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Make plans to celebrate Off-Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors 40th anniversary this Saturday at a free, public block party in Hell’s Kitchen — and you can pick up a pie at the neighborhood’s favorite Little Shop (the Little Pie Company!).
Following Saturday’s matinee of Little Shop, the Skid Row Block Party kicks off at 4pm (and carries on until 6) in front of the Westside Theatre on W43rd Street near 9th Avenue. The celebration honors the 40th anniversary of the musical’s premiere at The East Village Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982 — and over 500 performances of the current revival. Multiple Tony Award nominee Rob McClure (also born in 1982!) recently stepped in to play hapless green thumbed Seymour in the dark musical comedy by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
Hosted by theater industry social club SNOB (Sunday Night on Broadway), the Times Square Alliance and the Westside Theatre itself, the party features live cast performances; a DJ booth and dance party by SNOB; Carvel, Mister Softee & Van Leeuwen ice cream trucks; popcorn and cotton candy machines; Schmackarys, Sticky’s, and Baked By Melissa tables; face painting and virtually integrated celebrations, plus a free raffle with chances to win tickets to the show, a signed cast album, poster or Playbill. Neighboring eatery Bea and Hell’s Kitchen bakery The Little Pie Company will also join in on the merriment, offering discounts to patrons who present a ticket from either of the Saturday performances.
“SNOB is always thrilled to hold a safer space for our beloved community, and you know we’ll bring the party vibes. Get ready to dance!” said founders DJ Duggz, Ari Grooves and Emily McGill.
SNOB loves to plan a celebration — the organization was founded to provide a welcoming, inclusive space for industry creatives and friends to party together after their shows let out. Last fall, SNOB hosted a Broadway-reopening celebration in honor of Pass Over and a Tony Awards ceremony watch party after the long pandemic hiatus, and they’ll feel right at home at the Westside Theatre, which once housed New York’s “first totally uninhibited gay discotheque”!
“SNOB feels like a revolution for the BIPOC community, for the LGBTQIA+ community, “ said one Tony watch party attendee to New York Live. “But it’s really a place where everyone that is working in the industry and in the creative arts can come together and kiki and celebrate each other.”
So come on down to Skid Row (aka 407 W43rd Street) this Saturday — just don’t feed those plants! 😉