Little Shop of Horrors

Posted by: TADA Productions, Inc.

After a sold-out collaboration between TADA Productions Inc. and The Lied Center in 2011, the two reunite to bring to the stage the musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors.

Opening at the Johnny Carson Theatre inside the Lied Center for Performing Arts on February 23rd, the show will feature new arrangements from its most recent Broadway revival and a plant puppet worth the price of admission alone!

From the song-writing team of Ashman and Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) Little Shop of Horrors is an affectionate spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies centering around Seymour, a down-and-out skid row floral assistant, who becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant. Soon Audrey Two grows into an quick-witted, R&B-singing, mean machine who offers Seymour fame and fortune in exchange for keeping his unique appetite satisfied. With dark comedy and great music, this is a production you won't want to miss!

The dynamic cast includes Curtis Moeller as Seymour Krelborn, Amelia Barrett as Audrey, William Maltas as Mr. Mushnik, Brent Welch as Orin Scrivello, Angelia Onuoha, Lauren Williams, and Niki Onuoha as the Doo Wapps, and Dave Claus as the voice of Audrey Two. Rounding out the talented ensemble are Emily Kollars, Deanna Floe, Zach Huit, Ladd Wendelin, Katherine Bauer and, Ronnie Hurlbut, with special voice appearances by Rod Fowler and Cork Ramer.

The production is directed by Robert D. Rook, musical direction by Cris Rook, musical arrangements by Bill Strongin, choreography by Mandi Maser, scenery design by Chuck Danskin, costume coordination by Alex Allison, lighting design by Brooke Stevens, properties by Ladd Wendelin, production management by Megan Rook and Audrey Two design and construction by Sean and Patrick Johnson from the famed California puppet company Swazzle.

Founded in 2004 by twin brothers Sean and Patrick Johnson, Swazzle is a Glendale, California based company specializing in puppetry for film, television, and the stage.Together with their troupe of professional puppeteers, they have performed hundreds of shows in venues across California. Sean and Patrick have worked with leading children's entertainment companies including The Jim Henson Company, PBS Kids Sprout, The Walt Disney Company, and The Baby Einstein Company. They also teach puppetry technique to actors and comedians from The Groundlings for The Jim Henson Company. Swazzle re-created many of the classic puppet characters from Pee-wee's Playhouse and built a handful of new puppets for the Broadway production The Pee-wee Herman Show. Swazzle also built and performed puppet versions of the Simpsons for last year's holiday episode The Fight Before Christmas.

Little Shop of Horrors is on stage at the Johnny Carson Theatre inside the Lied Center two weeks only February 23-26 and March 1-4 with performance times Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets for all shows are $20 + Lied fees (as well as some student rates for Thursday night shows) and can be reserved by calling the Lied box office at (402) 472-4747 or on-line at www.liedcenter.org. Little Shop of Horrors is brought to the stage with generous support from Lincoln Benefit Life.

TADA (The Arts Deserve Attention) Productions Inc. is a nonprofit theatre company celebrating 11 years of operation in Lincoln, Nebraska. TADA has received a Proclamation for Theatre Excellence from the State of Nebraska, a Mayor's Arts Award from the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, and an Impact Award for downtown development from the Downtown Lincoln Association. TADA has brought several premiere productions to the Midwest. It received national recognition for the Midwest premiere of Jekyll & Hyde the musical and was the first independent theatrical company to perform the New York block-buster Forbidden Broadway. TADA also produced the regional premieres of The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, Happy Days a new musical and Gilligan's Island the musical, working alongside legendary TV icons Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz. In 2010 TADA produced the world premiere of Bard of Blood by Lloyd Schwartz. TADA received direct permission to perform songs from such theatre composers and lyricists as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz granted TADA use of musical selections from the Broadway hit Wicked as part of their special revue performance, Ruby Slippers. TADA's history has been filled with a variety of collaborative productions and outreach theatre endeavors. With a core group of theatrical artists, an ever-growing patron base, and an esteemed Board of Directors, TADA Productions, Inc. is now one of the fastest growing theatre companies in the region and has involved over 200 actors, students, designers and regional artists. More about TADA can be seen at www.tadaproductions.info.