‘Little Shop of Horrors’ – Book by Howard Ashman; Music by Alan Menken; Based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith. Directed by Bob Richard; Choreography by Diane Laurenson; Music Direction, Dan Rodriguez. Presented by North Shore Music Theatre at 54 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA through October 2
by Mike Hoban
Little Shop of Horrors, now playing at the North Shore Music Theatre, is the rarest of modern musicals. Unlike the recent Broadway trend of taking a good (or at least popular) movie and turning it into a bad musical, Little Shop transforms a very bad movie – but supremely campy cult favorite – and turns it into a very good musical. Combining an early 60’s inspired rock ‘n roll score and an absurd but very funny plot, it’s the very definition of a musical comedy.
The musical is adapted from the 1960 Roger Corman cult classic of the same name, with a score by Alan Menken and lyrics and book by Howard Ashman. The team is best known for their work on Disney films like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast (which also became stage hits), and Menken also went on to score other hit shows like Sister Act and A Christmas Carol. The show, which debuted Off Broadway in 1982, tells the story of Seymour Krelborn (Andrew Montgomery Coleman), an orphaned twenty-something nebbish working in a Skid Row flower shop. The shop is owned by crotchety old Gravis Mushnik (Ed Romanoff), who rescued Seymour from the orphanage, though one suspects it was less of an altruistic act and more of a source of cheap labor. Blond bombshell Audrey (Kim Sava) is a sweet young woman who often shows up for work at the flower shop with a black eye, courtesy of her sadistic dentist boyfriend Dr. Orin Scrivello (Ryan Knowles). She’s also Seymour’s not-so-secret crush.
The shop is on the brink of closing when Seymour discovers a “strange and interesting plant” during an eclipse that, unbeknownst to him, will change his life in ways he never dreamed possible – in ways both good and tragic. He takes the plant back to the shop, but it fails to thrive and is close to dying when Seymour pricks his finger on a rose thorn and the plant springs to life at the sight and smell of blood. Seymour gives it a few drops and the plant begins to grow. The more blood he feeds it, the larger it grows, and the plant because a media sensation. Business at the shop explodes, catapulting Seymour into celebrity status. But as the newfound success both professional and personal grows, it comes with a cost. The plant demands more and more human blood and Seymour is left with an ethical dilemma: Keep feeding the plant and get everything he wants in life (including Audrey) or stop the madness before it gets any further out of hand?
Little Shop is buoyed by a strong cast, led by Coleman as the nerdy Seymour. In addition to embracing his inner dork, he’s a deceptively strong singer, particularly in duets with Audrey as well as the Yiddish comedy-influenced scene where Mushnik (Romanoff, also a strong performer) cynically adopts Seymour, and it’s an unexpectedly hilarious showstopper. As the beautiful Audrey, Kim Sava has the goods, and is wonderfully vulnerable in her interpretations of both “Suddenly Seymour” and “Somewhere That’s Green”, alternately the most touching and funny number of the evening. (Ashman’s lyrics for “Green” are comically brilliant, sending up early 60’s culture – with its references to frozen dinners, plastic on the furniture, and a “fence of real chain link”. Priceless.) There’s also some great work by the “Greek chorus”girl group featuring Maria Sylvia Norris (Chiffon), Charlotte Odusanya (Crystal), and Erica Durham (Ronnette) – all of whom were cleverly named for real 60’s girl groups. The trio harmonize beautifully on their own songs (“Da-Doo”, “Prologue”), and provide superb backing vocals for the group numbers (“Skid Row-Downtown”, “The Meek Shall Inherit” and the gorgeous duet, “Suddenly Seymour”. Ryan Knowles nearly steals the show with his WAY over-the-top depiction of the cruelty-fueled dentist, but is equally effective in other supporting comic roles, most notably as a customer intrigued by the shop’s “strange and interesting plant”. And Boston favorite and multiple IRNE winner Dan Rodriguez (who also was music director for the 2019 Lyric Stage production of Little Shop) leads a rockin’ 10 piece orchestra to drive the show.
With so much theater concerned with delivering well-intentioned but overly deliberate “messaging” to audiences in today’s charged political climate, Little Shop is just pure fun – a perfect antidote to the news and well worth the trip north of the city. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.nsmt.org/littleshop.html
