Little Shop of Horrors

The all-star local cast is headed by Alan Committie as Seymour, the would-be botanist, and the inimitable Candice Van Litsenborgh as his ditzy love interest, Audrey. Michael Richard plays Mr Mushnik, Seymour’s miserly employer.

The production team is equally impressive: The show is directed by Steven Stead, with sets by Greg King and costumes by Terrence Bray. Musical Direction is by Evan Roberts and Shelley Maclean, choreography by Janine Bennewith and lighting by Tina Le Roux.

The wacky story tells of a hapless New York florist’s assistant in the seedy part of town who inadvertently rears an outspoken man-eating alien plant. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name, written by Howard Ashman and directed by Roger Corman. The cult film starred Rick Moranis as a career-defining Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey and Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS spoofs the tradition of B-grade Sci-Fi movies with a delicious pastiche of 50’s music and comic-book imagery.

The music, composed by Alan Menken in the style of 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several show-stoppers including “Skid Row (Downtown)”, “Somewhere That`s Green”, and “Suddenly, Seymour”, as well as the title song.

Pieter Toerien produced the original South African production of Little Shop of Horrors in 1984, and local audiences fell in love with the man-eating plant Audrey II. Edie Eckstein and Andre Hattingh starred in the lead roles. More recently, KickstArt’s Durban-based production won an amazing 9 Durban Theatre Awards – including BEST MUSICAL – in 2009. That award-winning creative team is back with the 2015 production.

This show is set to stun!

It runs at Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre from 12 June to 9 August.

Tuesdays – Fridays @ 8pm,

Saturdays @ 5pm & 8pm,

Sundays @ 3pm & 6pm.

Tickets R325, R225, R125 & R100 from Theatre Box Office or Computicket