5/2/2016 9:57:12 AM

Expect the unexpected in our Co-op Theater Company’s production of Little Shop of Horrors opening this May, appropriately on Friday the 13^th, in the URBN Annex Black Box Theater (3401 Filbert St.).  In this smash rock-and-roll musical tale, a meek floral assistant is overcome by the promise of fame and fortune from a monstrous macabre man-eating plant – but it comes with a price. Sadly, the show, directed by Bill Fennelly, Theater Professor, choreographed by Dr. Miriam Giguere, Department Head and Performing Arts Professor, with musical direction by Charles Gilbert, has sold out all eight performances so you’ll have to take our word for the fact that this production will be great. Bill Fennelly will again direct Little Shop of Horrors at the Portland’s Center Stage in Portland, Oregon  and then at the TONY Award winning Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in Cincinnati, Ohio in the coming months.

Each year Theatre and Performing Arts students read and evaluate a variety of plays to advise faculty on performance choices for the following season. Little Shop of Horrors was the top selection for Spring 2016. The play began as a cult classic Roger Corman low budget film. In 1982, composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, creators of many Broadway and hit Disney movies, launched an Off-Broadway production, which quickly went on to tremendous success on Broadway and in numerous productions across the country. The 1986 film version was a critical and commercial success, but  this rendition will emphasize a return to the production’s original and grungy Off-Broadway roots. The URBN Annex Black Box Theater was chosen specifically for the intimate setting it will provide.

Audrey II, the man eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, will be realized utilizing puppetry skills learned in the Co-op’s most recent production, Watership Down.

A special preview of “Little Shop of Horrors” at the URBN Annex Black Box Theater will run on May 12^th, with regular performances on May 13-21. This is the hottest ticket in town - all shows are currently sold-out!