So, it turns out my friends are pretty talented. I mean, everyone
here is pretty talented. But, some of my friends (and some awesome
other students, Caltech and JPL employees, and other community members)
are really talented in the acting/singing/dancing department. Last
weekend, I went to go see Caltech’s (EXPLICIT)’s spring musical, Little
Shop of Horrors. Every year, they put on one play and one musical, and
anyone in the Caltech community, including students, JPL employees, and
professors, can audition and be a part of one of the productions. This
year’s production of LIttle Shop of Horrors featured my friend (who went
on Birthright with me!) Jeff Sherman as Seymour, the lead. Holly, a JPL
employee played Audrey, and Alex Jose (also on the Birthright
trip) was Orrin, the Dentist.

The musical was absolutely
awesome. If you don’t know the plot, the show is essentially about a
guy named Seymor, who works in his adoptive father’s flower shop and is desperately in
love with Audrey, the receptionist. Audrey, however, is
already dating Orrin, a rather sadistic dentist who doesn’t treat her
well. One day, Seymour discovers a new species of plant, which he names
the Audrey II. It turns out the Audrey II can talk, and it tries to
convince Seymour to listen to it, telling him that he will be able to
win Audrey’s heart by doing what he says.

Jeff Sherman
played a hilarious and comically awkward Seymour and proved that he has
some pretty significant signing chops. Holly was great as Audrey,
and Alex Jose made a terrifying dentist. He almost had me convinced
that he was really going to pull out all of Sherman’s teeth. I’d like
to give some credit to the band, too, as they were absolutely
fantastic. Overall, the entire show was teriffic and seemed almost
professional.

Here’s a picture from the Caltech website:

                  Sherman, playing Seymour, plus Audrey II

Basically, the point here is that if you have the chance to see a show at Caltech, do it.

You’re
probably wondering: "Well, Katie, you’re a college student, how do you
have the money to see shows and go out on the weekends?" Well, there’s
this awesome thing at Caltech called the Don Shepard Fun Fund, which
provides money for students to go out and have fun each term. There’s
this lottery open to all Caltech undergrads,and you just have to submit
your name and address. A fair number of people win each term, and you
get $25 to do whatever you want, as long as it’s non-academic and has
some socially redeeming value. So you can use it to go to the movies,
go out for a nice dinner, or, perhaps, go see a play at Caltech. Since
our tickets for Little Shop were only $5, I’m thinking of using the rest
to go see the LA Philharmonic with a friend and feel classy.

All righty, 2nd term is in full swing here, and we’re coming up on finals week, so I’m gonna get some work done.