A TOE-TAPPING GOOD TIME CFABS TEEN PLAYERS PRESENT LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

A TOE-TAPPING GOOD TIME
CFABS TEEN PLAYERS PRESENT LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Friday February 21, 7:00pm & Saturday February 22 2:00 & 7:00pm
at the new Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs

by Patrice Shields

The Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs (CFABS) Teen Players present one of thelongest-running Off-Broadway shows of all time as their first performance in the New Center for Performing Arts Moe Auditorium.  For three shows February 21-22, the new “Teen Players” prove the charming, tuneful and hilarious, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, “Little Shop of Horrors” never fails to entertain.

“’Little Shop of Horrors’ is the only production I know that can combine 1950’s Doo Wop with modern day street smarts,” says Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs Performing Arts Director Craig Price.   “I can’t wait for families to come experience our first Youth Theater production in what will be their permanent home at the new Center for Performing Arts.”This is the first teen production added to the Centers for the Arts popular Youth Theater program, designed to pique the interest of area youth and cultivate their knowledge of theater.  Price directs this and the two additional youth theater productions throughout the year with The Wizard of Oz set to play in the Hinman Auditorium May 9-11, 2014.

 “Little Shop of Horrors” by Howard Ashman is based on the film by Roger Corman with screenplay by Charles Griffith. A down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon “Audrey II” grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination!  The two-act musical takes off from the plot of a low-budget horror movie with musical numbers by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the team responsible for the songs in Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.  The story follows what happens when nerdy, downtrodden Skid Row floral-shop employee Seymour (Maykol Palencia), who has been rescued from an orphanage and exploited by the shop’s owner, Mr. Mushnik (James Corbett), discovers an unusual and particularly demanding plant.

 

Seymour names the plant Audrey II, after fellow employee Audrey (Alana Pound), who is involved in an abusive relationship with a sadistic dentist (Alec Figueroa). When man-eating Audrey II begins demanding to be fed, Seymour comes up with a solution that solves some problems while creating others. The show bounces brightly from one musical number to the next, with equal attention to show tunes, doo-wop numbers and R&B tunes performed by the Ronettes (Faith Ferretti, Sarae Addison, Athena Kelley and Cierra Miller) and the voice of Audrey II (Eduardo Marin).

“Little Shop of Horrors,” presented by CFABS Teen Players is sure to please anyone hungry for a musical production where the sinister characters end up getting their just deserts. CFABS Teen Players production of “Little Shop of Horrors” three shows are Friday February 21, 7:00pm & Saturday February 22, 2:00 & 7:00pm.  Show run time is 2 hours. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students. To purchase tickets call the Centers for the Arts at 239-495-8989.

 A full performance and film series continues throughout the year at the new Center for Performing Arts, which includes “A Night at the Opera – Doug Renfroe” on February 27, Flamenco Puro on March 4, Noah Waddell “Eleven-Year-Old Concert Pianist” on March 6, “Moving Currents Dance Troupe” on March 7 and the “Films for Film Lovers,” foreign and independent film series on Monday evenings. A full listing of events is available at www.artcenterbonita.org.

Tickets for all of the events listed can be purchased by calling the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs at 239-495-8989 or by visiting the Center for Visual Arts, 26100 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34135.

Those who join the Centers for the Arts for the first time receive two tickets to one of this season’s Live performance events including “Little Shop of Horrors.”  The Centers for the Arts offers this benefit for first time members and it is for a limited time only.

 You can learn more about the new Center for Performing Arts, located at 10150 Bonita Beach Road SE, Bonita Springs and how you can help, by calling the Centers for the Arts at 239-495-8989 or visiting their website at www.artcenterbonita.org. 

 IF YOU GO:

WHO: The Centers for the Arts of Bonita Springs
WHAT: CFABS Teen Players production of “Little Shop of Horrors,”
WHEN: Friday February 21, 7:00pm & Saturday February 22, 2:00 & 7:00pm
WHERE: The Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs – Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Road SE, Bonita Springs 34135
TICKETS: $10 adults, $5 youth