Meet Mr Mushnik- T3 Productions Little Shop of Horrors

Audrey II got a little hungry as we were painting the sets..

John William Blakeley talks about his role in T3 Productions Little Shop of Horrors

A Brief History of Little Shop of Horrors from movie, to musical to movie-musical!

 “On the twenty-first day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced - as such enemies often do - in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places.”

Little Shop of Horrors started as a low-budget horror film written by Charles Griffith and directed by Roger Corman in 1960. Corman and Griffith wrote the script in ten days in various coffee houses around Hollywood. Working fast with very little money, they shot the film in two days and a night in a small rental studio, using recycled sets. After it was released, Little Shop of Horrors became a cult classic and a popular midnight movie.

Then on May 6, 1982, the musical comedy, Little Shop of Horrors, had its world premiere at the Workshop of the Players' Art Theatre, before opening off-Broadway at the 
Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982.

The original production was composed by Alan Menken and written by Howard Ashman, the team behind Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Ashman also directed the original show, which was critically acclaimed and won several awards including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award.

At the time, Little Shop Of Horrors was the third longest-running musical and highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history. It closed on November 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances.

While it was proposed that the show make the move to Broadway, Ashman felt the show belonged where it was, off-Broadway at the Orpheum. Here, the show ran for 5 years, but 
unfortunately,  since it was not produced on Broadway, the original production wasn’t eligible for the 1982 Tony Awards.

      Original Off-Broadway Cast

·      Lee Wilkof - Seymour Krelborn 

·      Ellen Greene - Audrey 

·      Hy Anzell - Mr. Mushnik 

·      Marlene Danielle - Chiffon (replaced after two weeks by Leilani Jones)

·      Jennifer Leigh Warren - Crystal 

·      Sheila Kay Davis - Ronette 

·      Ron Taylor - Audrey II (voice) 

·      Martin P. Robinson - Audrey II (manipulation) / Wino #1

·      Franc Luz - Orin Scrivello (dentist), Narrator, Wino #2, Customer, Radio Announcer, Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, Skip Snip & Patrick Martin 

Following a successful run on stage, Howard Ashman wrote a screenplay and in 1986 Little Shop of Horrors took to the big screen in a film directed by Frank Oz.

          Film Cast

·      Rick Moranis - Seymour

·      Ellen Greene - Audrey

·      Levi Stubbs - Audrey II voice

·      Vincent Gardenia - Mushnik

·      Steve Martin - Orin Scrivello D.D.S.

·      Tichina Arnold - Crystal

·      Michelle Weeks - Ronette

·      Tisha Campbell - Chiffon

·      Also with James Belushi, John Candy and Bill Murray.

Two decades after it first opened off-Broadway, a revival of Little Shop of Horrors was planned to open on Broadway on August 14, 2003. A pre-Broadway production debuted at the Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Florida on May 16, 2003. This revival featured several cast members from the original 1982 production, including Lee Wilkoff, who originated the role of Seymour in 1982, and was now cast as Mr. Mushnik.  At this point, Martin P. Robinson, who designed the original Audrey II puppets, was a puppeteer for Sesame Street. With the help of his friends at The Jim Henson Company, he created new, high-tech puppets for the show. Hunter Foster and Alice Ripley joined the cast as Seymour and Audrey.

There were some problems along the way and in June 2003, the producers announced that the Broadway production was being cancelled. However, this project wasn’t dead yet. Producers hired veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks and fired everyone in the cast except Foster.

The musical finally made its Broadway debut at the Virginia Theatre on October 2, 2003 with a cast including Foster as Seymour, Kerry Butler as Audrey, Rob Bartlett as Mr. Mushnik, Douglas Sills as Orin and Michael-Leon Wooley as the voice of Audrey II. Although this was the first time it had played on Broadway, the show's success in film and numerous regional productions made it fall under the "Revival" category for the 2003 Tony Awards. Foster was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.

Bring on Tomorrow - Last Chances to See FAME

Sunday June 27 at 2pm and 7pm are your final chances to see FAME: The Musical at the Papermill Theatre. Don't miss seeing the opportunity to see this amazing, talented and energetic cast in action!!

Cast Profile - Mike MacDonald

Mike MacDonald is making the most of his remaining time in Toronto as Nick Piazza in FAME: The Musical.

FAME is Mike's second show with T3, as he was the company's Charlie Brown in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown last spring. After singing for most of his life, Mike completed 2 years of training at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC.

Mike says that his favourite show to date was Children of Eden. "I had a small part. I was Ham, one of Noah's sons. I loved the show for the music. There is a part at the end of the show when the rainbow, God's promise to not flood the earth again, would be flown from the cat walk, over top of the audience and across the stage filling the whole theatre. Just the swell in the music and the feeling in the theatre. It's something I'll never forget being a part of."

Mike is working to make a complete transformation into Nick and truly differentiate himself from the character. While he doesn't have a favourite moment in the show, he believes that many performers should be able to relate to what is happening onstage. "Most of us have been through professional performing institutions at around the same age as these characters going through the Fame School. I think having that personal connection is going to bring out some incredible moments on the stage".

Amid FAME performances, Mike is preparing to move back home to the east coast to pursue a degree in education. "I want to bring the arts to the youth of today because we need them to be the performers of tomorrow".

Watch for Mike in FAME: The Musical until June 27 at the Papermill Theatre. Tickets available at www.ticketweb.ca

Cast Profile - Bridget Norris

Bridget Norris doesn't remember much of the 80's (outside of crying, sleeping, eating and other things that babies do) but is looking forward to portraying Serena Katz in FAME: The Musical.

Bridget is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School who has worked also with Theatre By the Bay, Gairbraid Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, 4th Line Theatre, Theatre Kairos, and the Toronto Fringe. In August she will be doing a remount of 4th Line Theatre's The Right Road to Pontypool.

Bridget says that she sees Serena "as a sponge who is ready to soak up anything and everything. She also wears her heart on her sleeve, which gets her into trouble at the beginning but then works out for her in the end. She is a lot like me when I was 16/17, intensely shy but also crazy curious and feisty when she needs to be." Bridget is really enjoying all the dancing in the show as she says it's not something she normally gets to do. Actively involved in the arts, Bridget is currently completing an internship with Studio 180 Theatre, as well as teaching step dancing classes and singing in a choir.

Catch Bridget as Serena Katz in FAME: The Musical until June 27 at the Papermill Theatre. Tickets available at www.ticketweb.ca