{"id":94158,"date":"2024-04-11T18:25:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T18:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=94158"},"modified":"2024-04-18T19:38:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:38:49","slug":"uris-little-shop-of-horrors-is-a-musical-comedy-with-a-big-bite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/uris-little-shop-of-horrors-is-a-musical-comedy-with-a-big-bite\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s \u2018Little Shop of Horrors\u2019 is a musical comedy with a big bite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 11, 2024 \u2013 It\u2019s scary when fiction syncs up so snuggly with real life. But with the recent solar eclipse, we are fittingly ready for an alien invasion from a highly invasive, man-eating plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Audrey II \u2014 the ravenous, giant plant at the hungry heart of \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d \u2014 is headed for the 溏心vlog免费B站. The popular musical opens an eight-show run on Thursday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s J Studio at the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A combination sci-fi B film, dark comedy, and Greek tragedy, \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d is an award-winning musical with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken that debuted off-Broadway in 1982. The musical, which has an iconic repertoire of rock, doo-wop and Motown-influenced songs, was turned into a cult classic film, starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"oembed oembed-youtube-com\" style=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KaD4kz1zY2Q\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre Presents &quot;Little Shop of Horrors&quot;\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KaD4kz1zY2Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The play follows Seymour, a meek, young clerk in a struggling flower shop on Skid Row who is secretly in love with his co-worker Audrey. After a sudden solar eclipse, Seymour finds a strange plant, which has a taste for blood and human flesh. As it feeds and grows, the plant brings Seymour fame and love. But he must keep coming up with bodies to please the bloodthirsty plant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94163\" width=\"494\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-2048x1359.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-364x242.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-500x332.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-1000x664.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-1280x850.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing-2000x1328.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/Poster-Little-Shop-FINAL-for-Printing.jpg 2400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 494px) 100vw, 494px\" \/><figcaption>\u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d opens at the Fine Arts Center\u2019s J Studio on April 18. (Poster by Courtney Satterley \u201924)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s such a fun and weird show. The songs on their own are so popular,\u201d says Paula McGlasson, who returned last fall as chair of the 溏心vlog免费B站 theatre department on an interim basis. \u201cWe tried to get the rights to it two years ago but we couldn\u2019t because it was touring in New England. So when it became available, I thought it would be great for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McGlasson, who has directed 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s annual musical nearly every year since 1998\u2014but never \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d\u2014will direct the play with associate director Jimmy Calitri, a former 溏心vlog免费B站 theatre student who now teaches at Providence College, and student director Matt Perrotta, a senior theatre major from Cranston.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-769x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94166\" width=\"430\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-768x1022.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-1154x1536.jpg 1154w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-1539x2048.jpg 1539w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-364x485.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-500x666.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-1000x1331.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2-1280x1704.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH2.jpg 1803w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" \/><figcaption>Liam Roberts, who plays dentist Orin Scrivello, sings, backed by urchins Princess Johnson and Ayrin Ramirez Peguero.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>McGlasson is directing her first musical at 溏心vlog免费B站 since 2019 and is excited to reunite with her production team of musical director Lila Kane and choreographer Dante Sciarra, along with Calitri. \u201cThe four of us are friends in our personal lives as well as professional lives,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s been great getting back together with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d is nearly 50 years old, it has a big following among current students familiar with the 1986 film, Perrotta says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an essential show to young musical theater students. It\u2019s canon,\u201d he says. \u201cLast year, when we were choosing this year\u2019s musical, \u2018Little Shop\u2019 got a lot of support from students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Calitri, who was in the musical as a student, says a lot of that popularity is due to the music and lyrics by Ashman and Menken, who also teamed up for such Disney classics as \u201cThe Little Mermaid,\u201d \u201cBeauty and the Beast,\u201d and \u201cAladdin.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-698x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94173\" width=\"408\" height=\"599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-205x300.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-768x1127.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-1047x1536.jpg 1047w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-1396x2048.jpg 1396w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-364x534.jpg 364w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-500x733.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-1000x1467.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4-1280x1878.