Press Release: “Little Shop of Horrors”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2011
CONTACT: Melissa Woodrow, (831) 998-0751
E-MAIL: Click to email Melissa Woodrow.
AUTHOR: Written by Daniel Tarker, TWS Writer
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Come enjoy an evening of macabre laughs and Doo-Wop songs as the world crashes down around us with The Western Stage’s latest musical comedy “Little Shop of Horrors”, playing on the main stage June 10 – 26 in the Hartnell College Performing Arts Building. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the studio theatre, Hartnell College Performing Arts Building. Tickets can be purchased through the box office (831) 755-6816 or online at westernstage.com. (79 Word PSA)
Come Laugh at the End of the World at The Western Stage
Salinas, CA – May 1, 2011
With the world seemingly spinning out of control with various wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, budget crises, economic strife, and political upheaval, what better time to produce an end of the world satire complete with a Motown style score and a giant carnivorous plant from outer space?
Come enjoy an evening of macabre laughs and Doo-Wop songs as the world crashes down around us with The Western Stage’s latest musical comedy “Little Shop of Horrors”, playing on the main stage June 10 – 26 in the Hartnell College Performing Arts Building.
When a socially awkward floral shop clerk named Seymour finds a bizarre new plant after a solar eclipse, he and his colleagues quickly discover that this odd looking seedling may be the key to drawing new customers into their floundering Skid Row flower shop.
Naming the Venus Flytrap looking plant Audrey II in honor of the quirky and beautiful store clerk he has a crush on, Seymour begins to nurture the little seedling with the only thing it wants to eat — Seymour’s own blood.
As the shop thrives because of the strange looking plant in the window, so does Audrey II – into a giant, deep throated, blood sucking carnivore with nefarious designs of world domination. Now enjoying everything he ever desired — fame, money, and the affection of his beloved Audrey — Seymour must decide if he can sacrifice it all in order to save the world from this alien plant and its sinister spores.
Inspired by the much darker and far less intentionally campy 1960 Roger Corman film of the same name, this rock musical version of “Little Shop of Horrors” by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman premiered Off Broadway in 1982 before enjoying a successful run on Broadway and in London’s West End, eventually inspiring a film version by veteran puppeteer Frank Oz.
While this musical may seem like just a send-up on 1950s sci-fi movies, it also has its roots in the enduring German legend of Faust, a story many great dramatists including Christopher Marlow, Goethe and, more recently, Vaclav Havel have tackled through the centuries. The classic tale involves an ambitious scholar and alchemist who makes a deal with Mephistopheles to sell his soul in exchange for greater power and knowledge so that he may enjoy all the worldly delights he wants including the love of a beautiful woman, traditionally named Gretchen. However, Faust quickly learns that any pact one makes with the devil will come with a greater price than they first imagined — especially for those they cherish most.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is directed by Jon Patrick Selover and Susanne Burns with Don Dally as musical director. The design team includes David Parker (Scenic), Derek Duarte (Lighting), Jeff Mockus (Sound), and Christina Perez (Costumes).
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets can be purchased through the TWS box office (831) 755-6816 or online at westernstage.com. Season tickets are still the best bargain with several flexible purchase options that will provide patrons seats to other upcoming productions like “The Adding Machine”, “Sunsets and Margaritas”, and “Chicago”.
—Daniel Tarker
