Little Shop of Horrors (musical)

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Little Shop of Horrors
Original Cast Album
Music	Alan Menken
Lyrics	Howard Ashman
Book	Howard Ashman
Based upon	Roger Corman film The Little Shop of Horrors
Productions	1982 Off-Broadway 1986 Film 2003 Broadway 2004 U.S. National Tour 2006 West End International productions
Awards	Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Outer Critics Circle Award Evening Standard Award for Best Musical

Little Shop of Horrors is a musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical was based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman. The music, composed by Menken in the style of 1960's rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, included several show-stoppers including "Skid Row (Downtown)," "Somewhere That's Green," and "Suddenly Seymour," as well as the title song.

In addition to the original long-running 1982 off-Broadway production and subsequent Broadway production, the musical has been performed all over the world, including in Buenos Aires, Sydney, Vienna, São Paulo, Toronto, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Paris, Berlin, Athens, Budapest, Reykjavík, Jerusalem, Rome, Tokyo, Zurich, Athens, Barcelona, Cologne, Mexico City, Auckland, Oslo, Singapore City, Johannesburg, Madrid, Stockholm, Seinajoki, Akureyri, Vaasa, and London. Because of its small cast and relatively simple orchestrations, it has become popular with community theatre and high school groups.^[1] The musical was also made into a film in 1986, directed by Frank Oz.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Original production 2.1 Characters and original cast 3 Musical numbers 4 Film 4.1 Differences between the film and stage versions 5 Subsequent productions 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Act I

Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon (characters named after female doo-wop girl groups in the 1960s), set the scene ("Little Shop of Horrors"). These three girls comment on the action throughout the show. Seymour Krelborn is a poor young man, an orphan living in urban skid row. Audrey is a pretty blonde with a fashion sense that leans towards the provocative and tacky. They lament their station in life and seek a life away from the urban blight ("Skid Row (Downtown)"). They are co-workers at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, a run-down flower shop owned and operated by the cranky and sly Mr. Mushnik. Seymour has recently obtained a mysterious plant that looks like a large venus fly trap. While he was browsing the wholesale flower district, a sudden eclipse of the sun occurred, and when the light returned, the weird plant had appeared ("Da-Doo"). Seymour is secretly in love with Audrey, and names the plant Audrey II in her honor.

The little plant does not thrive in its new environment and appears to be dying. Seymour questions why it should be doing poorly when he takes such good care of it. He accidentally pricks his finger on a rose's thorn, which draws blood, and Audrey II's pod opens thirstily. Seymour realizes that Audrey II requires blood to survive and allows the plant to suckle from his finger ("Grow For Me"). As Audrey II grows, the plant becomes an attraction and begins generating substantial business for Mushnik. Being the owner of the plant, Seymour has suddenly gone from loser to hero ("Ya Never Know"). Realizing that his sudden profitability is completely dependent on the plant (and therefore Seymour), Mushnik takes advantage of Seymour's innocence by offering to adopt him and bring him on as a full partner in the business ("Mushnik & Son"). Having always wanted a family, Seymour accepts, not realizing he is being conned.

Orin Scrivello, a sadistic dentist, is Audrey's abusive boyfriend. Modeled after the 'leader of the pack' characters of the 1950's, Orin drives a motorcycle, wears leather, and enjoys bringing other people pain ("Dentist!"). Meanwhile, the employees at Mushnik's are sprucing up the flower shop, due to the popularity of the now large Audrey II, and the revenue it is bringing in ("Closed For Renovation"). Audrey reveals she is not happy in her relationship and secretly has feelings for the timid Seymour. She sings that her ultimate dream is to have the ideal suburban life with Seymour, complete with a tract home, frozen dinners and plastic on the furniture ("Somewhere That's Green").

Meanwhile, Seymour is having difficulty providing enough blood to keep Audrey II healthy. When Seymour stops feeding the plant, Audrey II reveals that it can speak (in a deep, demanding voice), and says that by feeding it, Seymour will ensure that all his dreams come true ("Feed Me (Git It)"). Seymour initially refuses, but then witnesses Orin abusing Audrey. The plant presents this as a justification for killing Orin. Not realizing he is being manipulated again, Seymour gives into his baser instincts and agrees. He sets up a late-night appointment with Orin, intending to kill him. However, Seymour loses his nerve and decides not to commit the crime. Unfortunately for Orin, who has been gassing himself with nitrous oxide, the gas device gets stuck in the 'on' position, and he overdoses while asking Seymour to help save him. Seymour lets the sadistic dentist die laughing ("Now (It's Just The Gas)"). Seymour drags Orin's body away, as the now huge Audrey II calls for more blood ("Act I Finale").

