I’ve always loved Little Shop of Horrors and Neptune Theatre’s high-energy, sumptuously-lit, sci-fi extravaganza is a great opportunity to see it again and get a pure entertainment timeout from the news.
The plant is amazing, the cast excellent and artistic director Jeremy Webb’s direction suitably playful for this campy, horror-comedy musical with its wonderful 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and Motown music. Fans of the songs “Skid Row (Downtown), “Somewhere That’s Green” and “Suddenly, Seymour,” will not be disappointed.
The 1982 musical, loosed based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, is set on skid row in a flower shop with no customers until nerdy florist Seymour discovers a unique plant after a solar eclipse. He names it Audrey ll after the tragic and beautiful flower shop employee Audrey, whom he loves. While Audrey ll is a salvation for the flower shop, it turns out the plant requires an unusual diet that pushes Seymour to the limits.
Hugh Ritchie is a wonderful, totally believable Seymour with marvellous kinetic energy and emotional intensity as he creates a sweet, lovable character. It’s great to see Nova Scotia actor Bill Carr back on stage infusing the harsh store owner Mushnik with some humour in his distinctive tones of voice. Kristin Howell is a perfect Audrey in look, ditziness – everything in Little Shop is a satire or a stereotype – and emotion. The love story between Seymour and Audrey is real and strongly felt.
The show opens hot with the skid row urchins – a Motown trio – singing “Skid Row (Downtown)” with peppy choreography by Liliona Quarmyne. It’s fun how Webb has the urchins reappear all over Rachel Forbes’ gritty brick set that revolves to the interior of the flower shop.
The singing trio, who often change costumes, are powerful singers with award-winning local singer/songwriter Reeny as Chiffon, 2024 ANSMA Song of the Year winner Thaydra Gray as Ronnette and Kih Becke as Crystal. Becke is usually outstanding in Two Planks and a Passion Theatre’s summer plays and is nominated this year for a Merritt Award for her lead role in Chased by the Bear by Fire. (The awards ceremony is March 31.)
Also memorable in this production is Audrey’s abusive dentist-boyfriend played by Ryan Brown, who was Prince Charmin in Neptune’s 2024 Cinderella. He arrives at the flower shop on a roaring motorcycle much like the late, lamented Meat Loaf as Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Again, with the high kinetic energy that defines this cast and production, Brown plays him as the menacing and comical idiot he is.
(The black comedy of Audrey’s injuries largely discussed in terms of band-aid use is a bit difficult today, given the fact too many women are dying of gender-based violence in Nova Scotia. However, the boyfriend is clearly the villain and gets what he deserves.)
On opening night Webb brought to the stage the creative team behind the puppetry and design since watching Audrey ll grow over four different, fantastically-crafted incarnations is a huge part of the enjoyment of this cult-classic musical. Operated by puppeteer Stephane Gaudet, Audrey ll sings in the rich, expansive and expressive voice of Nova Scotia singer/songwriter Owen Lee.
Lighting designer Jess Lewis has created a wonderful chiaroscuro palette with intense Martian green saturating the often bleak, brown, brick set, bathed in dark purples and blues. Audrey’s hot pinks in Kaelen MacDonald’s costume design are also a bright spot.
While the musicians are hidden, they are key in delivering the lively score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, best known for their work on Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, and Aladdin.
In the band are Sarah Richardson, musical director, keyboards; Gwen Dawson, keyboards; Andrew Murray, guitar, Chris Churchill, bass; Alex Wrathell, drums, and Brad Reid, reeds. Sound designer is Aaron Collier (and there is a lot of sound keeping pace with the action) with Alison Crosby as stage manager. Also in the ensemble are Tama Martin, Katherine Morris and Jeff Schwager, also a puppeteer.
A hit on Broadway, Little Shop of Horrors runs to May 11. Neptune just added an extra performance Sunday, March 23, 7:30 p.m. The show is two hours including a 20-minute intermission. It is recommended for ages nine and up. The website (https://www.neptunetheatre.com/) contains this warning: “Gunshots, intimate partner violence (implied and discussed), implied human dismemberment, implied asphyxiation, theatrical fog, haze, flashing lights, loud noises.”
Industry Night is tonight, March 18, 7:30 p.m.; Talkback is March 20, 7:30 p.m.; Masked Performance is March 23, 2 p.m., and Audio Described Performance is May 4, 2 p.m.
Webb’s passion for the show goes back to his youth in Cambridge, U.K., where he first encountered the movie musical. “I fell in love with this musical when I first saw it at 18. I went into the movie theatre completely blind, just knowing that Rick Moranis and Steve Martin were in it, so it must be funny,” he says in a press released. “When I left the movie theatre two hours later, I was so enamoured by what I’d just watched, I turned around, bought another ticket, and went right back into the next showing.”
- Controlled Damage: nine actors, a fiddler and one heck of a story
- Casey & Diana: intense, powerful, must-see theatre about compassion
Categories: Uncategorized
NS reviews 