The all singing, all dancing killer plant

It's been a year in the planning and tonight the curtain will go up on the Rotorua Musical Theatre's end-of-year production Little Shop of Horrors.

The production will follow a down-and-out, skid-row floral assistant who becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood.

The plant, Audrey II, soon grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing; carnivore which offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination.

Little Shop of Horrors is one of the longest-running off-Broadway shows of all time. The spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies has become a household name, thanks to a highly successful film version and a score by the songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

Rotorua Musical Theatre director Richard Marshall said everything was now in place and the cast and crew were waiting to put the final piece of the jigsaw together - the audience.

"Everyone is all set, they've been working very hard," Mr Marshall said.

The cast for the production of Little Shop of Horrors includes Eileen Kirkby as Audrey, Ryan Christensen as Seymour, James Hughes as Orin (the dentist), Rhys Pargeter as Mr Mushnik, Maria Kapa as Crystal, Danielle Visser as Ronnette, Gae Wheeler as Chiffon and Connor Hignett as the voice of Audrey II (the plant).

The production team includes Richard Marshall as director, Sherlie Dingwall as musical director and Jane Trask as choreographer,

There were still tickets left for tonight's opening performance and they were discounted at $25. There are also discounted tickets for Saturday and Wednesday, November 2.

Tickets from Ticketmaster, or online at www.ticketmaster.co.nz.

The Rotorua production of Little Shop of Horrors will show at Casa Blanca Theatre, Riri St until November 12.