Cameron Cox

The concept utilized when adapting the Escape from Planet Death podcast to the stage draws upon a type of performance consumption uncommon to traditional theatre fandom. In the world of our production, Escape from Planet Death was an authentic radio show that aired in the 1950s and built a cult fan base. In recent years the way in which audience members consume performance has become increasingly communal rather than individual. Fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation (or recreation) and circulation of new content, such as Fanfiction/remakes, cosplay, and collectibles.

by Cameron Cox, dramaturg In the second of BYU’s Illusionary Tales, Such A Time As This written by James Goldberg, the audience is introduced to Hadassah Loew, a woman born and raised in a community of faith who has since left it. Hadassah’s Hassidic faith community has striking parallels to aspects of our faith community here at Brigham Young University. Hadassah's relationship to her faith community will undoubtedly sound familiar to some in our audience and her journey in Such A Time As This may seem familiar as well. As a Mormon with strong Sikh and Jewish family roots, I feel strongly about the ways the stories we choose to cherish shape our world. I'm particularly aware of the power of religious storytelling. They've fueled movements for a better world.- James Goldberg, Playwright of Such A Time As This

As director of BYU’s production of Little Shop of Horrors, George Nelson wanted to provide a sense of foreboding, encouraging the audience to recognize the “flaxen cord” that Audrey II is in Seymore’s life without him knowing. The ominous ticking clock towering above the set creates this atmosphere and comes from science fiction tropes almost as old as the genre itself. The idea of the clock ticking away to destruction originated in 1947 by the Chicago Atomic Scientists (a group of researchers who worked on the creation of the first nuclear bomb used in World War II). “The Doomsday Clock” represented the time until the actions of mankind would end the world. The clock views a hypothetical man-made global catastrophe as midnight, and the minutes till midnight are measured by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which still exists to this day.

An awkward florist, a budding relationship, a sociopathic dentist, a carnivorous plant with a craving for human flesh; these iconic characters bring one story to mind. Little Shop of Horrors has become one of the most popular musicals for high school and local community theatres. A lesser-known fact about this popular stage show was its source material, a 1961 dark comedy by the same name, directed by the “King of B Movies” Roger Corman. Beginning with this film and spanning 26 years, three notable adaptations were made, each with its own unique alterations to the material, offering insight to the cultural landscapes of the decade in which each was made. The story of Little Shop of Horrors has taken the form of a dark comedy horror film, an incredibly successful and lucrative Broadway musical at the beginning of the long careers of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and the popular cult classic film directed by Frank Oz starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene.