ALLEY THEATRE
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Paul R. Tetreault, Managing Director

It's the Attack of the Monster Musical!
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Featured in Alley Theatre's Exxon SummerChills '99

Little Shop of Horros Brought to Audiences
by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
July 2 - August 1, 1999
Opening July 7th, 1999

Houston, Texas - For the sixth consecutive summer, Houstonians can escape the heat with the Alley Theatre's annual presentation of Exxo Summer Chills. This year's series will be the first to feature a major musical production. The Alley's summer offering will be Little Shop of Horrors, written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken of Disney's The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. For this production, Alley Artistic Director Gregory Boyd, who will direct, has reunited the original designers - set designer Edward Gianfrancesco and costume designer Sally Lesser - of the 1984 Off-Broadway hit.

“My goal is to return the musical to its roots - no pun intended,” said Boyd of the musical that stars a man-eating plant from outerspace. “I’ve always wanted to present Little Shop of Horrors the way it was originally created, as a 1950’s sci-fi horror comedy with this great musical score in a comic book setting. I’m eager to present it to a generation that may only be familiar with the movie.”

In addition to the original designers, the Alley has enlisted Marguerite Pomerhn Derricks to oversee choreography. Ms. Derricks has created the choreographic sequences to the films Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and the upcoming sequel Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Her work has also been seen at the MTV Movie Awards and in the current films Never Been Kissed starring Drew Barrymore and 10 Things I Hate About You.

The musical begins previews Friday, July 2 and runs through Sunday, August 1. Press opening is scheduled for Wednesday, July 7.
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Exxon SummerChills is by all accounts a family affair and past productions have allowed
unique opportunities for parents to enjoy the expe.rience of live theatre with their children. This is
Exxon's third SummerChills partnership with the Alley Theatre. In addition to sponsoring the
production, Exxon is offering discount coupons to Little Shop of Horrors at all Exxon stations.

"One of the original goals of SummerChilis was to create quality shows for an inexpensive
ticket price. We are thrilled that we can produce a musical such as Little Shop of Horrors with
tickets as low as $17," said Alley Theatre.Managing Director Paul Tetreault.

Based on the 1961 monster movie by Roger Corman, Little Shop of Horrors satirizes
science-fiction, 'B' movies, musical comedy itself and even the Faust legend as it tells the story of
Audrey 11, an insatiable man-eating plant from outer space. It was a major off-Broadway hit.in
1984, running for five years off-Broadway and in numerous productions worldwide.

Mr. Ashman, who died in 1991, received two Outer Critic's Circle Awards, a New York
Drama Critic's Circle Award, a London Evening Standard Award and a Drama Desk Award for his book and lyrics. His death ended 12 years of collaboration with composer Alan Menken. Together, they won two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, and four Grammy Awards for their original songs composed for the Disney animated films The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

This is the sixth SummerChills installment at the Alley and the third collaboration with Exxon. Exxon Summer Chills is by all accounts a family affair and past Productions have allowed unique opportunities for parents to enjoy the experience of live theatre with their children. “one of the original goals of SummerChills was to create quality shows for an inexpensive ticket price. We are thrilled that we can produce a musical such as Little Shop of Horrors with tickets as low as $17,” said Alley Theatre Managing Director Paul Tetreault.

The cast of Little Shop of Horrors includes: Kia Joy Goodwin as Chiffon and Daria
Hardeman as Ronette, Alley Company Actor Paul Hope as Skip Snip, Mr. Bernstein and Mrs. Luce among others, Audrey Klinger as Audrey, Alley Company Actor Charles Krohn as Mr. Mushnik, Angela Robinson as Crystal and Jamison Stem as Seymour. Ken Prymus supplies the voice for Audrey II. Brian Byrnes and Dave Dusheck are the puppeteers for Audrey II.
Little Shop of Horrors features scenic design by Edward Gianfrancesco, costume design by
Sally Lesser'lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Karl Richardson and Scott Stauffer
and choreography by Marguerite Derricks. Vocal arrangements are by Robert Billig and
orchestrations are by Robby Merkin, with music supervision by Dave Clemmon's and music
direction by Galen Butter.
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The Alley Theatre, recipient of the 1996 Special Tony Award is a resident theatre company
located in the heart of downtown Houston. Alley productions have been'seen throughout the United
States and abroad. Most recently, the Alley Theatre received national recognition for its two
contributions to Broadway: Tennessee Williams' early, never-before-produced Not About
Nightingales.and The Civil War, by Alley Artistic Director Gregory Boyd, Jack Murphy and
Broadway composer Frank Wildhom (Jekyll & Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel). Not About
Nightingales, an international collaboration among Vanessa and Corin Redgrave's Moving Theatre,
the Royal National Theatre of London and the Alley Theatre, made its world premiere March 1998
at the National in London, it U.S debut at the Alley in June 1998 and went on to receive six Tony
nominations while on Broadway this spring. The Alley began its 1998-99 season with the world
premiere of an original and unique musical event The Civil War, which continued to Broadway in
the spring of 1999 and received two Tony nominations. The Alley Theatre is looking forward to an
exciting new season of revivals and premieres for its 1999-2000 season. Some of the highlights
include Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, a premiere of Eve Ensler's Lemonade, Margaret
Edson's Pulitzer Prize-Winning Wit, Noel Coward's comedy Hay Fever, Tom Stoppard's romantic
comedy The Real Thing and the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to Exxon Summer Chills ‘99 featuring Little Shop of Horrors can be purchased for $17, $24 and $30. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 19 at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by phone at 713-228-8421. Tickets may also be purchased at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers including Fiesta, Foley’s and Krogers or charged by phone at 713-629-3700 or purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate by calling the Alley’s group sales department at 713-228-9341, ext. 350 or 346. Patrons with low hearing should call (TTY) 713-220-5710 to purchase tickets.