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Dateline: Just About Every Place Between NY and L.A.: “It’s a hoot…a gas…campy…a scream…appealing, audacious and amusing…delightfully twisted…mean, green and should be seen…the equivalent of laughing gas… eye-popping and ‘plantasmagotical.’” And now, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is coming to conquer Cleveland with an all-new production playing at the Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square Center, November 8-20, 2005, as part of the McDonald Financial Group Broadway Series. At first, quick consideration, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, with its bright, bouncy tunes, might seem like a typical Broadway musical. Well, yes and no. It is that, but it’s even more than that now in this all-new production directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. It’s also twisted—as wonderfully twisted as when it debuted and became a big hit off-Broadway over 20 years ago. The Broadway revival of last year is now touring in full, horrifyingly-fun glory, promising screams of laughter to Cleveland audiences. This gleefully gruesome and “wondrously entertaining” (New York Post) show features book and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), showcasing a mix of pop styles, doo-wop, rock ‘n’roll, and rhythm and blues, coupled with lyrics chock full of “oldies” pop references. The LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS plot is, essentially, a comic variation of the story of Faust: A geeky young man discovers a mysterious plant, not unlike a Venus fly trap, and makes a pact with the plant in order to win the heart of the girl he loves. Eventually, it is revealed that the plant’s interests are in serious conflict with the interests of the humans around it. In addition to a wonderfully talented group of human beings onstage, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS features a spectacular, planet-panicking plant designed by The Jim Henson Workshop™ and Martin P. Robinson. “Sexy, smooth, witty, ruthless, and hungry, the plant dominates this sharp and funny revival,” says the New York Post. Mr. Robinson previously designed the plant used in the original 1982 Off-Broadway production. Audrey II, as the bloodthirsty puppet is called, features a main pod the size of a Mini Cooper, and the Venus Ladyslipper is the inspiration for Audrey II’s color scheme. From the producers of Hairspray and The Producers, and the songwriters of Beauty and the Beast, it’s the Broadway touring production of everyone’s favorite boy-meets-girl, plant-eats-world phenomenon: New York’s “monster” hit, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS! SYNOPSIS Not so long ago, creatures from outer space invaded our galaxy intent on world domination. Some of them took the form of plants. Seymour Krelbourn, a poor florist’s assistant at Mushnik’s Skid Row Florist, bought one of the plants and brought it back to the shop where he works. He tends the plant lovingly, naming it Audrey II in honor of his secret love for Audrey, his beautiful, blond co-worker. When Mr. Mushnik announces that he is planning to close the florist shop for good, Audrey and Seymour try to change his mind by introducing him to the plant Seymour has discovered. Mr. Mushnik doubts that a single exotic plant could have much impact on business, but Seymour is nothing short of successful as Audrey II proves to be a draw in the shop, which starts to attract many visitors. There is one problem, however: Audrey II’s diet consists of blood—fresh blood! And as the plant starts to grow, so does its appetite and its demands. Audrey has a sadistic boyfriend, a dentist named Orin, who regularly appeases his sadistic desires on Audrey. Audrey is beginning to realize that she really does have a friend in Seymour. Seymour has been feeding Audrey II with his own blood but is gradually growing weaker and weaker as the plant’s appetite increases. In exchange for fresh blood, Audrey II says it will grant Seymour his heart’s desire. Seymour wants to pull Audrey away from Orin, whom he goes to visit. Orin overdoses on nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which he sniffs regularly to get high. Although Seymour frets about the moral implications, Audrey II gets its first human victim. Even though business is booming at his shop, Mr. Mushnik begins to suspect the worst, especially after being dragged into an investigation of Orin’s disappearance. He becomes the second victim when he stumbles on the secret of Audrey II’s growth. By this time Audrey II is growing rapidly and is always hungry, and in an unguarded moment, Audrey wanders into the shop and is attacked by the giant plant monster that was named for her. Seymour rescues her, but Audrey is dying. Seymour tells her the whole story of Audrey II and her victims. Audrey wants to join them—and does. Seymour is visited by marketing reps of World Botanical Enterprises (W.B.E.), proposing that cuttings of the plant will be sold all over America, and, eventually, the world. Seymour tries to prevent the inevitable, but he’s no match for the bloodsucking plant and is pulled into its heart. The marketing reps return and the cuttings are on their way out the door. World domination looms, and the audience is reminded of the terrible cost of making bargains with the devil.
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