Who’s On the Little Shop of Horrors Creative Team?

The creative team of Little Shop of Horrors is made up of talented and accomplished artists, led by director Jenn Thompson, collaborating with and interpreting the work created by the powerhouse team of Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (composer). For many of these artists, it is their first time collaborating with SCR, though you still might see some familiar names. Little Shop of Horrors runs Sept. 21-Oct. 19 on the Segerstrom Stage.

Director Jenn Thompson makes her SCR debut. She is the director of the current National Tour of Annie, set to play NYC’s Madison Square Garden this holiday season. Thompson is a New York City-based, Drama Desk-nominated director whose work has been seen in NYC and at theatres across the country, including The Denver Center, Arizona Theatre Company and Hartford TheatreWorks, among others. She served as Co-Artistic Director of Off-Broadway’s award-winning TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, where her directing credits earned a Drama Desk nomination as well as an Off-Broadway Alliance Award.

This is Choreographer Patricia Wilcox’s first production with SCR. She choreographed the Broadway and West End smash hits Motown the Musical—for which she won the Astaire Award and the NAACP Award for Best Choreography—and A Night with Janis Joplin. Her upcoming work includes working with Thompson on the national tour of Annie. Wilcox’s Off-Broadway and national credits include the critically acclaimed Little Shop of Horrors at Encores! Off Center, Annie, An Officer and a Gentleman and Seussical

Music Director Angela Steiner makes her SCR debut. A specialist in creating and collaborating on new musicals, her regional theatre credits include Little Shop of Horrors at the Denver Center, Hair! at The Old Globe and Sweeney Todd at Asolo Repertory. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano from Wichita State University and a Masters in Collaborative Piano from the University of Northern Colorado.

Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge also makes his SCR debut. His Broadway credits include Anastasia, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and I Need That. His London West End credits include Harry Clarke and All New People, and his opera credits include Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan Opera and Il tritticoat the Deutsche Oper Berlin, among many others. He earned his MFA at Yale School of Drama.

Costume Designer Jessica Ford returns to SCR, having previously designed Nina Simone: Four Women in 2022. Some of her favorite credits include costumes for the world premieres of Athol Fugard’s Coming Home at Long Wharf Theatre and Berkeley Repertory and Lucy Thurber’s Transfers at MCC Theatre. She received Ovation and Drama Desk Award nominations and an LA Drama Critics Circle Award for her work on These Paper Bullets at Yale Repertory Theatre, Geffen Playhouse and Atlantic Theatre Company. She earned her MFA at Yale School of Drama.

Lighting Designer Amanda Zieve makes her SCR debut. Her recent designs include The Ballad of Johnny and June at La Jolla Playhouse, Mrs. Holmes & Mrs. Watson, Native Gardens and Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big San Diego Christmas Showat The Old Globe, Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Cygnet Theatre, among many others.

Sound Designer Ken Travis makes his SCR debut. His Broadway designs include Aladdin, Jekyll and Hyde, Newsies, The Threepenny Opera and Steel Magnolias. He has designed at numerous New York and regional theatres and companies, including Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Old Globe, Seattle Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Guthrie Theatre and Vineyard Theatre, plus many national, international festivals and tours.

Michael Polak (Fight and Intimacy Consultant) returns to SCR having previously choreographed Galilee, 34, Quixote Nuevo, Appropriate and The Little Foxes. Other choreography credits include Seattle Repertory, La Mirada Theatre and The Electric Theatre Company, among others. As an actor, his regional credits include Philadelphia Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre and Texas Shakespeare Festivals. His film and television credits include Mid-Century, 86 Melrose Avenue, “Bel-Air” and numerous soaps, web series and shorts.