Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors is a well-known musical spoof of the 1950s and 60s American sci-fi movies.
At the show’s centre, we have Seymour - a shy and awkward young man who works in the flower shop on the down-and-out Skid Row. This hilarious and cult story unfolds when Seymour discovers an odd looking ‘plant’ which develops an appetite for human blood and flesh. The bigger the plant gets, the more business it attracts to the small florist shop which brings Seymour success, fame, an adopted family but more to his interest, his dream girl – the florist assistant, Audrey. Though we cannot ignore the ever growing dilemma creeping throughout the show - how do you stop a singing, man-eating plant from getting hungry!?

Many of the songs have echoes of Motown and other 1960s classics - it’s difficult not to enjoy this peppy satire and its hilarious story, particularly with an enthusiastic and energetic cast with Sharon Drummond at the helm as first time Director for this society.
Obviously, this is not a realistic tale, the danger with a show as farfetched as this is presenting the characters two dimensional and caricature / false which, I find, makes any form of connection quite a challenge. As an audience, we need some level of realism and believability in the performances if we’re to be engrossed in their endeavours and feel something for them.

The star of the show, the plant –Audrey II –looks like a sinister Muppet-style puppet with a wonderfully characterised voice provided by Paul Dawson.
The Music was kept in check by David Abendstern – the rock score didn’t overpower the action and the pace of the music was kept at a good speed though the concert style Musical Director entrance in his tuxedo wasn’t really in keeping with the style and genre of this show.

Stage management and crew belong out of sight. One of my major pet peeves is seeing stage management in their blacks, with cans on, walking across the stage in full light - for me, that instantly slays the make believe. If they have to enter the stage to carry out a duty there is always a way to disguise it, if not – put them in a costume or have a member of the cast do it.

Laura Purdey as Audrey really came into her own when she sang, I found it a struggle to link her acting with her singing as they were almost two entirely different performances. Singing is certainly her strongest asset and where she clearly felt most 'at home' though the character she delivered was not her own – however, I do appreciate the difficulty not to mimic iconic interpretations of characters such as these.
Steven Cheeseman delivered the recluse amateur botanist character stereotype (aka. Nerd). I felt there was room to dig a little deeper into this character but he certainly gave the audience a Seymour that ‘Little Shop…’ fans would be content with.
We had many supporting roles from experienced board treaders, in particular, Michael Jones McCaw as a young Mushnik who had mounds of energy and a charismatic stage presence.
Choreography by Heywood stalwart Jill McIntosh adds significantly to the visual element of this show.

The comedic genius of Menken and Ashman is a joy, the rich script and witty lyrics cleverly inject a vaudevillian humour making this show a favourite for so many!

Congratulations HAODS!

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