Little Shop of Horrors

The opening number “Little Shop of Horrors” really set the tone for the standard of the performance. Instead of the written 3 harmony singers, Barbara Hockey (Director and Musical Director) chose 5 ladies to deliver stunning harmonies throughout the show, these were most prevalent in the titular song and “Skid Row”. The five singers, Karen Morgan (Crystal), Heidi Coleman (Chiffon), Belinda Steward (Ronette), Cheryle Hill and Claire Jackson blended well together, delivering challenging harmonies with ease. 

Daniel Fortune played the character of Seymour as a kind of nervous under-achiever, giving in to Audrey II’s demands, even if it means putting his own life on the line. Katie Procter in the role of Audrey really showed the character’s vulnerability. Both Katie and Daniel were able to demonstrate their dynamic vocals in their musical numbers, this really came through in their duet, “Suddenly Seymour”. Kevin Maltby gave a strong, confident performance as Mr Mushnik. Nathan Stroud not only played Orin Scrivello, the dentist, but also several other parts throughout the show. Nathan was able to demonstrate his acting ability, bringing something new to each part, albeit quite difficult to determine which character he was playing towards the end of Act 2 due to the number of characters he had played. 

Sam Leach and Lindsey James were the duo behind Audrey II. Sam gave Audrey II such character, bringing out the plant’s demanding nature and providing powerful vocals in the musical numbers. Lindsey had the mammoth task of being Audrey II’s puppeteer. She brought the plant to life well, syncing with Sam’s vocals. 

The principal characters were supported by a smaller cast, adding depth to the musical numbers and taking on some of the smaller roles. 

As already mentioned, Barbara Hockey provided the musical direction and direction. Barbara never disappoints with the harmonies in musical numbers. She also led the live musicians accompanying the show. 

The choreography was provided by Sheena Brown. Sheena kept the choreography in fitting with the feel of the show and to the strengths of the performers. Everyone on stage knew the routines well and looked like they were really enjoying themselves.  

There was good use of the stage and props which had been constructed by the cast and CATS members, including all of the Audrey II puppets. The set was minimal but effective. It’s unfortunate that the background display was blurry at times and during “Somewhere That’s Green”, the pictures depicting Audrey’s dreams were out of sync with the lyrics, which is a shame as it could have been really effective. 

The lighting was dynamic and reflected the atmosphere of the scenes. There was creative use a smoke machine to hide the operations of Audrey II, keeping the magic of the plant alive for the audience. In my opinion, the sound was a bit of an issue. At times, microphones were not turned on or were too loud. Luckily, when the microphones weren’t on, the performers could still be heard over the live musicians. The musical overall was fast paced and flowed well although, the scene changes felt a little slow at times. 

Even though the musical has a sad ending, all of the audience members seemed to be leaving the auditorium with smiles having been thoroughly entertained. 

Thank you for the warm welcome and I look forward to seeing CATS’ next production. 

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