The cast and crew of Tamworth Arts Club are about to release a monster of a show when they open the doors on their production of the fab musical – LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS from October 29 2013, being staged at the Landau Forte Academy Community Theatre.
(Picture above and below: Taken from other productions of Little Shop of Horrors)
About The Show
One of the longest running American musicals of all time, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is an hilarious, sometimes slightly dark, but immensley fun show, packed full of catchy 1960s girl group tracks, & Motown like do-wop tunes, 1950s rock n roll numbers and a couple of show stopping ballads.
With its wonderfully geeky hero, a demented dentist, a goofy girl next door and a singing plant, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was the first major success for multiple Academy Award-winning creative duo Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.
Based on the cult 1960s sci-fi movie of the same name, the fast paced story follows nerdy Seymour, a florist’s assistant, who buys a Venus fly trap-like plant for the ‘girl next door’ on whom he has a huge crush. The plant however turns out to prefer the taste of blood to fertilizer, and ultimately grows big enough to devour everything in its path.
About Tamworth Arts Club
Tamworth Arts Club have been producing community Musical Theatre in the West Midlands since 1946.
They stage two musicals a year and meet weekly. To find out how to get involved with this highly regarded local amateur dramatics group visit www.tamworthartsclub.org.uk
They have been busy rehearsing for this production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS for several months and you can see them busy rehearsing the opening song – ‘SKID ROW’, below
More about the history of Little Shop of Horrors
The show has had a rollercoaster history both on stage and on screen. Originally a ‘B’ movie film made in 1960, and starring none other than Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson, who at the time was practically an unknown.
The script was then transformed into a stage musical in the early eighties by soundtrack supremeos Howard Ashman and Alan Menken – who are both now probably more well known for their award winning music and songs created for some of the best Walt Disney animations such as Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid.
Ashman and Menken’s book and score was an instant hit off-broadway, going on to become one of its longest running shows.
So much was the success of the stage musical version, that a few years later in 1986 yet another movie was made of the story of the man eating plant. However unlike its low budget and non-musical predeccesor, this time it was a lavish hollywood film musical production, featuring an all star cast including Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, (who had also played the leading female character of Audrey in the original productions both on Broadway and in the West End), Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist and the soulful voice of Levi Stubbs of Motown’s The Four Tops.
In 1991 a little know cartoon spin off series was created my Marvel, called simply ‘Little Shop’
Ellen Greene below gives a rare live performance below of two of the main ballad’s from the musical – Somehere That’s Green and Suddenly Seymour – below
Two Endings?
The film version is extremely interesting though in the fact that the producers decided the finale needed to end on a traditional Hollywood high, and completeley changed the ending of the story and in doing so obliterated the punchline of the ‘Somehere That’s Green’ song from earlier in the show.
But the last minute change wasn’t decided until after spending a fortune on first creating the ending as it should have been – complete with some amazing special effects for its day. You can see the original ending that was filmed in the video below.
Difficult Show to Stage
Hats off to Tamworth Arts Club and anyone else who attempts to stage what is notoroulsy a very difficult show to put on. In addition to the usual requirement of good singers, dancers and actors that any musical requires, this show additionally requires the live performance of a man eating plant at various stages of its life, right from a sapling to a monster sized creature. Added to this is audience expectation, after having probbaly seen how well this was pulled off in the movie version.
The creative geniuses on Broadway almost pulled this off in 2003 with a brilliant multi-million dollar production starring Kerry Butler, at which in the end sequence the monster plant literally takes over the theatre – (As seen in the video below at ).
Here In the UK, since the original West End production and following the movie, the show mostly seems to be performed by lower budget stage tours starring equally lower budget stage performers (Su Pollard played the leading lady in one recent tour!).
Most notable standout though was the lavishly produced 2007 West End revival production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS that featured Paul Keating as Seymour, impressionist Alistair Mcgowan as the Dentist and the brilliant Sheridan Smith as Audrey.
Dark Hidden Undertones
Underneath the completeley fun, over the top, camp and cartoon style of this show, there is no denying that LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is very American, which would have definetely helped secure its long running success over there, and which was most probably lost in translation over here
Oozing with american cultural rerefence from the 50s and 60s, the dark and subtle undertones of the story are quite meaningful, mirroring the political career and unrooting of President Nixon. You can read more about the political and social connections of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS to American history here.
See the show in Tamworth
Where is at
Landau Forte Academy, Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8AA
When is it
Tues 29 October to Saturday 2 November 2013
Nightly at 7:30pm with a 2:30pm matiness also on Saturday
Tickets and How to Book
Tickets are £12.50 / £11.50(concessions)
How to Book
Box Office on 01827 709618
In Person: Tamworth Information Centre, Corporation Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7DN
Have you seen this show
Tell us what you thought or share any related information about this show in the comments box below
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