BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: 15 October 2003

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Twenty years ago, it may have seemed improbable that a musical with its roots in a low-budget thriller would, one day, blossom into an American classic, launching an award-winning composer-lyricist partnership. Yet, that is precisely what sprouted from the 1982 collaboration of Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (music) with the premiere of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at the WPA Theatre.

LITTLE SHOP moved to the Orpheum Theatre in the summer of that year and enjoyed a fruitful 2,209 performance run. The team of Ashman and Menken took their talents to Hollywood, grabbing a bushel of Oscars for the music they provided for such Disney's animated features as "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "Beauty and the Beast," the stage adaptation of which is in its tenth year on Broadway.

In 1986, the film version of Ashman and Menken's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS--one of only a handful of musicals put to celluloid during that decade--starred Rick Moranis, Steve Martin and Ellen Greene who originated the role of Audrey. Now, Ashman and Menken's scrappy sapling takes root on the legitimate stage of the Virginia Theatre under the direction of veteran Jerry Zaks.

Successful Off Broadway shows transplanted to a Broadway venue can get lost in the repotting process. Take ONE MO' TIME, for example, a show that thrived in its downtown plot, but lay fallow on The Great White Way. Preserving the show's cute and quirky qualities, producers are hoping that product name recognition and a familiar score will draw in an audience.

In this pseudo-sci-fi comedy thriller about a man-eating plant named Audrey II, Hunter Foster of URINETOWN fame leads the humanoid pack as the nebbishy, one-time orphan, Seymour. Sporting ill-fitting attire rounded off by bulky horn-rimmed glasses, Foster effectively proclaims his character's nerdiness with a delightfully forlorn delivery of Ashman and Menken's memorable tunes.

Douglas Sills is daffy and wonderful as Orin Scrivillo, the sadistic dentist, the first victim to be served up to the leafy carnivore. Fortunately, the fun-loving Sills goes on to play a number of supporting characters, both male and female. Rob Bartlett gives us a Mr. Mushnik a la Zero Mostel. Michael-Leon Wooley provides a delicious baritone to the hungry herb. And, DeQuina Moore, Trisha Jeffrey and Carla J. Hargrove sparkle as the Greek chorus trio Chiffon, Crystal and Ronntte respectively.

Kerry Butler takes on Audrey, the most difficult role in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Breaking through the imprimatur set by Ellen Greene is no easy task as she succeeded in communicating the character's pathetic naivete without effort. Butler, whom audiences loved and adored in HAIRSPRAY, comes off more as a perky tease than an exploited sexpot. Audrey should break your heart and, this time around, she leaves it intact.

Under Zaks' direction, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS moves along briskly. Kathleen Marshall enlivens the production with swank choreography. Set designer Scott Pask creates a cartoon concept of the Skid Row milieu with cocked angles and dingy color schemes. Audrey II, designed by The Jim Henson Company and Martin P. Robinson, is both cute and menacing. And, costume designs by the ubiquitous William Ivey Long capture the earthy elements as well as the glitzy showbiz slant. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, light and lovable.