Have you ever wanted your very own man eating plant? I didn't, until I saw Little Shop of Horrors. Now every time I go to pet stores, I keep my eyes out for venus fly traps (Okay, not quite a man eating plant but close enough). This week I present to you: Little Shop of Horrors!
THE CAST:
The original off-Broadway cast was as follows:
Lee Wilkof as Seymour Krelborn
Ellen Greene as Audrey
Hy Anzell as Mr. Mushnik
Marlene Danielle as Chiffon
Jennifer Leigh Warren as Crystal
Sheila Kay Davis as Ronnette
Ron Taylor as the voice of Audrey II
Franc Luz as various roles such as Orin Scrivello, Narrator and Customer
The 1986 film adaptation cast:
Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn
Ellen Greene as Audrey
Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik
Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello
Levi Stubbs as Audrey II (voice)
PLOT, BACKGROUND AND ALL THAT JAZZ
Little Shop of Horrors has been performed on stages and televisions everywhere, being done as an off-Broadway, Broadway and film musical. Written by Howard Ashman and composed by Alan Menken, this musical tells the tale of what happens when young Seymour Krelborn buys himself a man eating plant. At first it is thought to be just a strange little plant that is given the name Audrey 2. Seymour soon realizes that it is not just that - it is a carnivorous, man eating plant that needs blood to survive and grow. Seymour tries to nurture the plant by pricking his finger to provide small drops of blood. That becomes to be too little for the mean green mother from outer space. It needs more. It needs man. There is also a romantic plotline between Audrey and Seymour. Unfortunately Audrey is dating an abusive dentist named Orin. Seymour still has deep feelings for poor Audrey - he even named his plant after her!
JAZZ HANDS:
This rock musical contains a wide variety of songs. Some are extremely sweet such as "Suddenly Seymour" and "Somewhere That's Green", but there's also upbeat, catchy numbers in the show such as "Da-Doo" and "Feed Me (Git It)". Heck, there's even a song about causing other people pain, "Dentist"! Overall the songs in this are quite good with fairly decent lyrics that correspond with the storyline along with catchy tunes.
MY THOUGHTS:
Overall, I like this musical, I really do. I must give it some criticism of being overly cheesy though. Nowadays, people may not enjoy the humor in the show because most of it is indeed . . . cheesy. This is also a good thing though, in my opinion. It kind of makes the musical what it is. This show isn't heartbreaking or super sad, it's a campy musical for pure entertainment and I found it to be very enjoyable. The storyline is cute and unique and the songs are great. As for age recommendations, it's not incredibly gory and the language is pretty mild but still, use caution, especially with younger children.
Thanks so much for reading and remember DON'T FEED THE PLANT!
Author's Note: Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Shop_of_Horrors_(musical)
Picture Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YEgqFOgYL.jpg
