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“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.
Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company is proud to announce an upcoming Open Call for “Little Shop of Horrors”. Details can be found at https://lblandmark.org/auditions/
Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company is proud to announce that multiple community and civic leaders will be taking the stage as competitive spellers in the upcoming 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, opening May 10.
The production is a hilariously irreverent affair as a quirky group of pre-teen spellers (portrayed by adult actors) vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. As each contestant steps to the microphone, they open their hearts – in sometimes hilarious and often touching stories of life as a 12-year-old.
It’s an unpredictable evening, as some members of the audience just might find themselves a part of the craziness on the spelling bee stage. And Landmark is proud to announce that our line-up of guest spellers includes such notable Long Beach community and civic leaders as: community activist Justin Rudd, 3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price, and Director of Economic Development John Keisler. Each performance will feature at least one different surprise guest – it’s an evening not to be missed.
Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company is proud to announce three new productions in 2019.
First, coming in May is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Winner of the Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Book, this show has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless wit and humor.
Experience the joys and heartbreaks of bare-knuckled competition as an eclectic group of entrants vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime, hoping never to hear the soul-crushing “ding” that signals a spelling mistake. Each contestant steps to the microphone to confront ever more difficult words, while candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives. It’s fast-paced, wildly funny and touching, with a fresh and vibrant score.
This Bee is one unforgettable experience!
Performances: Friday through Sunday, May 10th -12th and 17th-19th
November will once again be the time for Landmark’s big Fall Musical. This year we’re proud to present the deviously delicious classic, Little Shop of Horrors!
Feed the need for musical hilarity with this delectable Broadway smash hit about a man-eating plant. Little Shop of Horrors has devoured the hearts of theatre goers for over thirty years. Nerdy floral shop worker Seymour would give anything to gain the love of Audrey. The depth of his desire is tested when a strange and menacing addition to his floral shop brings him sudden and unexpected popularity. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are the creative geniuses behind what has become one of the most popular shows in the world.
This show is one not to be missed—You’ll eat it up!
Performances: Friday through Sunday , November 8th-10th and 15th-17th.
And as a special treat this summer, the Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company will present a magical Gala Concert, filled with the big, sweeping, beloved music that Landmark does best. Stay tuned for more details!
We have released the first of FOUR full music videos that we shot in studio for our production of Little Women the Broadway Musical.
This video features Natalie Gissell as Beth and Laurel Bollard as Jo. The full video is available exclusively for Ticket Holders and members of the Producer’s Circle. To get access, grab your tickets now, or join the Producer’s Circle today!
As we continue rehearsing, singing and sweating, preparing our amazing production of Little Women the Broadway Musical for you in November, we thought we’d have some fun exploring a few of the other iterations of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved tale, this time on film…
There have been no fewer than thirteen different adaptations of Little Women on film–eight for the big screen and five for television, beginning in 1917 with a silent production from Britain, all the way up to next year’s highly anticipated production headed by Lady Bird‘s Greta Gerwig. Here’s a look at some of the memorable versions that you may recall…and one that we all wish we could forget!
This first sound version of the film was resoundingly praised by critics and was the 4th highest earner at the box office that year. It was directed by George Cukor and starred Katharine Hepburn, who was cast as Jo, fresh from her first Oscar win for Morning Glory. Of her performance, the New York World-Telegram wrote that she gave “an unforgettably brilliant performance–once and for all, she definitely proves how unlimited and effortless an actor she truly is.”
Little Women of 1949 was an MGM spectacular and was of course filmed in Technicolor. It was representative of Hollywood’s “Golden Days” when the films were lush and sappy, with realism kept at bay. A 31-year-old June Allyson played 17-year-old Jo–whom critics opined, ” while oozing sentimentality, can’t hold a bayberry candle to Hepburn’s Jo.” Elizabeth Taylor was an overly petulant Amy, Margaret O’Brien a much-too-young Beth, and future Rat Packer Peter Lawford was Laurie.
Nevertheless, it was one of the biggest box-office hits of 1949.
This version of the film was very well received and rated a very strong 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3½ stars, calling it “a surprisingly sharp and intelligent telling of Louisa May Alcott’s famous story, and not the soft-edged children’s movie it might appear.” It’s probably the one best remembered by most of you–Winona Ryder as feisty Jo, Kirsten Dunst as precocious Amy, Susan Sarandon as strong and loving Marmie, and Christian Bale as a dreamy and loveable Laurie that every pre-teen girl fell in love with.
Coming next year will be yet another version of Little Women, this time directed by Greta Gerwig of Lady Bird fame, and starring Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Emma Watson as Meg, Laura Dern as Marmie, Timothee Chalamet as Laurie, and Meryl Streep as the always pompous Aunt March. This eagerly anticipated retelling of the tale is scheduled to arrive Christmas 2019.
You knew it had to happen. It was the 70’s and the era of the mini-series, so naturally NBC hopped on the bandwagon with it’s version of Little Women starring Susan Dey of Partridge Family fame as Jo, the Brady Bunch’s Eve Plumb as Beth, Meredith Baxter-Birney as Meg, and what 70’s mini-series would be complete without William Shatner as Professor Bhaer? It’s probably best if we just skip right past the reviews…
Create your own memories!
Join us for Little Women the Broadway Musical November 9-11 and 16-18