Millennial Theatre to Present ‘Little Shop of Horrors’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Millennial Theatre Company will begin a three-weekend, nine-performance run of “Little Shop of Horrors” on Friday, Oct. 18, at Hopewell Theatre, 702 Mahoning Ave., near downtown.

Shows will take place at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 3. Tickets start at $25 and are available online HERE.

The horror-comedy musical has become a favorite of the Halloween season. It follows the tale of Seymour Krelborn, a meek clerk in a floral shop in a seedy part of town. Seymour comes across a new breed of plant that he names Audrey II after his co-worker, on whom he has a crush.

The plant is a foul-mouthed carnivore, but Seymour knows it could reverse his fortunes; all he has to do is keep feeding it human flesh.

Joe Asente, director of MTC’s production, says “Little Shop” has gone from an off-Broadway cult favorite to a musical theater staple that even nonfans can quote and love. “It is the perfect mix of campy, funny and spooky,” he said.

Hopewell Theatre is a perfect venue for the production, which is currently playing an open-ended run Off-Broadway in a small venue, Asente said.

“It is clear that small venues are really where ‘Little Shop’ shines,” he said.

The MTC founder said he has wanted to stage “Little Shop,” which makes heavy use of puppets, for some time. “After learning about puppetry [in Millennial’s 2023 production of ‘Avenue Q’], we felt ready to take on the larger-than-life puppets required for this production,” Asente said.

The cast includes Edward Bazzell, Hannah Sinclair, Nate Beagle, Josh Flemming, Andy Scott, Kate Del, Sammie Gurd, Ty Hanes, Landon Eli, Ryan Stewart and puppeteers Paula Stephenson and Sydney Ohlin.

Music director is Ryan Lamb, and choreographer is Danielle Mentzer.

Pictured at top: Edward Bazzell and Hannah Sinclair star in Millennial Theatre Company’s “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.