On Thursday Nov. 14th, Elkhorn North held opening night to this year’s musical, Little Shop of Horrors. Through a remarkably talented cast, one student stood out the most, Ronan Clements. Clements played the role of a sinister motorcycle riding dentist named Orin Scrivello.

Auditions began for Little Shop of Horrors in late August. Earning a large role like Orin would require Clements to really impress the director, Casey Allen.

“Ronan came into his audition absolutely fearless,” Allen said. “It was clear he had a character prepared at his audition and it really made him a standout.”

Rehearsals for the production began on Sept. 2 and were typically after school everyday lasting around 2 hours. Succeeding in earning a role is only a smart part in being successful, now Clements would have to hone his craft through hard work and dedication throughout every rehearsal. 

“He was running with 100% of his heart and soul into every rehearsal,” performer in the musical Junior Bailey Wilkins said. “I feel like he always wants to prove himself and he does time and time again.” 

As an upperclassman and playing a leading role, Clements had a lot of underclassmen looking up to him and admiring the work that he was putting into the production.

“I think he is one of the people that a lot of the underclassmen look up to,” Wilkins said. “They want to grow in his direction as they continue in the department.” 

Stepping into the mind of a character can be a very challenging thing for a performer to do, especially when the character is so different from the actor. Clements may have found this challenging in the beginning, but through work was able to bring his character to life. The character of Orin Scrivello is a wicked and abusive man with an addiction to causing pain and ingesting the laughing gas meant for his patients.

“I think at first the idea was hard,” Wilkins said. “But he started to get into the groove, and he was perfect for it.”

During the performance on Saturday Nov. 16, Clements had a wardrobe malfunction as he failed to fully unzip his jacket, but, of course, the show must go on and Clements continued with the performance without skipping a beat.

“The jacket had broken, but like always Ronan was prepared and had a back up.” Wilkins said.”

Performers are constantly pushing themselves to top their performance from the previous night. Clements was no exception as he grew more confident in his role and skills.

“Each performance he took more and more risks and tried something new,” Wilkins said. “It was great to see him grow in his character throughout the rehearsal and show process.”

Clements succeeded in impressing the audience of his show.

“I would say that he really brought the character and musical to life,” Junior Barrett Haun said. 

Allen was very impressed with the performance of the entire cast this year, especially Clements.

“Ronan is certainly inspiring to all 90 kids involved in the musical this year,” Allen said.