Three New Rep Theatre Artists Look Back at their First Involvement with LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

l. to r. Blake Pfeil and Susan Molloy in Little Shop of Horrors.
Photo by Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures.

Three New Rep Theatre Artists Look Back at their First Involvement with

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS has seen lots of life. What we have come to know as the fun, cult musical debuted Off-Broadway in 1982, was based on the 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop Of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman. The musical, after five years Off-Broadway and 2,209 performances, and after earning both the Drama Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical, transferred to Broadway. In 1986 the musical was made into the 1986 film directed by Frank Oz.

Three theatre artists involved with New Rep’s current 2012 production share their thoughts on this beloved musical, and its longevity and place within the canon.

Director Russell Garrett saw the original Off-Broadway production at the Orpheum Theater in New York in 1982. “I loved it,” he says. “There really hadn’t been anything like it before, that I knew of. It was such a great mix of sci-fi, nostalgia, comedy, and great early 60s style music.”

At the time Garrett didn’t think LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS would last thirty years. “In the early 80s people weren’t turning odd, cult movies into musicals. The original film was a terrible, low-budget piece—so it’s amazing that Ashman and Menken had the vision, seeing the potential fun in making it a musical.” Since then, Garrett continues, “musicals have been made from other cult films like Reefer Madness, The Toxic Avenger, and The Evil Dead.”

Although New Rep’s production is the first Garrett’s worked on, he also saw productions in London and several times since. His favorite part of the play is when the plant first speaks to Seymour. “Not only is it very funny, but in the song ‘Feed Me,’ the plant pushes Seymour to commit the unthinkable. It’s a great Faustian moment, combined with great song and humor.” When asked to name his favorite song from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, Garrett says “Well, I have three. ‘Somewhere That’s Green’ and ‘Suddenly Seymour’ are great book-based character songs with wonderful lyrics and melodies. But the one I never get tired of is the title song ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ the three-part girl-group sound is so infectious.”

Costume Designer Frances McSherry was lucky enough to work on the original production. “I moved to New York in 1981 and started working at a little costume construction shop in the East Village,” she says. “My boss, Sally Lesser, asked me to be the Assistant Costume Designer. It started at the WPA and moved Off-Broadway to The Orpheum, a great little theatre around the corner from the costume shop. We maintained and refreshed costume items as they wore out. If there was a change in the cast, we’d build a new set of costumes.”

“I loved working on LITTLE SHOP,” she continues. “It was very unusual. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Once the show opened to great reviews, people started flocking to the East Village to see it. The area, at the time, was a bit like Skid Row. The show certainly helped clean up the area.”

“The campy quality of the piece was the best part,” she says. “The audience sat so close to the action, in such an intimate space. It was great to see the audience jump in their seats when the vines dropped at the end of the performance.”

McSherry is not surprised LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS lasted thirty years. “It’s extremely well written and the songs are great. It was fun to watch Howard and Alan become famous and move on to The Little Mermaid and other Disney productions.” She especially liked the use of the Urchins as a Greek chorus. “Their watchful eyes and knowing commentary make the show. And I love the romance between Audrey and Seymour. As such an unlikely couple, you cheer when they get together.”

At the time, McSherry shares “That one of the main characters was a puppet, made LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS unusual.”

McSherry’s favorite part of the play, from a costuming standpoint, is “‘The Meek Shall Inherit.’ It's such a well written, frenetic scene. Those lightning-fast changes from Bernstein to Mrs. Luce to Skip Snip are magical. Then the urchins become the Supremes...what can be better than that!”

New Rep Artistic Director Jim Petosa first saw LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS in Manhattan in the early 80s. “I was working with the New York Theatre Studio, one of the many off-off-Broadway companies of the time. WPA had come up with the remarkable little musical that was fun, irreverent, and appealing. At the time, this was juxtaposed with the early days of the AIDS epidemic.” 

“People were frightened of what they didn't know of this strange disease killing people in increasing numbers each year,” he continues. “It was a bit like living in a horror movie.   That this silly, giddy, and guilty pleasure of a musical could provide a lot of laughter during a time that looked at blood borne contagion as no laughing matter puts the musical in a slightly different context. Sometimes I think we forget the social context surrounding this musical when it came to life--from our 2012 vantage point.” 

Petosa earned his Actors Equity Association card playing the voice of Audrey II, in 1986 in the Washington, D.C. area. “So I am forever thankful for the little shop of opportunity it provided me.”

Petosa’s favorite song from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is “Feed Me,” he says. “One day we were performing the second act seduction of Audrey. I was at my microphone singing when a sandbag hanging above my head developed a slow leak. There was nothing I could do but let the sand pour down on my head since the microphone was in a fixed position. The urchins, Tisha, Teshina and Michelle (who also played in the 1986 film) caught the sand with their hands over my head, while I continued to sing!”

