Contact: Kimberly Osborne (304) 766-3363 kosborne@wvstateu.edu

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) students will be presenting the popular musical “Little Shop of Horrors” April 16-19 at 8 p.m. nightly in the theater of the Davis Fine Arts Building.
The performances are open to the public and $10 general admission tickets will be available at the door. For WVSU students, admission is free.
Based on the 1960 film by Roger Corman, “Little Shop of Horrors” is a comedy horror rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.
For the WVSU production, several University theater and music courses contributed to the finished product, according to Susan Marrash-Minnerly, Professor of Theatre and Director of the show.
“One of the best aspects of this production is the level of energy and excitement of every single person involved with Little Shop of Horrors – actors, design/technical students, musicians, choreographers and the faculty,” Marrash-Minnerly said. “For a long time I have wanted to find more areas of intersection between our film and theatre students; so in Little Shop we are experimenting with new media scenography and incorporating a lot of film into the production.”
The cast includes WVSU students Roberta Arthur, Joshua Drew, Jason Lykens, Luca DiPiero, Ashley Dominique-Sims, Casey Sharp and Mandy Harper. In addition, WVSU faculty member and well-known local musician, Phil Washington, will be singing the role of the carnivorous plant, Audrey II. WVSU English Professor Tim Alderman will also be performing, and Marrash-Minnerly hinted there may be cameos from campus “celebrities.”
“The show itself is just wildly fun and I think WVSU is going to have a dynamite production,” she said. Other WVSU students involved in the production of “Little Shop of Horrors” are: Lacey Baumgardner and Keith Mann, costume design; Calvin Grimm, film design; Ethan Young, lighting design; and Trinity Altano, Scott Smith, Tyler Miller and Keith Mann, crew.
In addition to Marrash-Minnerly, WVSU faculty members involved in the production are: Dirk Johnson, vocal director; Scott Woodard, conductor; and Doug Minnerly, set design.
The production is partially funded by the WVSU Cultural Activities Committee.
For more information, contact Marrash-Minnerly at (304) 766-5110 or .
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