Act II

The flower shop is busier than ever, and Seymour and Audrey are having trouble keeping up with the onslaught of new business ("Call Back In The Morning"). Audrey eventually approaches Seymour and confides that she is distraught by Orin's disappearance and death, even though she realizes that dating him was another mistake in a long line of bad boyfriends. The two admit their feelings for one another, and Seymour promises that he will protect and care for Audrey from now on ("Suddenly, Seymour"). The two plan to leave together and start a new life, although Seymour mistakenly attributes Audrey's feelings to his newfound fame, not realizing that she loved him even before, when he was just a shophand.

Before they can go, Mushnik confronts Seymour and accuses him of Orin's death, saying he plans to turn Seymour in to the police. Audrey II tells Seymour that he has to get rid of Mushnik or he'll lose everything including Audrey ("Suppertime"). Out of confusion and his love for Audrey, Seymour tricks Mushnik into thinking that the money he collected is inside Audrey II. As Mushnik searches for the money in the plant, he climbs inside and realizes he was tricked as he is chomped on, slurped, and swallowed. Seymour inherits the flower shop and is approached by reporters, salesman, lawyers, and agents promising fame and fortune. Seymour rationalizes that he deserves everything being offered to him and feels the fame is what's earning the love of Audrey ("The Meek Shall Inherit"). However, he knows that it is only a matter of time before Audrey II will kill again and that he is morally responsible. He considers destroying the plant, but believing that Audrey may not love him anymore, Seymour decides to stick with the plant.

As Seymour works on his speech for a lecture tour, Audrey II again squalls for blood. Seymour threatens to kill it just as Audrey walks in asking when Mushnik will return from his sick "sister." Seymour learns that Audrey would still love him without the fame and decides that Audrey II must die after LIFE magazine comes to the shop. Audrey is confused and frightened by Seymour's ramblings, but she runs home by his order. That night, unable to sleep and distressed by Seymour's strange behavior, Audrey goes to the flower shop to talk with him. He is not there, and the plant locks the door and begs her to water him. Not sensing the mortal danger, she approaches to water it, and a vine wraps around her and pulls her in to the plant's gaping jaws("Sominex/Suppertime II"). Seymour walks in, realizes what is happening, and rushes at the plant in an attempt to save Audrey. He pulls her out, but Audrey is mortally wounded and tells him to feed her to the plant after she dies so that they can always be together. She dies in his arms, and he reluctantly honors her request ("Somewhere That's Green" (reprise)). Seymour falls asleep as Audrey II grows small red flower buds.

The next day, Patrick Martin from the World Botanical Enterprises tells Seymour that his company wishes to take leaf cuttings of Audrey II and sell them across America. Seymour realizes what the plant's evil plan was all along, learning that Audrey II caused the solar eclipse and came to Earth from an unknown planet. He then tries shooting and cutting the plant but its hide is too tough. Next he grabs a handful of rat poison and tosses it in the annoyed plant's mouth which it spits out with ease. He then runs into its open jaws with a machete planning to kill it from the inside. Seymour is quickly eaten, and only the machete (and in some versions a string of intestines or his glasses) is burped up. Patrick, Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon search for Seymour. Not finding him, Patrick tells the girls to take cuttings and signals the truck outside to prepare for loading.

Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon relate that, following these events, other plants began appearing all over the world, tricking innocent people into feeding them blood in exchange for fame and fortune. They plan the consumption of the entire human population. Out of the fog, Audrey II, bigger than ever, appears with opened red and green flowers revealing the faces of Seymour, Audrey, Mushnik and Orin, who warn that no matter how seductive the plants may be, for the sake of the whole world, one must never do what the plants ask (Finale Ultimo ("Don't Feed the Plants")). Audrey II then crawls out using his roots towards the audience and threatens them.*

• In the original off-broadway production, the plant's tendrils fell all over the audience, as if each audience member were being pulled into the plant. In the Broadway production, a monstrously huge Audrey projected out over the fifth row and the balcony seats, as if it would eat the audience members. It also snapped at the three girls a few times.

[edit] Original production

The musical had its world premiere on May 6, 1982 at the WPA Theatre. It opened off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982. This original production, directed by Ashman, was critically acclaimed and won several awards including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, the Outer Critics Circle Award.^[2] When it closed on November 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances, it was the third-longest running musical and the highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history.

Though a Broadway transfer had been proposed for the original Off-Broadway production, book writer Howard Ashman felt the show belonged where it was.^[3] This decision ultimately allowed the production to run for a successful 5 years. The production's lack of Broadway transfer made it ineligible for the 1982 Tony Awards.

