Camp Washington-Carver’s Family Homestyle Dinner Theater Series will serve up a hit musical and film for its first show of the 2004 season on Saturday, July 24, with the Charleston Light Opera Guild’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors.” The dinner buffet begins at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Based on the 1960 Roger Corman movie, “Little Shop of Horrors” is a gleefully gruesome comedy that tells the story of Seymour Krelbourn, a meek florist’s assistant who allows his craving for fame, fortune and love to lead him into playing nursemaid to a man-eating plant. With songs like “Feed Me (Git It),” “Suddenly Seymour,” “Dentist!,” and “Somewhere That’s Green,” the musical features witty parodies of 1960s hits.
The play was one of the longest-running off-Broadway shows of all time, and is currently enjoying new Broadway success at the Virginian Theater. It was originally produced by the WPA Theater at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is directed and choreographed by Nina Denton Pasinetti. Musical direction and piano accompaniment are by Mary Ellen Logsdon. Howard Ashman wrote the book and lyrics, Alan Menken wrote the music, and the screenplay is by Charles Griffith.
The dinner buffet includes a selection of entrees, vegetables and bread. Iced tea, soda and coffee also will be served. At intermission, playgoers will be treated to homemade cobblers and ice cream.
The second Family Homestyle Dinner Theater Series production of the season will feature the Everyday Players’ production of the world’s most unusual criminologist, Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, in “The Pink Panther Strikes Again,” on Saturday, Aug. 21.
Seating is limited. Reservations are required. Tickets are $20 per person for dinner and the performance, $17 for seniors. Children five and under are free. Camping is available at the additional rate of $15 per site with electric and $10 per site without electric.
For more information about the Family Homestyle Dinner Theater Series or to make reservations for either show, call (304) 438-3005 or (304) 438-3006 or e-mail terry.hackney@wvculture.org.
The Charleston Light Opera Guild has provided a showcase for local musical talent for more than 50 years. It began in 1948 as a non-profit group that produced popular operettas. In 1960 the Guild opened its season with “Oklahoma!”–ushering in the era of the Broadway musical. It has maintained a rich history of mainstage spring and fall musicals at its own Guild Theater on Charleston’s west side. In addition to “Little Shop of Horrors,” the Guild’s upcoming productions include “Seussical,” “South Pacific,” “Into the Woods,” and “The Wiz.”
A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center and nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African-Americans. The camp is located adjacent to Babcock State Park just off Route 60 (Midland Trail) on Route 41 in Clifftop, Fayette County.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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