Randall Rosenau is the man behind the plant.

Audrey II, that is.

Rosenau had about a month to learn how to operate the puppet, which is the star of the current Matthews Opera House production of "Little Shop of Horrors."

Bringing this man-eating plant to life wasn't too difficult, Rosenau said.

"Mostly, you just need a little coordination in order to run the puppet," he said.

"Little Shop of Horrors" is a play about a florist who raises a plant that feeds on human blood.

The plant starts out small and begins to grow as the play progresses. Soon, the plant is so insatiable that it needs whole humans to quench its thirst for blood.

In the Matthews Opera House production, the plant continues to grow before the audience's eyes through a series of four different puppets. Rosenau operates three of the four plants, starting with one puppet that is simply carried on stage and finishing with the giant man-eating puppet.

The largest man-eating plant puppet has made the rounds of stages around the Black Hills.

The puppet was built by Douglas High School students. It was later rented to Black Hills Community Theatre for their rendition and moved to Spearfish for the Matthews Opera House performances.

The puppet has been in Spearfish since late August. The Matthews Opera House staff made some repairs to the puppet, which were necessitated by normal wear and tear. They also made modifications in order to make the plant work well with their stage.

"Syncing the voice and the plant was one of the hardest parts," said Dwight Myers, the performing-arts manager of Matthews Opera House.

"Little Shop of Horrors" was originally a low-budget film shot in 1960. It was redone in 1986. Although neither release got much notice, many now consider it a "cult film."

If you go

What: "Little Shop of Horrors"

When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m on Sunday

Where: Matthews Opera House, Spearfish

Cost: $14.50 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, $5 for children 11 and younger and $40 for a family of four or more

More: Call 642-7973 or go to www.spearfishartscenter.org