An original cast recording, released in 1982, omits the songs "Call Back in the Morning", and "Somewhere That's Green (Reprise)", and only had abridged versions of "Now (It's Just the Gas)," "Mushnik and Son," and "Meek Shall Inherit." It also shifts the location of the song "Closed for Renovation," appearing in the show after "Somewhere That's Green" while appearing on the cast album after "Now (It's Just the Gas)" to serve as an upbeat bridge from Orin's death to the Act 2 love ballad, "Suddenly Seymour." This recording features Leilani Jones, who replaced Marlene Danielle as Chiffon two weeks after the musical opened.

[edit] Characters and original cast

• Seymour Krelborn - Lee Wilkof
• Audrey - Ellen Greene
• Mr. Mushnik - Hy Anzell
• Chiffon - Marlene Danielle (later replaced by Leilani Jones)
• Crystal - Jennifer Leigh Warren
• Ronnette - Sheila Kay Davis
• Audrey II (voice) - Ron Taylor
• Audrey II (manipulation) - Martin P. Robinson
• Orin, Bernstein, Snip, Luce, and Patrick Martin - Franc Luz

[edit] Musical numbers

Act I Prologue/Little Shop of Horrors - Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette Skid Row (Downtown) - Company Da-Doo - Seymour, Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette Grow for Me - Seymour Ya Never Know - Mushnik, Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette, Seymour Somewhere That's Green - Audrey Closed for Renovation - Seymour, Audrey, Mushnik Dentist! - Orin, Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette, Company Mushnik & Son - Mushnik, Seymour Feed Me (Git It) - Audrey II, Seymour Now (It's Just the Gas) - Orin, Seymour Act I Finale - Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette, Audrey II

Act II Call Back in the Morning - Seymour, Audrey Suddenly, Seymour - Seymour, Audrey, Company Suppertime - Audrey II The Meek Shall Inherit - Company Sominex/Suppertime II - Audrey, Audrey II Somewhere That's Green (Reprise) - Audrey Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants) - Company

[edit] Film

Main article: Little Shop of Horrors (film)

A film version of the musical was made in 1986. Directed by Frank Oz and noted as the only film written by Howard Ashman, it starred Rick Moranis as Seymour, Ellen Greene as Audrey, and the voice of Levi Stubbs.

In addition, the Japanese production of the musical, with direction and choreography by Victor Valentine and Marsha Waterbury as Audrey, was filmed to be broadcast on Japanese television, like similar broadcasts of Victor/Victoria, 42nd Street (musical), and Pacific Overtures. However, the tape was never broadcast.

[edit] Differences between the film and stage versions

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Although the basic concept of the movie, musical and musical movie are the same, the details vary between versions.

The musical is faithful to the comic tone of the original 1960 film, although it makes a few slight changes to the story. The setting is moved from Skid Row in Los Angeles to Skid Row in New York. Seymour's hypochondriac Jewish mother is omitted and Seymour becomes an orphan. Also dropped is the subplot involving the two investigating cops. The characters of Mrs. Siddie Shiva and Burson Fouch are also omitted. The character of the gleefully masochistic dental patient was deleted from the stage musical, but appears in the original film and 1986 musical film (where he is played by Bill Murray).

In the musicals, the character of the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, (played by Steve Martin in the 1986 musical film) is killed off from laughing gas instead of being stabbed with a dental instrument. In addition, in the original film Seymour murders several innocent bystanders. In the musical, he is partially responsible for the deaths of Orin and Mushnik, although in both cases he does not deal the final blow in their deaths, making him a more sympathetic character.

The musical introduces three new characters: a chorus of female street urchins named Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette after famous 1960s girl groups. The evil plant is named 'Audrey II', as opposed to the original 'Audrey Junior', and instead of being a crossbreed of a butterwort and a Venus Flytrap, is now a creature from outer space intent on taking over the world. It was brought to life through a series of elaborate puppets, some of which were large enough to be operated by an actor from the inside.

Perhaps the biggest difference is the ending. The stage musical ends with the deaths of Seymour and Audrey, and we are told the plants went on to achieve a certain amount of destruction. In the 1986 movie, Seymour succeeds in killing Audrey II and saving Audrey, and they enjoy a happy ending in the tract home of Audrey's dreams. Given the nature of the story as a black comedy / horror, the ending to the stage musical stands as truer to its genre, as each character's shortcomings lead to their ultimate demise.

