Photos: First Look at LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has released teaser photos for its production of Little Shop of Horrors, reset in San Francisco's Chinatown. In this offbeat hit musical, narrated through doo-wop ditties by a trio of neighborhood girls, meek florist Seymour finds himself catapulted into instant celebrity when he cultivates an otherworldly showstopper, a highly unusual plant. Spotlighting multicultural casting, director Jeffrey Lo moves the setting to San Francisco's Chinatown, exploring the cross-cultural community fostered there by marginalized people of color. Little Shop of Horrors features an iconic score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (the Academy Award-winning team behind Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin), offering a light-hearted romp suitable for parents, grandparents, and even the youngsters (recommended for ages 13+).

Check out the photos below!

Little Shop of Horrors will be presented November 30 - December 24, 2022 at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Subscriptions for the 2022/23 season are currently available and single tickets (starting at $35) will go on sale Wednesday, November 2, 2022. For more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (877)-662-8978.

Little Shop of Horrors is based on the cult-classic B-movie by Roger Corman and Charles Griffith. The musical premiered Off-Off-Broadway at Howard Ashman's WPA Theatre before transferring Off-Broadway to the Orpheum Theatre, where it played for five years. Little Shop of Horrors then became an Academy Award-nominated film starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, and Steve Martin, which was called "a full-blown movie musical, and quite a winning one" by The New York Times. It has been performed at theatres around the world, including at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in 1986, with a recent, critically acclaimed Off-Broadway revival prompting The New York Times to note, "This triumphantly revitalized musical has its own sly message for an era in which celebrity is regarded as a constitutional right: Embrace fame at your peril. It's a killer."

TheatreWorks has assembled a talented cast for Little Shop of Horrors. Bay Area theatre veteran Phil Wong (he/him) stars as Seymour Krelborn, a florist who makes a Faustian bargain with vicious vegetation. Seen in last season's holiday production of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Show, TheatreWorks' World Premiere of Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga, in its Oskar school tours, and in the 2021 TheatreWorks New Works Festival Online production of Currency with Bay Area Theatre Cypher, Wong is a Bay Area-based theatre artist, writer, and musician, and a member of the first Bay Area #BARS Cohort. He received physical theatre training at the Accademia dell' Arte in Arezzo, Italy. He has been seen at many regional theatres including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, California Shakespeare Theater, Shotgun Players, Cutting Ball Theater, Ray of Light Theatre, Los Altos Stage Company, and Hillbarn Theatre. Phil is also co-founder of Bay Area Theatre Cypher.

Sumi Yu (she/her) makes her TheatreWorks Silicon Valley debut as Audrey, a sweet romantic who is unlucky in love and works with Seymour in Mr. Mushnik's flower shop. Seen in New York Off-Broadway at City Center Encores! and Lincoln Center Theater, Yu has also appeared onstage at regional theatres including La Jolla Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, TheatreWorksUSA, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) of Connecticut, Alley Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, and Music Theatre Wichita. Yu's film and TV credits include Starz's "Heels" and NBC's "Rise."

Returning to TheatreWorks where he was seen in M. Butterfly, Red, Bat Boy The Musical, Pacific Overtures, and Jayne Eyre, Lawrence-Michael C. Arias (he/him) plays Mr. Mushnik, the owner of a failing flower shop and boss to Seymour and Audrey. Arias has also been seen onstage at Hillbarn Theatre, City Lights Theater Company, South Valley Civic Theatre, Los Altos Stage Company, and Woodminster Summer Musicals.

Katrina Lauren McGraw (she/her) makes her TheatreWorks main stage debut as the voice of Audrey II, a conniving carnivorous plant that catapults Seymour to fame. McGraw's theatre credits include performances with American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Playhouse, Center Repertory Company, New Conservatory Theatre Center, 42nd Street Moon, Town Hall Theatre, Berkeley Playhouse, and Bay Area Musicals. Seen in TheatreWorks' "Oskar" educational tour, Brandon Leland (he/him) will puppeteer Audrey II in his main stage debut. Leland has performed with San Francisco Playhouse, Broadway By the Bay, The Pear Theatre, and Foothill Music Theatre.

Nick Nakashima (he/him) returns to TheatreWorks as Orin Scrivello, an egotistical, sadistic dentist, as well as other characters. Nakashima performed in TheatreWorks' Sense and Sensibility last season, as well as both of TheatreWorks' productions of Jane Austen's EMMA (2007 & 2015), The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, and A Little Night Music. He was seen in TheatreWorks New Works Festival workshops of Jane Austen's EMMA, Burnt Part Boys, and Unlock'd. Nakashima has also appeared in productions at 42nd Street Moon, Foothill Music Theatre, San Jose Musical Theater, Jewel Theatre Company, and American Musical Theatre of San Jose.

Naima Alakham, Alia Hodge, and Lucca Troutman, make their TheatreWorks debuts as Crystal, Chiffon, and Ronnette, respectively, a trio of neighborhood girls who act as the show's Greek Chorus. Recently starring as Effie in Paramount Theatre's Dreamgirls, Naima Alakham (she/her) has also performed with New York University Tisch's New Studio on Broadway. Alia Hodge (she/her) was seen in the national tours of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Rent. Hodge has also appeared with Berkshire Theatre Group, New Haven Symphony, Speakeasy Stage Company, and North Shore Music Theatre. Her TV credits include performing as a backup singer/dancer for Coldplay on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," and she performed with the cast of Beautiful: The Musical on NBC's "America's Got Talent." Lucca Troutman (she/her) has performed with Berkeley Playhouse, ODC Theater, Oakland Classical Shakespeare Company, and New Britain Theater Company.

Little Shop of Horrors features musical direction by William Liberatore, choreography by William Thomas Hodgson, scenic design by Christopher Fitzer, costume design by Fumiko Bielefeldt, lighting design by Wen-Ling Liao, and sound design by Jeff Mockus. Taylor McQuesten serves as stage manager, with Emily Wolf as assistant stage manager.

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