Little Shop of Horrors is the story of Seymour, a working-class guy with nothing to his name but a dead-end job in a failing flower shop. He finds an unusual plant that quickly changes his life, but the plant can only thrive when fed human blood. It seems like everything is within Seymour's reach—money, fame, a family, and even love—so long as he's willing to pay a price that gets steeper and steeper.
This has always been one of my favorite shows because of the way it blends humor and horror. The story is dark enough that test audiences for the film adaptation got very upset—leading to an ending that is much more cheerful than the stage play's. But overall Little Shop has such a delightful camp energy, and such amazing music, that you might even find yourself rooting for the murderous plant.
In 4 Community Theatre's recent production, Director Sharayah Bunce made some clever creative choices in the blocking, for example, playing some sequences in silhouette. She also brought back dead characters—in one scene, to highlight Seymour's inner turmoil, and in another, to easily solve the practical problem of one actor having to pick up and move another. Under Vocal Director Deidre Cochran, the cast sounded very good. This is a difficult show to perform with recorded music, because there are many pauses and sequences with very careful timing, but overall the cast did well staying aligned with the music. Jillian Ehlke's choreography was very satisfying, with lots of classic doo-wop moves for the trio of "urchins" and funny moments in songs like "Mushnik and Son." I particularly liked the simple but effective choreography in "The Meek Shall Inherit," where the other cast members slowly and ominously closed in around Seymour.
4CT's program does not list a scenic designer, only set construction by Dan Sherman. Whoever's responsible for the design, the set made good use of the space and cleverly worked in a backlit area for the silhouette sequences. Personally, I can't help but love a rotating set! In this case, it allowed the plant's growth to have a nice reveal, and the brick back of the shop was a nice backdrop for other scenes. Alex Peck's lighting was appropriately heavy in plant-green and blood-red, and Peck's use of angles cast shadows on the side walls in a way that really worked for the horror and suspense aspect of the show. Nathaniel Glewwe's sound had a few minor issues, but overall was effective. 4CT did not credit a costumer, so I assume that the cast selected their own costumes. I also assume the plant puppets used here were rented, as is common for most theatres doing this show; these puppets were better than quite a few I have seen in the past. One moment that took me by surprise was in the first scene, where the smallest Audrey II puppet was performed by an actor hidden under a table. I have seen this show many times, and it's always been the same, so I was taken completely by surprise when Seymour moved the plant to a second table and it was controlled by a second hidden puppeteer! It's so simple but it made for such a delightful surprise.
As Seymour, Thomas Friebe brought out the character's naivete and his optimism; this take made the character more fun to watch than Seymours I've seen who are more pathetic than anything else. Friebe had a great progression throughout the show, with a physical energy that changed as Seymour got deeper and deeper into the plant's trap. I wasn't sold on Elyssa Bickford's Audrey immediately because the presentation was different than I expected (the costuming felt very bold and a little modern for the character), but Bickford nailed "Suddenly Seymour" and had some strong emotional scenes. Natalie Dulka (Chiffon), Taelyn Gore (Ronette), and Rachel Raeon (Crystal) played the trio of urchins who provide back-up vocals and commentary throughout the show. The three actresses brought a lot of attitude to the role(s), and the vocals were spot on throughout, whether they were singing individually or as a set.
Zach Hedner, the voice of the plant, was incredibly expressive and showed off a vocal variety that gave Audrey II an impressive amount of character. As the puppeteer, Bill Stevens brought in as much character as the puppets could allow; while the final size was fairly limited (by necessity), Stevens' performance as a large plant in "Feed Me (Git It)" was very entertaining. I imagine it was also very strenuous! Greg Bunce's Mushnik was well-realized, and he had some very funny moments with the character. As the dentist Orin Scrivello, Kyle Szarzynski had a very deranged energy that gave the character a strong sense of menace and danger. Szarzynski made a lot of good physical choices in the role, and his performance of the very demanding "Now (It's Just the Gas)" was downright maniacal. Andrew Jacobson, Julia Scott Russell, and Laura Smith filled out the cast; each of the bit characters they played was strong, and there were some very entertaining moments from them, such as in the opening scene, when a bum tried (and failed) to dance along with the urchins.
It's hard for me not to like a production of Little Shop of Horrors. But there's something so satisfying about watching an ensemble show where every performer is sharp, and it's always delightful to see new takes or clever additions to a familiar show. This was the first 4CT show I've attended, but it won't be the last!
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