When asked about the place the musical holds thirty years later, Petosa shares, “I think LITTLE SHOP is reflective of a particularly American brand of comedy that mixes deep satire with surprising sentimentality. It's the kind of mixture that you see in South Park or in that show's creators' Broadway hit The Book Of Mormon. It is scathing in its critique of our American society, but extremely sentimental at heart.”

"Little Shop of Horrors": A Tale of Two Tendrils

by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer
                 
Attend the tale of Audrey II. She’s green and mean, this cousin of the Venus fly trap. A true pistil-packing momma with a profoundly bass voice, she’s the horticultural star of New Rep’s final production of the season, “Little Shop of Horrors”. This off-Broadway hit of the 1982 season (with a five year run, winning the New York Drama Critics and Outer Circle Critics Best Musical Awards) is based on a much-beloved, campy cult black and white 1960 film by Director Roger Corman (the king of the low-budget B movies) and Screenwriter Charles Griffith. It ultimately became a 1986 film musical, and was revived on Broadway in 2003. Most prophetically, it was the first mega success of novice creators Alan Menken (score) and the late Howard Ashman (book and lyrics), who would go on to such efforts as “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast”. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.

“Little Shop”, only their second work together, was a loving tribute in farce to the horror movie genre, spoofing 60’s rock and roll, doo-wop, and Motown sound, television sitcoms, and several other targets. Ashman’s book and lyrics were filled with intentionally outrageous puns (for example, referring to the character of a sadistic dentist as the “leader of the plaque”). Some of his other references (“Father Knows Best”, “The Donna Reed Show”, “December Bride” and even “Howdy Doody”) may not resonate with younger audience members today, but most of their fang-in-cheek humor is timeless, if treated with affection and in the right hands.

And this production is certainly in the right hands. Attention must be paid to the direction and choreography by Russell Garrett in his New Rep debut. His respect for this work, which he has described, quite accurately, as true “musical comedy heaven”, shows in his faithful treatment, balanced with a considerable number of original and imaginative touches. Attention must also be paid to the often underappreciated Music Direction by Todd C. Gordon, credited with work on literally dozens of New Rep musicals. As usual, technical credits are superb, never more important than in this particular work. Peter Colao, Scenic Designer for New Rep as far back as “Sweeney Todd” and responsible for constructing all of the company’s sets for the last decade, has captured just the right tone with an amazingly complex set. Costume Designer Frances Nelson McSherry, who was Assistant Costume Designer on the original off-Broadway production, obviously had a ball with the Skid Row outfits, which one character describes as at least not “cheap and tasteless” (but they are, they are, and deliciously so). Paul Perry’s Sound Design was a bit unbalanced at times, and the Lighting Design by Franklin Meissner, Jr. missed a few cues, but these were minor glitches, easily adjusted, and understandable given that the cast covers a lot of stage territory.

Ah, and that cast. Blake Pfeil as Seymour, in his New Rep debut, is the ultimate nerd working in a struggling Skid Row flower shop; his innocent mimicking of his co-worker Audrey’s accent (as living in “the guttah”) alone is worth the price of admission. Susan Molloy plays Audrey (the part played so memorably by Ellen Greene in both the original production and the film musical) with the perfect tone of the clueless bimbo. Bill Mootos stands out as her boyfriend, Orin the Dentist, and several other roles, reminiscent of his recent work in “Hound of the Baskervilles” at Central Square Theater (another multi-role effort requiring many quick costume changes). Another standout was Lovely Hoffman as Crystal, one of the Greek chorus trio that included fine performances by Jennifer Fogarty as Chiffon and Ceit McCaleb Zweil as Ronnette. Paul D. Farwell as Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the flower shop, seemed to be growing in the role. And then there were Timothy John Smith as the voice of Audrey II and Timothy P. Hoover as her “manipulator” or puppeteer. Together they make one unforgettable villain’s cry, “Feed me!”, providing, oxymoronically, a hysterically hammy plant. How Audrey II miraculously appears, unites Seymour and Audrey, grows, and forever changes the lives of most of the cast, is best left for audience members to discover for themselves.

In a season that included the very memorable “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, this is arguably the highlight. A disclaimer might be in order here: “Little Shop” is one of this reviewer’s all-time favorite shows. Thus it was a relief to find it recreated and refreshed by such trust in the material, which truly pays off. Those familiar only with the film musical version will note some differences; here there is no masochistic dental patient (as in both film versions), and, most significantly, a darker ending. Audrey II is about to take over the world. As one character puts it earlier in the show, “you’re not in Kansas anymore”. One piece of sage advice sung at the end of the show and worth repeating: “Don’t feed the plants!”

