(Pic: Londiwe Dhlomo, Pume Zondi and Belinda Henwood)
KickstArt starts its busy year with wacky black-comedy rock-musical.
Top Durban theatre producers, KickstArt, start off a busy 2009 with the wacky black-comedy rock-musical, Little Shop of Horrors, which comes to the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on campus from March 22.
The smash-hit cult-musical spoofs the tradition of B-grade Sci-Fi movies with a delicious pastiche of 50’s music and comic-book imagery.
The all-star local cast is headed by Bryan Hiles as would-be botanist Seymour and the inimitable Lisa Bobbert as his ditzy love interest, Audrey. Aaron MacIlroy makes a welcome KickstArt debut as the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello (also played by Neon Anthem’s Liam Magner on certain nights), and Peter Court plays Mr Mushnik, Seymour’s miserly employer. The sinister plant is voiced by the acclaimed actor and voice artist, Tim Wells.
The cast is further enhanced by the glamorous, all-singing all-dancing trio of Pume Zondi, Londiwe Dhlomo and Belinda Henwood who form a Supreme’s style Greek Chorus. Neon Anthems’ Cobus van Heerden and Liam Magner complete the impressive cast list playing a variety of crazy cameos. The production team is equally impressive: The show is directed by Steven Stead, with sets by Greg King and costumes by Terrence Bray. Musical direction is by Evan Roberts and Shelley Maclean with choreography by Janine Bennewith and lighting by Tina Le Roux.
The wacky story tells of a hapless New York florist’s assistant in the seedy part of town who inadvertently rears an outspoken man-eating alien plant. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film of the same name, written by Howard Ashman and directed by Roger Corman. The cult film starred Rick Moranis as a career-defining Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey and Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist.
The music, composed by Alan Menken in the style of 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown includes several show-stoppers including Skid Row (Downtown), Somewhere That's Green and Suddenly, Seymour, as well as the title song.
2009 promises to be the most exciting and ambitious year yet for the multi-award winning KickstArt theatre company. After Little Shop of Horrors, the company changes course radically with a serious drama. This will be Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Wit which will run at the Seabrooke’s Theatre from July 16 to August 2.
The July holidays will see a welcome revival of the company’s colourful children’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh at the Playhouse Opera from July 2 to August 19. Another first for the company is a collaboration with another major national festival, The Witness Hilton Arts Festival. Together they will produce a brand new production of the ultimate backstage farce, Noises Off by Michael Frayn. The end of the year’s festive season production will not be a pantomime this year but an ambitious full-scale musical version of Peter Pan directed by Steven Stead (the first male actor to play Peter in South Africa in 1992) and designed by Greg King.
Little Shop of Horrors runs at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from March 22 to April 19. Book is at Computicket for all KickstArt productions - for more information visit www.kickstart-theatre.co.za
Posts