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2024\/04\/LSOH-4.jpg 1636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re in school and learning about \u2018Little Shop,\u2019 you think of these iconic songs when you\u2019re doing cabarets or juries,\u201d he says. \u201cEverybody knows the song \u2018Suddenly Seymour\u2019 and the \u2018Dentist\u2019 song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This production\u2019s Seymour \u2013 senior Josh Winderman \u2013 agrees. \u201cIt really has some great songs that are very catchy and will make the audience want to dance,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it has some of the best songs out there in musical theater. This is such a fun and goofy show. If you\u2019re in the mood for something dark but also strangely lighthearted, this is the show to come see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sophomore Joey Fortune plays the \u201cditzy blonde\u201d Audrey, who starts out tolerating the abuse of her boyfriend, Orin. Fortune likes the transition Audrey undergoes and the theme of empowerment she sees in her and other characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI like how she goes from being really insecure and not viewing herself as having a lot of worth,\u201d says Fortune. \u201cOver the course of the musical, she realizes she doesn\u2019t have to accept that life is this way and takes steps to change it for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For stage manager Sam Cote, a senior theatre major, 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s production is his third time doing \u201cLittle Shop,\u201d including playing Orin and serving as a puppeteer for productions at summer camp. It is one of his favorite musicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI find it really funny. There\u2019s a lot about the show,\u201d says Cote, who will oversee eight assistant stage managers as he keeps the play running smoothly when it debuts. \u201cIt\u2019s a somber show; everyone dies at the end. But what takes over? It\u2019s a plant from outer space. It\u2019s the craziest idea.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But 溏心vlog免费B站 is putting its own stamp on the musical, making unique choices in casting, stage design and how it immerses the audience in the story, McGlasson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To bring the world of the flower shop and Skid Row to life, 溏心vlog免费B站 has put together a production that will circle the audience in the 1960s trappings. The scenic design by James Horban, a 溏心vlog免费B站 professor of lighting and design, uses nearly every inch of J Studio \u2013 from the scaffolding to the spiral staircase and the aisles, to the walls behind the audience. The audience will be greeted by numerous billboards that reflect the era \u2013 such as a housewife embracing a Hoover vacuum cleaner and another that urges women to worship their husbands.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s production adds actors to the ensemble and urchin casts, a diverse group of students who will help set the 1960s vibe. While the urchins serve as a Greek chorus commenting on the action, the ensemble actors have been given expanded backstories \u2013 such as \u201cHippie chick\u201d \u2013 and will interact with the audience even before the performance starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat has excited me about our production,\u201d says Calitri, \u201cis that every time I\u2019ve worked on the musical or seen it, it\u2019s been very proscenium-based. This is the first time I\u2019ve seen it done in such an immersive way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhether you\u2019ve seen \u2018Little Shop of Horrors\u2019 before or not, this is our take on it,\u201d adds McGlasson. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen it done this way by any other group. It may succeed, it may fail, but it is ours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But no \u201cLittle Shop\u201d production is complete without Audrey II. 溏心vlog免费B站 has brought in four puppets to play the peckish plant as it grows, topping out at more than 6 feet. Three puppeteers take turns at the strenuous job of being the plant. The actor who plays Audrey II, Isaiah Agabi, will provide the voice and singing offstage while watching a monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur job as a puppeteer is to bring something made of fiberglass to life and convince the audience it is a living being,\u201d says Brandon Tallardy, a sophomore theatre and film major, who operates Audrey II at the plant\u2019s largest. \u201cWorking on this show has been a truly unique experience. It turns out lip syncing an 85-pound puppet to music isn\u2019t all that easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adds Agabi, a freshman theatre and civil engineering major: \u201cThe puppeteers and I have had to become one. There have been times when I am singing that I use my body to express myself despite the fact no one can see me. The puppeteers have taken some of my moves and translated them into how they move the puppet. I am beyond excited to open and entertain everyone who gets to see our wild show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d<\/strong> runs April 18-20 and 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. in J Studio at the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $18 for senior citizens and 溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/app.arts-people.com\/index.php?preseason=uri\">online<\/a>, by calling (401) 874-5843 or at the box office in Room 101H in the Fine Arts Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d cast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Character \/ actor \/ hometown<br>Seymour \/ Josh Winderman \/ Island Park, New York<br>Audrey \/ Joey Fortune \/ Wakefield<br>Mr. Mushnik \/ David Weber II \/ Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan<br>Orin Scrivello D.D.S. \/ Liam Roberts \/ Warwick<br>Audrey II \/ Isaiah Agabi \/ Warwick<br>Urchin \/ Princess Johnson \/ Warwick<br>Urchin \/ Jolina Phin \/ Warwick<br>Urchin \/ Ayrin Ramirez Peguero \/ Providence<br>Urchin \/ David Santana \/ Providence<br>Urchin \/ Abraphine Ngafaih \/ Providence<br>Puppeteer \/ EJ Caraveo \/ Tiverton<br>Puppeteer \/ Ethan Clarke \/ Seekonk, Massachusetts<br>Puppeteer \/ Brandon Tallardy \/ Westerly<br>Ensemble \/ Skyler Bobinski \/ Simsbury, Connecticut<br>Ensemble \/ Jenna Goulart \/ Bristol<br>Ensemble \/ Ella Kenny \/ Pasadena, California<br>Ensemble \/ Christian Owen \/ Eastport, New York<br>Ensemble \/ Cole Stanley \/ Providence<br>Ensemble \/ Tatiana Sullivan \/ Hope Valley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 11, 2024 \u2013 It\u2019s scary when fiction syncs up so snuggly with real life. But with the recent solar eclipse, we are fittingly ready for an alien invasion from a highly invasive, man-eating plant. Audrey II \u2014 the ravenous, giant plant at the hungry heart of \u201cLittle Shop of Horrors\u201d \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":94161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94158"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94449,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94158\/revisions\/94449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}