[edit] Subsequent productions

Pre-Broadway version

In 2003, an $8 million revival of Little Shop of Horrors was planned with the goal of opening on Broadway on August 14. A $1 million pre-Broadway start-up production debuted at the Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida on May 16, 2003. The revival featured several people involved in the original 1982 production. Wilkoff, who created the role of Seymour in 1982, was cast as Mr. Mushnik. The production was directed by Wilkoff's wife, Connie Grappo, who was the assistant to Howard Ashman during the original production.^[3] Robinson, who designed the original Audrey II puppets and was a muppeteer for Sesame Street, enlisted his friends at The Jim Henson Company to create new, high tech puppets especially for the show. Alice Ripley joined the cast as Audrey, and the prologue was recited by Robert Stack.^[4]

This version of Little Shop of Horrors received mixed reviews, with some critics complaining that the intimacy of the show was lost by expanding it to fit a larger (and thus more profitable) theatre. Other critics were harsher, calling the show "flat" and "uninspired" with several actors miscast, although the Miami Herald declared that "Alice Ripley's Audrey – part lisping Kewpie doll (ala Ellen Greene, who originated the role), part dental punching bag – is heartbreakingly adorable."^[5]

2003 Broadway revival

On June 2, 2003, producer Marc Routh announced that the Broadway production was being canceled because "In spite of the great number of talented people involved, the elements of this production did not come together in the way we would have liked."^[6] Hours after the announcement was made, the producers had the Virginia Theatre marquee painted over with black paint. Although the revival had been officially canceled, the production was not quite dead. In an effort to save the show, producers ousted Grappo in favor of veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks and fired everyone in the cast except Foster and Robinson. New casting began on June 3 and the producers held the lease on the theatre for September previews.

The musical finally made its Broadway debut at the Virginia Theatre on October 2, 2003 with the following cast:^[7][8] Although this was the first time it had played on Broadway, the show's success in film and numerous regional productions made it fall under the "Revival" category for the 2003 Tony Awards. Hunter Foster (Seymour) was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance. The Broadway cast included Hunter Foster as Seymour, Kerry Butler as Audrey, Rob Bartlett as Mr. Mushnik, Douglas Sills as Orin, Michael-Leon Wooley as the voice of Audrey II and DeQuina Moore as Chiffon.

The revival was fairly faithful to the original 1982 production, although there were some changes. It used the expanded version of the title song heard in the 1986 film, expanded the song "Closed for Renovation" with a "WSKID" radio introduction while also revising the Act 1 Finale and adding an Entr'acte before "Call Back in the Morning." The orchestrations were also beefed up to include reeds and horns, a noted change from the original's production 5-piece combo. In addition, the mechanics of stage puppetry had become more advanced to allow for a more "realistic" portrayal of Audrey II, which even extended into the audience during the show's finale to snap its hungry jaws at the audience. ^[9]

The cast album of the production was recorded by the original cast on September 15, 2003 and was released on October 21. Four songs were deleted during the show's early development process: "A Little Dental Music", "The Worse He Treats Me", "We'll Have Tomorrow", and "I Found A Hobby". These songs were recorded as bonus material for the 2003 Broadway Original Cast Recording, but were not part of the actual production.^[10][11]

The production closed on August 22, 2004 after 372 performances and 40 preview performances. The closing Broadway cast included Joey Fatone as Seymour and Jessica-Snow Wilson as Audrey.^[12]

U.S. national tour

On August 10, 2004, a US national tour of Little Shop of Horrors began just as the Broadway version was about to close in New York, with Anthony Rapp starring as Seymour.^[13] Audrey was Tari Kelly, and Mushnik was Lenny Wolpe. James Moye played Orin. The tour closed April 16, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio.

International productions

The musical has been produced professionally in many countries. In 1998 the Festspiele Balver Höhle and its artistic director Alfred Gaertner mounted a production starring Angelika Nützsche as Audrey and Thomas Haarmann as Seymour.^{[citation needed]} In Singapore, Dream Academy and Dim Sum Dollies produced the musical in November 2006 for a limited run at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, starring the Dim Sum Dollies - Selena Tan, Pam Oei and Emma Yong and Hossan Leong as Seymour.

London revival

After not having been performed professionally in the city for twenty years, a new production began previews on November 17, 2006 at the Menier Chocolate Factory. This revival, directed by Matthew White, featured an all-new Audrey II design, likely based on the Pitcher plant. The production was a critical and commercial success, and transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End in March 2007. At the end of June 2007, the show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End. Its run ended on September 8, 2007. The production will tour the UK in 2008.^[14] Paul Keating played Seymour, and Sheridan Smith played Audrey. Alistair McGowan was Orin, and Mike McShane voiced Audrey II. Smith and McGowan received 2008 Laurence Olivier Award nominations for their performances, and the production was nominated for Best Musical Revival.^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The page for the original production of Little Shop of Horrors in the Lortell Archives
• The page for the Broadway Revival of Little Shop of Horrors on the Internet Broadway Database
• The page for the film version of Little Shop of Horrors on IMDb
• MTI Shows plot and other information
• Little Shop Of Horrors Audition Advice & Show Information from MusicalTheatreAudition.com
• 2006 London Revival Official Site
• Dream Academy