“The show, presented by the Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company, has been extended due to wild popularity through November 24th, and is the hot ticket centerpiece of this fall season’s offerings, helmed and choreographed by Landmark’s Artistic Director Megan O’Toole, with near-perfect craftsmanship.“
“it’s quite difficult to point out any weak spot of this production”
“bound to impress audiences through and through.”
“kudos must be paid to the team behind the Long Beach Landmark Theatre: they consistently present strong material worthy of a much larger space. That said, the intimate setting paired with the world class performances is a marvel that should not be changed.”
The opening weekend of Little Shop of Horrors was a smashing success! We broke our attendance goals and audiences were gushing with praise. With that, we are proud to announce the EXTENSION of the show for an additional weekend Nov 22-24.
We are also excited to announce that the final Sunday performance will be at an earlier time – 5:00pm. The Courtyard Cafe will be open for a sunset snack and beverage before the show begins just after sundown.
A “Little Shop Of Horrors” will be found this month in the sanctuary of Long Beach’s landmark First Congregational Church.
A musical, and one dealing with demonic doings, might seem incongruous to an historic church. But the Landmark Theatre Company has successfully produced plays for the last three years at First Congregational, and artistic director Megan O’Toole has found some justification for this play to be in church.
“Feed me!”
These are the first words uttered from the bulking, ravenous plant that feeds on the flesh and blood of humans in Roger Corman’s ultimate B-movie, the 1960 dark comedy “Little Shop of Horrors.” Alan Menken and Howard Ashman turned the movie into an uproarious musical that became a hit movie and one of the most-produced shows of recent years.
Beginning this Friday, Nov. 8, Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company opens its own production of the cult classic at the First Congregational Church Long Beach…
Before it ever reached the stage, the characters and ideas of Little Shop were front and center in popular science-fiction and horror storytelling. In 1956, sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke took inspiration from the horror stories of H.G. Wells to write “The Reluctant Orchid,” about a man who tries to use a deadly plant to murder his aunt without a trace. Then in 1960, Screenwriter Charles B. Griffith took inspiration from “The Reluctant Orchid” story to write The Little Shop of Horrors– a cult classic horror movie about a humble florist who uses a man-eating plant to get rid of his enemies and raise his status.
The movie had no singing or dancing, but a young writer named Howard Ashman became enamored with the film’s characters and irreverent tone. Years later, Ashman worked with the composer Alan Menken to bring the fun of the campy classic to the musical stage. The pair wanted to capture the retro feeling of their cinematic inspiration, and opted for a musical style inspired by doo-wop and early rock and roll. By marrying raucous musical fun to a grimly fascinating thematic tradition of greed and misused power, Ashman and Menken produced the enduring musical we know today.
After the show premiered in May of 1982, people took notice quickly. After just 24 performances in the humble, 98-seat WPA Theatre, the show moved to the much bigger Orpheum Theatre, where eager audiences enjoyed a run of over 2,000 performances. The show toured all over the nation and beyond, bringing man-eating plant-based mayhem to London’s West End and Sydney’s Theatre Royal within three years of its New York premiere. Since then, the phenomenon that is Little Shop has seen a film adaptation and a Broadway run, and has arguably become the most popular horror comedy rock musical of all time- though in a category that unique, it doesn’t have much competition.
