slew of people, all in need of some intense psychiatric counseling.

Young nerdy Seymour, played by Johnny Fletcher, is swoony in love with Audrey (Alena Phillips), a ditzy blonde whose boyfriend is a sadistic, narcissistic, biker dentist. Audrey and Seymour share pathetically low self esteems and work for the same loud, craggy florist, Mr. Mushnik (John Fletcher).

A spicy, sassy, hip-swaying trio of Tomekia Reese, Alyson Ireland, and Jaida Hickey struts their stuff and pulls out the vocals as the street urchins. They are downright sultry.

In the shadows of the stage, Greg Millette, Jon Randall, Garrett Newell, and Clay Sanders perform rocking music with unbelievable ease, the kind of music that causes a rhythmic itch to run up and down the leg.

Patrick Ireland as Orin the dentist is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Johnny Fletcher is a darned good actor. John Fletcher is perfectly cast as the shop owner. The urchins are grooving. BUT, BUT, BUT—I suppose there is always a “but” in a review. But . . . the standout performance goes to the blood-hungry plant, Audrey II. Antonio M. Jones rocks the house as the lungs behind the plant. His voice is earth-shattering, mighty, and powerful, a blended sound one might imagine coming from Samson of the Old Testament Bible, an inner city thug, and a dynamic singer of spirituals. Audrey II—the plant— will give you the shivers and make you long for more.

Ask the cast and crew what they think of working with Director Robert Reid Goodson and they will tell you he is a professional who aims to put on the best show possible while having fun doing it. He is a giver, not a taker. And he expects all his cast to give their best. The result is a jamming production in downtown Tifton.

Show times are Friday, July 25 through August 2, 7:00 PM. Sunday’s performance is 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.

Fletcher, J - Seymour
Fletcher, John - Mushnick
Ireland, Patrick - Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.
Jones, Antonio M. - Voice of Audrey II
Phillips, Alena - Audrey

The Urchins

Hickey, Jaida - Chiffon
Ireland, Alyson - Crystal
Reese, Temekia - Ronette

Wino I - Cathy Harrison
Customer 1 & 2 - Judy Hutt Thomas
Bernstein & Skip-Snip - Ryan Norton
Mrs. Luce - Beverly McClain
Patrick Martin - Brian A. Ray

Musicians
Rhythm Guitar - Garrett Newell
Bass Guitar - Jon Randall
Drums - T Clay Sanders

Stage Design
Susan Saye

Front of House
Bonnie Young

Technical Crew
Lighting Technician - Garrett Roberts
Spotlight - Caleb Curry
Audrey II Construction - John Fletcher
Seamstress/Draper - Maureen Cadden White
Audrey II Puppeteers/Crew - Kaylee Brooke Morgan Stokes,
Audrey Conner & Trinity Holton

Goat Whisperer at Sunset Pines Farm

My friend, Polly, is a Goat Whisperer. She has been known to sit all night with sick goats, goats giving birth, and goats that have been injured. She’s tended to their wounds and tended to their broken hearts. One goat lost her baby, and Polly grieved with her, whispering words of comfort to the mother goat, her teats swollen with milk. I’ve known my dear friend to give CPR to goats. She's had more goats than I can keep track of and taken special care of every single one. Polly arrived in Tifton as a high-heeled, city girl; she's now a barbed wire lady who knows more about the farm life than I ever have. And that's saying a lot: I grew up with the soil between my hands.

barn art

Charles and Richard

pregnant, due any day

Polly bakes delicious breads that will put Longhorn's bread to weeping. Holiday mornings, we often wake to find steaming cinnamon rolls at our door, homemade, gooey, and yummy. At Richard's birthday, his 60th, she created a new dessert for him: Chocolate Lasagna Cake with layers of chocolate.

goats grazing

Polly and her husband, Charles, have had British Saanen goats, fainting goats, Nubian-Alpine goats. She's delivered a total of twelve goats.

She lives slow, yet finds plenty of time for family and friends. She listens to my complaints, shares in my joys and triumphs, pushes me to be better than I am. When I am tired, she urges me to rest. Sick? She'd drop everything to take me to the doctor is she needs too. She opens doors of opportunity for me. Without her, I would not be teaching Bottles & Brushes, but Polly came to me with an offer. We work our tales off together at times. Polly's daughter is just like her. She loves and gives and leaves her footprints wherever she goes. The family should receive an award of some type. I don't know what. But God knows they are the true thing.

My friendship with Polly is real and it is a shared experience for both of us. We decorate for events together, plan parties and bonfires together, we brainstorm with ideas bouncing around between us. We give each other castoff furniture that the other might like.

We keep our secrets safe and tight, small as those secretes are, they are still ours.

born last week (Nigerian Dwarf)

At Sunset Pines Farm, they grow strawberries, tomatoes, snap peas, squash, eggplant, cucumbers, vine peach, peppers, potatoes, grapes, asparagus and many other fruits and vegetables. They have herbs of all kinds and a wide variety of blooming flowers and shrubs including the daylily, hydrangea, rose, sunflower, Mexican petunia, azalea, crepe myrtle, and kumquat. For the market, they grow zinnias and sunflowers.

grape vines

Charles and Richard are hands-on men, creative and hard-working. They can be counted on to do most anything.

This is where bonfires and laughter and rich conversation take place.

A peaceful place

Part of Sunset Pines Farm.

Polly's birthday present for the Roses, a mother goat and two baby goats.

tangerine marmelade and jelly made by Polly and given to me

She's a fabulous chef, who feeds her friends and families in need or suffering a loss with meals made fresh, homegrown and homemade. We Roses have feasted on numerous mouthwatering dishes she's prepared for us. A favorite of ours: the cheeses she makes from goat's milk.

Did I mention the Huffs have chickens? A slew of chickens.

When my sister, Lynn, visits from Peoria, Illinois, Polly bakes her a custard pie, my sister's favorite, with eggs from her chicken coup.

I claim her as a sister. I love her.