Audrey II to Invade Shadowbox Live in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

It's green, it's mean, and it's a people eating machine! The Audrey II invades the stage at Shadowbox Live in two weeks at the opening of Little Shop of Horrors on Thursday, September 29th at 7:30 PM.

The much beloved horror comedy rock musical has been a cult classic ever since its premier in 1982 and subsequent film in 1986. And, because of it's dark comedic, campy nature, Little Shop of Horrors, has been on the Shadowbox Live short list of musicals for quite a while.

"We knew we wanted to produce it," says Stev Guyer, Executive Producer for Shadowbox Live. "It was really just a question of timing. The over-the-top flavor of the show runs completely up our alley."

Shadowbox Live has seen enormous success with campy musical productions, from Reefer Madness to The Rocky Horror Show, which so far has had a record breaking four runs for the troupe of metaperformers!

"Rocky is still one of our most requested shows," says Guyer, "so we're hoping Little Shop of Horrors will appeal to the audience in the same way. Huge characters, goofy songs, and of course, giant plant puppets."

As is necessary for any production of this show, Shadowbox Live's Little Shop of Horrors will feature several life-size puppets of the incorrigible man-eating plant, Audrey II. And interestingly enough, the brains behind the design and construction is the metaperformer playing Audrey II's nemesis Seymour, Lukas Tomasacci.

Tomasacci, who had previous puppet building experience with other production companies, assisted with the largest puppet to have ever been on the Shadowbox Live stage, the Blue Lion from 2015's The Tenshu.

"The Blue Lion was unbelievably daunting," says Tomasacci, "but I'm glad that it came first. There are four different Audrey II's in Little Shop of Horrors, and I think I may have been a lot more scared of the task if I hadn't already had a huge puppet under my belt!"

Tomasacci even gets to operate one of the Audrey II puppets himself on stage, during the musical number "You Never Know."

"I don't want to give away the secrets," says Tomasacci, "so all I'll say is it's ridiculously fun to play Seymour while operating a puppet with such an enormous character, even while it's still small."

But, of course, that's just the beginning. Shadowbox Live promises a giant, man-eater on their stage, and, if you're careful, you might just live through it long enough to tell all your friends you saw the sinister Audrey II.

Just don't feed the plants! And don't become plant food yourself.

Shadowbox Live presents Little Shop of Horrors opening on Thursday, September 29 at 7:30 PM, and running Sundays at 2:00 & 7:00 PM through November 13, 2016. Tickets are $25 / $20 for students, seniors and military. For more information and reservations, call the Shadowbox Live Box Office at 614-416-7625 or go online at www.shadowboxlive.org.

Find out more information and make reservations for these shows and more at www.shadowboxlive.org.

Shadowbox Live, a non-profit 501C3 performance ensemble, is the largest resident theater company in America, producing over 500 shows per year.

For over 20 years Shadowbox Live has produced world-class performances, spanning the artistic spectrum with sketch comedy, rock 'n 'roll, original rock operas, traditional musicals, drama, dance theater and new media; always putting emphasis on the unparalleled live experience.

Pictured: Noelle Grandison, Nikki Fagin and Ashley Pearce as "The Rosettes," Tom Cardinal as "Mushnik," Lukas Tomasacci as "Seymour," Edelyn Parker as "Audrey," and Jamie Barrow as "Orin (the dentist)." Photo by Stev Guyer.

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