"Little Shop" Is A Little Slice of Camp

By Jana Pollack, New Rep Reviewer 


"Little Shop of Horrors" is a funny, little musical. It's based on a silly (albeit dark) idea, and it doesn't try to achieve too much depth. It just lets itself be what it is: silly. 

Our hero is Seymour (Blake Pfiel), an orphan. Seymour works for Mr. Mushnik (New Rep favorite Paul D Farwell), a florist who took him in when he was a boy. But Mr. Mushnik's shop is on skid row, and its days are severely numbered. That is, until Seymour develops a new and fascinating plant! Which unfortunately turns out to survive exclusively on human blood. Also, there is a girl, Audrey (Susan Malloy), involved: Seymour's feelings for Audrey are made clear by his choice of name for the deadly plant (he calls it the Audrey II). Within this setup, the plot thickens and unfolds. 

Each number in "Little Shop" is accompanied by three doo-wop girls, Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronnette (Jennifer Fogarty, Lovely Hoffman, and Ceit McCaleb Zweil), who serve to remind us that this a joke. They open the show with a prologue, choreographed to include lots of finger snapping and synchronized head turns. Throughout, they remain on the sidelines, adding harmonies and camp. 

The show is held together by its incredibly strong lead: as Seymour, Blake Pfiel is the perfect mixture of sweet and determined, and his beautiful voice elevates each of his numbers far above the rest. Malloy is a very capable Audrey, and Farwell delivers his classic grumpy old man with perfection as Mr. Mushnik. 

While director Russel Garrett gets many things right, his use of the doo-wop girls missed the mark. Instead of contributing to each song, they took away, with loud performances that stifled the harmonies. While they do need to be over the top in order for the show to work, in this case they were unable to strike the right balance, creating a sense of discord throughout the production. 

This was my first time seeing "Little Shop of Horrors", and I expected to like it much more than I did. Aside from the issues I've mentioned, there is little to fault with this particular production; however, something about it failed to ignite. "Little Shop" was very successful in its off-Broadway run, and less so when it did go to Broadway in 2003. Perhaps this production would have been better served by New Rep's downstage black box space. As it stands, this show does not manage to fill the Charles Mosesian theater - there's simply not enough to it, and, as an audience member, it was difficult to invest in.

Almost Too Much Fun for One Show!

New Rep's new production of "Little Shop of Horrors" lives up to the promise of the play's predecessors; it is campy, corny, and loads of laughs.  Congrats to New Rep on a perfect season closer.

The ostensible events of the play, involving a blood-sucking plant from outer space, are so wildly improbable that they demand a production bordering on the outrageous.  This one delivers!  The action is orchestrated by three (suspiciously clean and peppy!) singing orphans, excellently performed by Lovely (yep, that's her name, and also a good description) Hoffman, Jennifer Fogarty, and Ceit McCaleb Zweil.  Hoffman's voice in particular steals the show, while Zweil and Fogarty keep the cast's energy levels roof-high with bopping dance moves.

The play's central characters are caricatures, intended to exaggerate human behavior; in this, no one succeeds better than Susan Molloy as Audrey.  This is a tough role, and Molloy pulls it off with accent intact, even while singing.  Hats off also to Blake Pfeil as Seymour, who we liked better than Rick Moranis in the movie remake.  And the supporting actors (Bill Mootos as the sadistic dentist, Paul Farwell as the florist Mr. Mushnik) are appropriately evil, crazy, and/or conniving, as the situation demands.  But the finest work in the whole show, we thought, was the plant puppetry and voice work by the talented "Tim" team of Timothy John Smith (voice) and Timothy Hoover (Audrey II manipulation).  Excellent!

If you're looking for serious drama, well, this ain't it.  But if you want a rollicking good time, and catchy songs you'll be singing all the way home, you can't do better than this fun show.

~ Shauna Shames & Johanna Ettin, New Rep Reviewer

Little Shop of Horrors is lots of fun

by Frank Furnari, New Rep Reviewer

Little Shop of Horrors ends New Rep's mainstage season on a fun, campy note and is the most entertaining show of New Rep's season.  Known by many from the 1986 film incarnation, this comedy horror musical tells the story of Seymour Krelborn, an orphan that was taken in as a child by Mr. Mushnik, owner of a floundering flower shop.  Business has been so bad that Mushnik is planning to let go his employees, Seymour and Audrey, but Seymour shows his latest botanical creation, which he calls Audrey II.  This 'strange and interesting plan' draws in lots of business and attention – the only problem is that rather than requiring water and plant food, Audrey II requires blood – human blood, oh and it talks.  Oh, did I mention - it's very funny?  

