"Little Shop of Horrors"

Theatre review
"Little Shop of Horrors" at the Merry-Go-Round Theatre
Ithaca Times
August 27, 2008
752 words
"Growing Pains"

full text here

Growing Pains
By: Mark Tedeschi
08/27/2008

"Little Shop of Horrors," book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken. Directed by Steve Bebout. Starring Josh Lamon, Amy Goldberger, Michael James Leslie, and Chuck Rea. With choreographer Lori Leshner, musical director Mark Goodman, scenic designer Czerton Lim, lighting designer Robert Frame, and costume designer Travis Lope.

When I was somewhere between five and 12 years old, there were a small handful of VHS tapes that my older sister and I would watch together on a regular basis - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Spaceballs," "The Neverending Story" - fun stuff worth popping in again and again. Among the chosen few was a musical gem from 1986 called "Little Shop of Horrors."

To this day, "Little Shop" plasters a grin on my face from the first piano lick onward. The film I know and love was based on an Off-Broadway musical that was itself based on 1960 horror spoof movie directed by Roger Corman. The 1986 movie has a decidedly different ending than either of the other versions, but as the Merry-Go-Round Theatre's season-closing production proves, the sentiment remains: it's a lighthearted, hilarious, and oddly touching story of a man, a woman, and a bloodthirsty talking plant.

The man is Seymour, a failing plant store's employee played by Josh Lamon; the woman is Audrey, a timid and sometimes black-eyed employee of the same place, played by Amy Goldberger; and the plant is Audrey II, a foulmouthed oddity voiced by Michael James Leslie and puppeteered by Marc Petrosino.

Three "Urchins" (Chiffon, Ronnette, and Crystal, played by Jade Hicks, Kellee Knighten, and Gabrielle Porter respectively) introduce the audience to the "Skid Row" setting via a catchy song of the same name and several large, rapid-fire set changes orchestrated by Czerton Lim. Mr. Mushnick (Ray Arrucci) runs Mushnick's Skid Row Florists, where Seymour torturously watches his love interest abused by a dangerous clown of a dentist, Orin (Chuck Rea).

Seymour acquires a "strange and unusual plant" that he names Audrey II, but in "Grow for Me," he discovers Audrey II can speak - and most of its speech consists of demands for blood. The plant coerces Seymour into finding fresh flesh, and we see it grow to four different sizes (the last one monstrous), each controlled to increasingly physical degrees by Petrosino. Mushnick's shop flourishes with new plant's celebrity.

The cast plays their parts as if they have for years, probably because MGR's production features an unusual amount of repeat participants, including director Steve Bebout; in particular, Leslie and Petrosino have teamed up to give life to Audrey II for over 600 performances. Nearly all of the other lead actors have played in "Little Shop" before, save Goldberger who still nails Audrey's unassertive, throaty New-York-accent-ladled voice.

Unfortunately, opening night brought a few flaws in production, but only in Act II: some microphone crackles interrupted a few portions of dialogue and the beautiful number, "Suddenly Seymour," though the actors continued unimpeded, and later, the characters were barely audible over the pit orchestra. One of the larger sliding set pieces got stuck between scenes, too, but on all counts, smooth performance elsewhere in the play points to those incidents as flukes that will be fixed in subsequent shows.

Other elements worked nicely: Robert Frame's lighting reflects emotion with color, most visibly (red, of course) when Audrey II is out for blood; Lori Leshner's choreography draws some great laughs in the goofy "Mushnick and Son"; and judging by the unkempt Skid Row bums and Orin's perfectly ridiculous leather jacket, Travis Lope's costumes confirm a conscious craftsmanship.

The lighting design includes an innovative motif of a movie screen projecting snippets of the Corman film during the few breaks in action. The surrounding lighting prevents detailed discernment of the screen images, although they're not crucial to the show.

Two of the best songs (how to choose!) are Audrey's talent-show staple lamentation, "Somewhere That's Green," and Orin's autobiographical "Dentist!" about his mother's prediction regarding his sadistic tendencies. Each tune characterizes its singer while keeping with the overall demands of mirth. "Feed Me (Git it)" is also a great song, but Leslie's strong voice often sounds muffled, as if he's singing from within the plant. And anything the Urchins belt ("Da-Doo," for one) reveals full commitment to their parts - the bedrock for "Little Shop" success.

Perhaps the most appealing element to the show, at least to me, is its self-conscious sensationalization of the ludicrous. "I couldn't help but notice that strange and interesting plant in the window!" says an enthusiastic patron immediately after Seymour places Audrey II in the window - and then he buys $100 worth of roses simply because the shop can't break his big bill. Lines like that, as well as a wealth of devoted, widespread repeat performers, are what has earned "Little Shop" such unlikely (and, I say, deserved) attention.


©Ithaca Times 2008