Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors, the cult film of the 80’s, that quickly became equally as popular on stage, was performed by a small but enthusiastic cast from Hitchin Thespians.

When staging a musical, one of the major elements to get right, other than the creative content, is the set, be it composite or changing. On entering Woodside Hall, the Thespians headquarters, (not the largest of spaces) I was immediately struck by the utilisation of space. A composite set transported us into Mushnik’s florist shop, with counter, shop door and bell, the exterior ‘Skid Row’ and all typical florists dressings.  Well done to the set design and construction team for creating an appropriate, workable set without over complication or fuss. I loved the graffiti walls!

Little Shop opens with the introduction of the Ronettes, (Chiffon – Diana Lava, Crystal – Gina Abbatt and Ronnette – Barbara Thomas) who are ever-present throughout the piece, commenting on the action through song and interacting with characters. Well done to all three girls who maintained their characters throughout, even when merely dressing the stage. Harmonisations of vocals (of which there are many in this show) were spot on and musicality was excellent.

The key characters to this show are the ‘odd couple’, Seymour (Colin Wilson) and Audrey (Lucy Arnold), played as the stereotypical misfits. Colin Wilson and Lucy Arnold got it just right with Lucy obviously having spent much time working on the recreation of the role of Audrey as portrayed by Ellen Greene in the original film. Her rendition of ‘Somewhere That’s Green’ was just lovely, congratulations.

Colin worked tirelessly to maintain his feeble character and with strong vocals did a sterling job with all his numbers.

In particular ‘Grow For me’ and his duet with Audrey ‘Call back In The Morning’ a tricky, fast paced patter song that is often cut from a production.

Mr Mushnik played by Mike Barker complimented the two leads well as the grouchy, failing florist, showing great contrast when Audrey 2 brings him success and business. Apart from the occasional Jewish moment, I would have liked to have him develop this element of his character with further mumblings and gestures. I did however think he did well in “Mushnik and Son”. The two actors worked well together and dialogue was slick and well paced.

Isaac Evans as Orin, the sadistic dentist provided the perfect rendition of this comic role. So often laughter can be overdone and for this character in particular become raspy and almost feminine but not so in this portrayal. Good control throughout ensured that the audience were laughing with you, not at you. Well done!

For a supporting cast there is plenty to do in this show. The company, although small were all used well, offering additional characters within scenes and musical numbers. They all sang with enthusiasm and, although not always a belting rendition in the larger company numbers, were still sufficient to fill the space, they sang with commitment and purpose. Choreography was appropriate for the stage space and well executed.

Who could forget to mention the show’s central piece of foliage, ‘Audrey 2’, traditionally portrayed with the ever-increasing puppet. This part was excellently vocalised by Bob Sulzbach, bringing life to each stage of the notorious plant’s development. A fabulous rendition of ‘Feed Me!’ gave Bob the opportunity to show off his rock, raspy vocal. Well done to you!

The Little Shop Band were tucked away on the upper level of the hall and not once did I feel they were at odds with the performers down below.

Sound levels were good and projection from the cast excellent.

Well done to all, and special congratulations to Roger Burton and Mark Savage for bringing to life this cult musical in a ‘Strange and Interesting’ venue.

Thank you once again for your generous hospitality.

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