<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body leftmargin="2" topmargin="2" style=" margin: 10px; text-align:
center">
<table style="margin: auto; width: 90%; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<h1 style="font: normal 12pt sans-serif; color:#C00;
text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: -30px"><strong>PRESS
RELEASE</strong> <br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</h1>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;" align="right">Date:
2/23/17</p>
<hr align="center" color="black" noshade="noshade" size="2"
width="100%">
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">Contact: Andrew Rothman<br>
From: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre <br>
40 River Street Chagrin Falls, OH 44122 <br>
Phone: 440-247-8955 <br>
E-mail: <a href="mailto:cvlt@cvlt.org">cvlt@cvlt.org</a>
<br>
Website: <a href="http://www.cvlt.org/">www.cvlt.org</a></p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;" align="center"><a
href="http://www.cvlt.org/promo">Promotional <b>PHOTOS</b>
available for download at http://www.CVLT.org/promo</a></p>
<h3 style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color:#000; font-size:12pt;">After thirty years, LITTLE
SHOP OF HORRORS returns to Chagrin Falls beginnings</h3>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -
In the summer of 1987, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre
secured the rights to stage Ohio's first production of <i>Little
Shop of Horrors</i>. At the time, the musical comedy
with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan
Menken was still finishing its original Off-Broadway run,
and Frank Oz's film adaptation had just left the big
screen for VHS earlier that year. The CVLT production's
six-week run was a huge hit for the theater, and the
man-eating-plant puppets constructed for the show would go
on to appear in many subsequent productions in Northeast
Ohio.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">Thirty years later, <i>Little
Shop of Horrors</i> returns to the CVLT stage for a
12-performance run, March 24<sup>th</sup> through April 22<sup>nd</sup>.
Performances will be at 8 PM on Friday and Saturday
nights, with 2 PM matinees on Sunday April 2<sup>nd</sup>
and 9<sup>th</sup>. Tickets are $20 with a $4 discount for
students and seniors, as well as discounts for groups,
events, or fundraisers.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">The musical <i>Little
Shop of Horrors</i> is based on Roger Corman's 1960
black comedy / horror film of the same name, which was so
low-budget as to be filmed in just two days. It's the
story of Seymour (played by Nate Summers), the shy,
nebbishy assistant at a languishing Skid Row flower shop
run by Mr. Mushnik (Michael A. Green). He harbors a secret
crush on his co-worker Audrey (Nina Takacs), who is the
girlfriend of an abusive dentist (Steven R. Tiderman).
Seymour finds himself suddenly famous when he discovers a
"strange and unusual plant," which he names Audrey II.
When the plant reveals that it can talk (voiced by Anthony
Williams), move (Genevieve Vince, Alex Petsche, and
Stephen Heinzel), and is thirsty for human blood, Seymour
is pushed to find his dark side in order to keep his new
found status. The doo-wop style pop/rock score is backed
by three Motown-esque street urchins; Crystal (Aja
Norman), Ronette (Kimberly Sullivan) and Chiffon (Jen
Ryan), and other Skid Row denizens (Stephen Bundy, Natalie
Dolezal, Rosi Jamison).</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">The Off-Broadway
success of <i>Little Shop</i> led Disney to hire the team
of Ashman and Menken for their next film, which would
become the award-winning <i>The Little Mermaid</i>. The
duo's work kick-started the Disney renaissance of the
1990s, including music for <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>
and <i>Aladdin</i>. Menken would continue working after
Ashman's death, composing the songs for <i>Newsies</i>, <i>Pocahontas</i>,
<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i>, <i>Hercules</i>, <i>Enchanted</i>,
<i>Tangled</i>, and a variety of other film and Broadway
scores.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">CVLT's 2017 production
of <i>Little Shop of Horrors </i>retains strong ties to
their 1987 staging. At the helm is director Greta Rothman,
whose mother Paula Pike played the leading role of Audrey.
"I was 14 at the time," says Rothman,"and I not only loved
this quirky new musical but I was naturally thrilled that
my mom was to play the ingenue. Each night I would run
lines with her as she made sure to capture the right tone
and humor of Audrey, and each night we would brush and
style her blonde bouffant wig, which was practically a
character itself. I watched every performance from the
back of the house." Mrs. Pike's then-husband Jeffrey
Brader was a featured performer in the show, and Ms.
Rothman's younger brother Andrew played percussion in the
band. Mr. Brader passed away in 1992, and Mrs. Pike in
2014. "Thirty years is a very long hiatus for a community
theatre to take in remounting a hit show it debuted,"
explains Ms. Rothman, "and Mom's passing has made it all
the more meaningful that CVLT would put me in charge of
this production."</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">As if the director's
connection to the material weren't enough, the show's
choreographer is Pamela LaForce, who played the role of
"Crystal" in the 1987 production. Ms. LaForce has since
choreographed, directed, or performed in dozens of
productions at CVLT and around the Cleveland area. She won
the 'Best Choreography' award at CVLT's first annual
Audrey Awards ceremony in 2016 for her work on <i>Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang</i>. Rounding out the production team
is David W. Coxe, who is taking his first turn as a
Musical Director at CVLT but has an extensive musical
direction background elsewhere that includes eight other
productions of <i>Little Shop</i>.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;">Tickets for <i>Little
Shop of Horrors</i> can be purchased online at CVLT.org
or by phone at 440-247-8955, 1-6 p.m. Monday through
Saturday. The newly renovated Chagrin Valley Little
Theatre is located at 40 River Street in the Village of
Chagrin Falls.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; font-weight:normal;font-family:
arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;"> CVLT is generously
funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts
and Culture and supported by the Ohio Arts Council. CVLT
is a proud member of the American Association of Community
Theatre.</p>
<p style="font-size:10pt; text-align:center;
font-weight:normal;font-family: arial, sans-serif;
color:#000000;">### </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</body>
</html>