REVIEW: Greater Boston Stage Company’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ blooms a darker green
This sad little flower shop on Skid Rowe holds a secret.
From John Stone’s playfully ticking sound design to Erik D. Diaz’s fascinating ‘blooming’ set,’ Greater Boston Stage Company makes two things abundantly clear: Don’t feed the plants and everyone’s life should be narrated by a streetwise Greek chorus.
Directed with comic edge by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz and Chris Shin’s zany chorography, Greater Boston Stage Company continues horror comedy rock sci-fi musical, Little Shop of Horrors live and in person at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, Massachusetts through Sunday, June 29. This production runs approximately two hours with one intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, Little Shop of Horrors embarked on quite a journey to become the cult classic it is today. Originally based on Jack Cullier’s 1932 story Green Thoughts, Little Shop of Horrors was originally a 1960 B movie featuring a then lesser known Jack Nicholson before it was developed into a 1982 stage musical and then a 1986 musical film adaptation featuring Rick Moranis, Bill Murray and John Candy. The musical also introduced sadistic dentist Orin, portrayed by Steve Martin in the film.
It’s a seemingly simple tale about young love on Skid Rowe in a fledgling flower shop that houses a curious and unique breed of plant. Some critics have compared it to the daring tone of the cult classic, ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ but Little Shop of Horrors is usually delivered with a more subtle brand of campy charm.
This wild tale is headlined by the sweet and sassy sounds of female Greek chorus trio Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronnette who pop up in the most unexpected places during the production. With few exceptions, the music, with lyrics by award-winning composer Alan Menken, have a catchy, rock n’ roll vibe including tunes that pay tribute to 60s girl groups.
From casual street garments to flashy glam by Chelsea Kerl, these three dazzling vocalists certainly know how to make an entrance. Cortlandt Barrett as Chiffon, Becky Bass as Crystal and Pearl Scott as Ronnette are a tough, humorous, and street-smart trio who unveil the real ins and outs of Skid Rowe through harmony, kicking it off with the catchy signature track, Little Shop of Horrors and especially showing off their mellifluous vocals for Skid Rowe (Downtown).
With haunting and ominous illumination by Corey Whittemore, Erik D. Diaz combines creepy and dilapidated featuring vintage brick storefronts, beaten up garbage cans, a weathered Mushnik Florist sign, and an eerie projection screen splashed with blood at center stage. What Diaz does with the set is vivid, remarkable and transformative right down to its carefully timed shop bell. Set in the 1960s, Little Shop of Horrors is packed with 50s and 60s references such as I Love Lucy, Howdy Doody, Donna Reed, and Betty Crocker.
The show has a gift for funny and ironic contrasts with a cast that has increasingly complicated motives. Wearing black-rimmed glasses, a baseball cap and a sweater vest, William David Kay stepped in for Stephen Markarian offering an earnest portrayal as Seymour, a sympathetic yet conflicted botanist. Anxious and occasionally clumsy, Kay emphasizes Seymour’s inherent, inescapable loneliness as he struggles to remain forthright and honest as the show progresses. He shines in the darkly tender number Grow for Me and in his awkward adoration for trusting, insecure and frequently unlucky Audrey, portrayed sweetly with a light accent and plucky charm by Kayla Shimizu. In a particularly comical moment, Seymour warmly hopes to take Audrey to “a fancy dinner at Howard Johnson’s.”
Shimizu’s lovely soprano vocals carry a lullaby or a soulful belt beautifully. She shares her simple, 50s domestic dreams in a funny and tender rendition of Somewhere That’s Green and with Seymour in a powerful rendition of Suddenly Seymour.
Disheveled and desperate in colorful and busily patterned suits, Bryan Miner is wonderful as worn and frustrated flower shop owner, Mr. Mushnik. Tightly wound and barely holding onto hope, Miner’s Mushnik is especially clever with William David Kay as Seymour for the manipulative and comical calypso-infused number, Mushnik and Son. Mushnik may be too smart for his own good.
I’ve seen a few versions of Little Shop of Horrors and this is the edgiest production I have seen. Jared Troilo works overtime to portray a number of satirical characters that are impressively goofy and fun. Troilo is next level sinister in a no-holds-barred performance as Orin, a belligerent, gyrating, narcissistic biker dentist punctuated by a berating sneer and a glottal “dull” utterance. It occasionally crosses the line from darkly funny to disquieting and overdone.
However, the real spectacle is Audrey II, the sly and soulful plant that changes everything. Anthony Pires, Jr. boasts versatile and grimly wise vocals as well as a gift for pleading exemplified in the rock number, Feed Me. Inventively manipulated by Sydney Grant, Audrey II is a comical and extraordinary specimen right down to bright colors and shiny, dangling teeth. Audrey II is handled in such an innovative, natural, and humorous way, the results are truly captivating.
Greater Boston Stage Company’s Little Shop of Horrors continues live and in person through Sunday, June 29 at the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Click here for more information, tickets, and for details about the Little Shop of Horrors raffle.
