Little Shop of Horrors is Menlo Drama production this weekend
The Broadway sci-fi smash musical, Little Shop of Horrors, is this year’s fall production presented by Menlo School Drama. Performances run October 28 – 29 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 30 at 5:00 pm in the new Spieker Center for the Arts, 50 Valparaiso Avenue, Atherton. The entire community is welcome to this production, appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $6 for students, available for advance purchase at menloschool.org/tickets. Tickets are also available at the box office one hour before each performance.
Little Shop follows meek plant store attendant Seymour, his co-worker crush Audrey, her sadistic dentist boyfriend and the man-eating plant that threatens them and the world as we know it. The meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II” after his coworker crush. This foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it BLOOD. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s out of this world origins and intent towards global domination! One of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows, the charmingly tongue-in-cheek comedy has been produced worldwide to incredible success.
Steven Minning, Director of Creative Arts and Upper School Drama, directed Little Shop as his first show at Menlo School 10 years ago. “Even in the small performance space we had back then, everyone had so much fun doing and seeing it,” he says. “Now with our new Spieker Center for the Arts being fully operational, I thought it would be the perfect fit to bring this wildly entertaining show to our new stage in a big way to share with our wider community.
“Little Shop is a Faustian musical about a timid clerk who sells his soul to a man-eating Cactus. Not your usual musical comedy bill-of-fare, but the show is as entertaining as it is exotic! It’s a perfect show for students, family, horticulturists, sci-fi fans, and anyone with a taste for the outrageous!”
Continuing the tradition of philanthropy, the Menlo Drama Department strives to ‘Give Back’ both on and off stage. Menlo Drama has raised more than $52,000 for nonprofit organizations, each chosen by the cast because its work resonates with a theme in the show.
Menlo School’s production of Little Shop of Horrors will fundraise for CORA, otherwise known as “Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse” which is a nonprofit in San Mateo. The Little Shop cast chose CORA because of one character (Audrey) and her experience of domestic abuse throughout the duration of the show. CORA is fully committed to helping those who are affected by intimate partner and familial abuse. Their services are designed to reach as many people as they can, and help survivors get out of domestic abuse by offering counseling, emergency housing and shelter, and legal support.
Photos of cast and Seymour courtesy of Menlo School
