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Puppet Morphs into Killer Plant from Outer Space
Valley Youth Theatre’s “Little Shop of Horrors” features Bigger-than-Life Sized Puppet
(PHOENIX, Ariz. – March 18, 2008) - Valley Youth Theatre, will feature a giant muppet-style puppet for the role of Audrey II, the killer plant, in their upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors, which runs April 4 through 20. Known for its outstanding programming and world-famous alumni including Jordin Sparks and Max Crumm, VYT Producing Artistic Director Bobb Cooper is working with 14 year old Ian White, a student at Arizona School for the Arts, to choreograph the puppet which was created by The Puppet Company of Oakland, CA.
“There are four puppets that, over the course of the show, transform into to the giant man-eating plant for which the show is remembered,” said Cooper. “Starting with the small hand puppet, the puppet manipulator must learn to animate larger and larger puppets until, by the end of the show, he is inside a plant that is bigger than he. It is a very physically demanding job.” Cooper continued.
The flower puppet/costumes are made of soft foam and are based on the original Broadway puppet-plant design by Martin P. Robinson. Little Shop of Horrors is a musical based on Roger Corman's famous 60's horror movie of the same name. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Of Beauty and the Beast & Little Mermaid Disney fame), bring to the stage this delectable tale of a man-eating plant that wants to take over the world. Seymour Krelborn tries to save the skid-row florist shop he works in by displaying this unusual plant he found at the flower market. The plant begins to weave a mysterious spell, and customers come flocking to the store. The only sticking point is the fact that the plant requires blood to grow. This works out fine in the beginning as Seymour pricks his own skin to feed the fledgling plant. But then, it demands bigger meat. Soon Seymour is offering up his true love Audrey's sadistic, dentist boyfriend as well as Mr. Mushnick, owner of the floral shop. And the way is then clear for romance to blossom between Audrey and Seymour. However, Audrey II, as Seymour has named his plant, has other ideas. When Seymour plans to run away with Audrey and destroy the plant, the fun really begins. It’s a great rock and roll, horror, fantasy!
This campy musical spoof will delight teens and adults alike. Little Shop of Horrors is open for business at Valley Youth Theatre April 4 thru 20 at Valley Youth Theatre, a world-class theatre located in the heart of Phoenix’s vibrant and flourishing downtown arts district at 525 N. First Street.
Performance times are: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. ; Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.Tickets are $18 per person, adults and children two and up, and can be ordered through the Valley Youth Theatre box office at 602-253-8188 x 2. Discounts are available for groups of 20+. For more information about Valley Youth Theatre visit
www.VYT.com.
About Valley Youth Theatre
Named by the Arizona Republic as The Best Place to Become a Future Star, Valley Youth Theatre is a nationally recognized world class non-profit organization that targets young people age 7 – 19 for participation in and attendance at quality live theatre productions. VYT’s mission is to inspire young people to be the best that they can be by providing them with lifelong lessons through a wide range of performing arts opportunities. VYT is an award-winning theatre company whose Alum include American Idol, Jordin Sparks and Broadway Star, Max Crumm. Valley Youth Theatre is supported in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts. Partial funding also is provided by the Phoenix Arts Commission through appropriations from the Phoenix City Council. For more information, visit
www.VYT.com.
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