Cast Set For Garden Theatre's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Little Shop of Horrors will kick off the Garden's 17th season with performances beginning Friday, July 12 at 7:30 pm with a limited run through Sunday, July 28, 2024.

A meek and down-on-his-luck floral assistant, Seymour Krelborn, stumbles across a new breed of plant he names "Audrey II" - after his co-worker crush. Seymour's pining for the beautiful Audrey goes unnoticed while she suffers at the hands of a sadistic dentist boyfriend. Meanwhile, the foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore quickly becomes the shop's main attraction and promises unending fame and fortune as long as Seymour keeps feeding it...BLOOD. Once attaining the interest of his beautiful co-worker and the admiration of his boss, and not having enough blood of his own, he is powerless to stop looking for new sources of blood. Just when it's too late, Seymour discovers Audrey II's extra-terrestrial origins and its true drive for world-domination.

Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award, Little Shop of Horrors has devoured the hearts of audiences around the world for more than 40 years.

Making his directorial debut with the Garden, Tyrone L. Robinson has performed on Broadway, National Tours, regional theaters, and recurring roles on television. Tyrone has directed critically acclaimed productions throughout the United States and, most recently, was the Associate Director of Sunset Boulevard starring Stephanie J. Block and Derek Klena at The Kennedy Center.

"Little Shop of Horrors is a cautionary tale about the extremes we'll go to in order to make the life we want for ourselves. Anybody who's ever had a dream and wanted more in their life can relate to Seymour and Audrey," says Robinson. "The musical was inspired by Roger Corman's 1960 B movie and the Garden Theatre, which started out as a cinema, is the perfect place to mount a production of Little Shop. Audiences are in for a treat and they will see some things in our production of Little Shop that they haven't seen before. One of the best musical comedies ever written, Little Shop of Horrors delivers with its toe-tapping pop and doo-wop Motown score, classic love story, and all the fun we can pack onto the Garden Theatre stage! Come and enjoy!"

"Tyrone's vision for the show exemplifies what we mean when we ask the question, 'What is the Garden difference?'" says Rob Winn Anderson, Producing Artistic Director for the Garden. "We're excited for our patrons to see that difference with this production of Little Shop and with all of our shows in the Garden's 2024-2025 Broadway on Plant Season."

The cast stars Thomas Noah Miller* as the timid floral assistant, Seymour, and Emily Deler as the woman of Seymour's dreams, Audrey. Miller has performed in the National Tour of Finding Neverland, and has many regional credits. This will be his Garden Theatre debut. Also making her debut at the Garden, Deler began her career with Orlando Family Stage, and has also performed internationally and locally in theme park shows. Mark Ferrera returns to the Garden stage as Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the failing flower shop. Ferrera was last seen on the Garden stage as the innkeeper in Man of La Mancha, and previously starred as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, and in the Garden's first season in Moonlight and Magnolias. John Rochette* joins the cast as Orin, the egotistical dentist. Rochette recently starred as the roustabout Chad in All Shook Up and as Jarrett in the world premiere of Moonshine & Mistletoe: An Appalachian Christmas Tale in the Garden's 2023-2024 Season. Mell-Vonti, recently off an 11-city national tour with North the Musical, stars as the voice of Audrey II, the bad-mouthed, R&B singing carnivorous plant. Little Shop will be Mell-Vonti's debut on the Garden stage, and the remaining cast will also be making their debut: Jordan Sophia as Crystal, Sienna Weir as Ronnette, and Alyssa Johnson as Chiffon.

*Member of ACTORS EQUITY ASSOCIATION, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Along with Tyrone L. Robinson as director, the production team includes music direction by John B. deHaas, choreography by Kyli Rae, scenic design by Robert F. Wolin**, lighting design by Erin Miner, sound design by Jesse R. Munro, costume design by Jolene Marie Richardson, hair and makeup design by Mark Adam Rampmeyer, and props design by Lisa Buck. The stage manager is Blue Estrella. Puppets are supplied by Imagination Works.

**Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (BROADWAY VERSION) Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Little Shop of Horrors will be performed July 12 - 28, 2024. The performance schedule is Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2:00 pm, plus select Thursdays at 2:00 pm. The Sunday, July 21, 2024 2:00 pm performance will have Audio Description. The Saturday, July 27, 2024 2:00 pm performance will have ASL Interpretation.

Tickets are on sale now starting at $45 and may be purchased by calling 407-877-4736, at the Garden Theatre Box Office at 160 West Plant Street in Winter Garden, or online at gardentheatre.org. 3-Show and 5-Show Subscriptions are available for the 2024-2025 Broadway on Plant Season.

Rated PG. This show contains mild language and dark thematic elements.

This project is funded in part by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support for Garden Theatre is provided by generous individual donors and United Arts of Central Florida, your local agency for the arts.

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