Director Russell Garrett assembles a superb cast staring with the street urchin trio – Chiffon played by Jennifer Fogarty, Ronnett played by Ceit McCaelb Zweil, and Crystal played by Lovely Hoffman.  Lovely's bio states that she's a contemporary R&B soul artist and it shows – her powerful voice on the opening notes of "Skid Row" set the bar high for the rest of the show.  Not to be outdone, Jennifer and Ceit join in, blend well and have obvious chemistry on stage.  Blake Pfeil is the lovable Seymour and when we first see him on stage I was reminded of Rick Moranis, but Blake make the role his own and makes you fall in love with him – he is perfect in the role.  Susan Molloy’s Audrey shines, especially during Somewhere That’s Green.  Bill Moots (Orin) doesn’t come across as a very mean dentist, but gives a very funny and memorable performance of It’s Just The Gas.   

Peter Colao's set design was a very good use of the space; with two rotating sections, it allowed various locations to be portrayed quickly.  Lots of little touches added to this (properties design by Lauren L. Duffy) and proved fodder for comedy including the flower case and the dentist's gas mask. On opening night there were some minor sound issues – a minor complaint and one got better as the performance went on.   This is one of my favorite shows in this season of Boston theatre - a great production of a funny musical; it’s not to be missed.

Little Shop of Humor

 --Victoria Petrosino, New Rep Reviewer

 New Rep’s “Little Shop of Horrors” tells the story of Seymour (Blake Pfeil), an orphan and hobby-botanist who works at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists.  Though he was taken in by Mr. Mushnik (Paul D. Farwell), he is mistreated by the exasperated owner.  While passing a Chinese flower market during a “total eclipse of the sun,” he picks up an alien (in all meanings of the word) plant and quickly discovers the flower’s insatiable taste for human blood.

Timothy John Smith (as the voice of the alien flower Audrey II) has a wonderfully deep, crooning voice.  Like a radio DJ, he lulls Seymour into feeding him bodies, promising the unwitting botanist fame, wealth, and Audrey’s love in return.  

As usual, the set design of “Little Shop of Horrors” is stunningly intricate.  Peter Colao builds a convincing city landscape with the silhouette of a skyline, cement stoops, abandoned shopping carts, fire escapes, and substantial brick buildings, enveloped in the golden glow of city lights.  The only break in the illusion comes from Mr. Musnik’s flower shop.  Surely even the decrepit, floundering storefront would have better storage than a wooden cabinet filled with dead roses?

The stability of the Skid Row set is contrasted with the fragility of the characters.  Pfeil and the ensemble bring a sense of luckless desperation to “Skid Row (Downtown),” laying the foundation for Seymour’s later morally ambiguous willingness to sacrifice Audrey’s abusive boyfriend to the rapidly growing carnivorous plant.  Largely, though, the musical is a comedy, and the combination of the already humorous lyrics (written by Howard Ashman) mixed with Russell Garrett’s choreography make it uproariously so.  In “Somewhere That’s Green,” Audrey’s (Susan Molloy) ode to cookie-cutter houses and plastic couch covers, the audience is treated to lyrics such as: “Between our frozen dinner / And our bedtime nine-fifteen / We snuggle watching Lucy / On our enormous 12” screen,” which Molloy sings in a thick Jersey accent.  Pfeil and Farwell perform an equally facetious tango to “Mushnik and Son.”

The most important part of the black comedy is its ability to turn potentially frightening situations into comedic ones.  Two of the characters’ death scenes are executed as such.  Bill Mootos’s (Orin) “Now (It’s Just the Gas)” shows the actor slowly asphyxiating in his scuba-diver get-up.  Later, Molloy dramatically over-acts her concession to fatal bite wounds, singing a completely exaggerated reprisal of “Somewhere that’s Green.”  Overall, New Rep delivers a campy and enthusiastic performance of the macabre musical.

An Update from New Voices @ New Rep

The following entry is by Emily Kaye Lazzaro, one of this year's four New Voices @ New Rep Playwrighting Fellows, in response to meeting with a professional design team to discuss her play The Circus:

"At our New Voices @ New Rep Playwriting Fellows meeting on Monday we were given the opportunity to have a meeting with designers.  Before the meeting, the designers read our plays and came up with some ideas, images, and concepts for what productions of our pieces would look like.  What a revelation it was!  I am always floored when other artists read my work and are able to mold it into something greater than I even imagined.  I am sadly not very well-versed in theatre design concepts and vocabulary and, especially after the meeting on Monday, would very much like to remedy that.  I love learning about lighting and sound techniques, ways that color can invoke certain emotions in the audience, and how to suggest that an actor is playing an animal without shoving it down the audience’s throat.  If any designers are up for it, I’d definitely sign up for a class called “Theatre Design for Playwrights”.  I’m thirsty to learn more."

Emily Kaye Lazzaro’s reading of The Circus will be happening on Sunday June 10^th at 6pm at the Arsenal Center for the Arts.