Warning: man-eating plant reported to be on the loose in the Bay

Dreamcoat Fantasy Theatre
News Release

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There is a man-eating plant in town.

The 13-foot carnivore highlights the latest Dreamcoat Fantasy Theatre production of "Little Shop of Horrors", on stage this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Nov. 25,26 & 27 at 7:30 at West Ferrris Secondary School. This teen/adult show is the first Dreamcoat show aimed at high school and adult performers.

"There is still a family focus" says Chris Mogan, the show's director and teacher at West Ferris. "The city's high school students have had solid training through Dreamcoat and other children's theatre programs, and are ready for a show which presents some more mature themes and situations."

Originally written for a smaller cast, Little Shop of Horrors has expanded in this production to include new choreography designed and implemented by dance students at Widdifield Secondary School. The cast includes adults and students from West Ferris, Widdifield, Chippewa, and St. Joseph-Scollard Hall.

"Mounting major musical theatre productions regularly at a high school can be a big challenge", says Mogan. "Dreamcoat has the credentials to bring students together from all across the city and work together to make a production like this come off. To see the co-operation among students from different schools putting Little Shop together has been rewarding."

Only through community involvement could the technical requirements of Little Shop be met. The man-eating plant goes through three stages before reaching the towering monster at the play's climax. These different phases of creative engineering have been the ten-weeks work of Dreamcoat volunteers Ray and Chery Girard. They are among the many volunteers who combine to help bring shows like "Little Shop" to life.

One of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows of all time, this affectionate spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies has become a house-hold name, thanks to a highly successful film version and a score by the songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. A down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon "Audrey II" grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination!

While it satirizes many things (B movies, science fiction, Faust legend and musical theatre) the stage production of Little Shop of Horrors, in contrast to the familiar 1986 movie, is a darker portrayal of how greed and selfishness can destroy our basic morals and ethics.

Please Note: Mature Content, Adult Accompaniment is advised

Tickets are $12.00 each and are available at Creative Learning 181 Main Street or at the door.

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