Rock musical has tunes and terror

The show comes to Seaforth Hall, Warninglid, from Wednesday, October 30, until Saturday, November 2.

Inspired by the much darker and far less intentionally campy 1960 Roger Corman film of the same name, this rock musical version by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman premiered Off Broadway in 1982.

It then enjoyed a successful run on Broadway and in London’s West End, eventually inspiring a film version by veteran puppeteer Frank Oz.

The story is chronicled by three street urchins and set in Mushnik’s Florists Shop on Skid Row in 1950s New York.

The florist’s assistant, Seymour, is secretly in love with co-worker Audrey who is being badly treated by her boyfriend, Orin, the dentist. He becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers a ‘strange and interesting’ plant with a mysterious craving for blood.

Soon Audrey II – the plant not the girlfriend – grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fortune and fame in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination.

Theatre lovers are invited to find out what happens and enjoy the musical score as the story heads for a dramatic climax.

The cast includes Tom Hunter as Seymour, Amanda McCleary as Audrey and Peter Bowman as Mushnik.

Tickets cost £5 to £10.

Box office: www.acttoo.co.uk.