Valentine's Cabaret Event and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Next Up at Fort Salem Theater

Breaking news! Fort Salem Theater has just made two exciting announcements: an intimate Valentine's Day-weekend cabaret concert has been added to the 50th Anniversary Season lineup, plus casting details for their upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors!

The Valentine's-themed concert, starring actress and singer Janelle Farias Sando, titled "Gettin' Over That Rainbow" takes the Fort Salem Theater cabaret stage for one night only on Saturday, February 12 at 7:30PM. Tickets for the event are $35/each, sold 2 or 4 per table, with less than 50 seats available total.

Hailed by American Theater Magazine as one of "20 Theater Workers You Should Know," and recipient of the Sammons Center Cabaret Artist of the Year, Dallas Voice Actress of the Year, and DFW Theater Critics Forum Award, New York City-based Janelle Farias Sando's powerhouse vocals and astute storytelling skills have taken her across the country, starring in intimate cabarets, large-scale musicals, and world-premiere works like Broadway Backwards (Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids, New Amsterdam Theatre, NY), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), End of The Rainbow (Judy Garland), Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown), The Boy From Oz (Judy Garland), The Cuban and the Redhead (Carole Lombard), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie), Light In The Piazza (Clara), The Last Five Years (Cathy), South Pacific (Nellie Forbush), Lady in the Dark (Liza Elliot) and Nine (Claudia). A member of Actors Equity Association, Ms. Sando is represented by The Ann Steele Agency, New York.

On the mainstage, Little Shop of Horrors opens March 11, running through March 20. Starring in the musical is Salem favorite Iris Rogers as Audrey. Rogers is known not only for her skills on stage, but by her 1.4 million TikTok followers (@irisroro) as the owner of the Washington County hemp farm, Homestead Hemp, where she's been famously searching for the farm's missing deed in a series on the social media platform. She co-stars opposite Francesco Carlo Archina, a Denver, Colorado resident temporarily returning to his upstate roots, as Seymour. They are joined by Dan Costello as Mr. Mushnik, Sam Jaffe as Orin Scrivello, D.D.S, Jedidiah Shortte as Ronnette, Michaela Torres as Crystal, Alina Jennings as Chiffon, Maureen Cossey as the Voice of Audrey II, and Anna Threet as the Audrey II puppeteer.

The production is directed and choreographed by guest artist Harry Turpin, who appeared in the 30th Anniversary National Tour of Annie. Turpin has directed professionally across the country, including staging titles like Guys and Dolls, White Christmas, Beauty and the Beast, The Who's Tommy, Sweet Charity, Anything Goes, Hello, Dolly!, Grease, and West Side Story, among others. For his work, he has been recognized with the Gregory Award, several BroadwayWorld Awards, and "Best of the Fest" at Seattle Fringe. Little Shop of Horrors marks Turpin's Fort Salem Theater debut.

Dr. John Norine Jr. returns to Fort Salem Theater as Music Director and Technical Director, having visited as a guest artist for The Marvelous Wonderettes and Next To Normal, among other events. Originally from Utica, NY, Norine has his Bachelor of Music from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he studied music theory and history. He then continued his graduate studies at the University of North Texas, where he graduated with Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Performance, studying Orchestral Conducting under Anshel Brusilow and Clay Couturiaux.

Ethan Drinkwine serves as stage manager, with Charles J. I. Krawczyk as scenic designer, Janelle Sando as costume designer, Courtnie Harrington as hair & makeup designer, and Michael Gallagher as the rehearsal & performance accompanist.

Little Shop of Horrors performs on Fort Salem Theater's mainstage March 11-20, kicking off the theater's 50th Anniversary Season. Tickets are on sale now, starting at only $15. For more information, visit www.FortSalem.com.

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