Notre Dame's FFT Production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Starts Tonight

Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) announces LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, tonight, November 18-22 in the Decio Mainstage Theatre at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Directed and choreographed by guest artist Nathan Halvorson, who previously helmed FTT's production of Cabaret (2013), LITTLE SHOP will also feature puppets by special effects makeup artist and puppeteer RJ Haddy, who was a finalist on Season 2 of the Syfy channel's reality competition series FACE OFF.

Based on the B-movie by Roger Corman and featuring music and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney's Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is perhaps best known for its alien carnivorous plant bent on world domination. "But really it's about the lengths to which you'll go to get the things you want," says Halvorson. "Even good people get lost sometimes."

"We're excited to follow up the success of Cabaret with a musical of arguably even broader appeal," says Kevin Dreyer, FTT's Director of Theatre. "The response to our announcement of LITTLE SHOP has been universally enthusiastic, as evidenced by the large number of students who clamored to be a part of the production. We expect it to be just as appealing to our audiences."

Haddy, who will be in residence on campus for two weeks to train FTT student puppeteers, will offer a public lecture/demonstration about working with puppets, extreme makeup, and special effects at 6:00 pm on Saturday, November 21, between the matinee and evening performances. A lifelong educator, Haddy has been called the "Emeril Lagasse of Special Make Up Effects instructors." Haddy attended The Joe Blasco Make Up Artist Training Center in Hollywood and immediately began working for Alterian Studios Inc. under world class effects artist Tony Gardner, where he had the opportunity to work on such big budget movies as Batman and Robin, There's Something About Mary, and Contact.

On Saturday, October 31, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will present a free Halloween double feature of both LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS films in the Browning Cinema. In the 1986 musical version, Rick Moranis plays the hapless Seymour who tries to win the affections of co-worker Audrey despite the insatiable appetite of his carnivorous plant, Audrey II. Roger Corman's original version from 1960, which inspired the Broadway musical, features a cameo by a young Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Music by Alan Menken
Based on the film by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffith
Originally produced by the WPA Theatre (Kyle Renick, Producing Director)
Originally produced at the Orpheum Theatre, New York City by the WPA Theatre, David Geffen, Cameron Mackintosh and the Shubert Organization

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 West 54th Street, New York, New York 10019. Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684. www.MTIShows.com

Tickets for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS are $20 for the general public; $15 for seniors (65+), faculty, and staff; and $9 for students. Tickets may be purchased online at performingarts.nd.edu, by phone at 574-631-2800, or in person at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center ticket office.

PERFORMANCES: Wednesday, November 18 - Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

RJ Haddy lecture/demonstration
Saturday, November 21 at 6:00 pm
Philbin Studio Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Free and open to the public; tickets required.
More about RJ Haddy: www.rjhaddy.com

LITTLE SHOP of Horrors Film Screenings
Saturday, October 31 at 8:00 pm
Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

LITTLE SHOP of Horrors (1986)
Directed by Frank Oz
With Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, Bill Murray
Rated PG-13, 94 minutes, DCP

The LITTLE SHOP of Horrors (1960)
Directed by Roger Corman
With Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Jack Nicholson
Not Rated, 71 minutes, BluRay

Free. Tickets required; available online at performingarts.nd.edu, by phone at 574-631-2800, or in person at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center ticket office.

PARKING: Free parking is available daily after 5:00 pm in the Stayer Center parking lot, just north of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and in the gated lot just east of DPAC on the corner of Eddy Street and Holy Cross Drive. An accessible lot for disabled patrons is available immediately adjacent to the center; a valid hangtag or license plate is required. There is a ten-minute parking zone on the north drive of the center for ticket pick-up; during inclement weather you are welcome to drop off guests in this area and proceed to parking. Non-campus parking (free for the first two hours) is also available at Eddy Street Commons, just south of the center.

Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre seeks to inspire intellectual inquiry and nurture creativity. We offer both a scholarly and a creative context for the general liberal arts student at Notre Dame as well as those students seeking intensive preparation for advanced study in these fields. The hands-on nature of our curriculum, coupled with a very high degree of student-faculty interaction, provides students with a singular educational opportunity at a university known for its teaching excellence. The FTT performance season is a direct outgrowth of the department's academic program and an integral component of our students' artistic development.

Follow FTT on Twitter @NDFTT. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NDFTT.

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