Reviewed 8/9/05
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When it first opened in 1982 at the Orpheum Theatre, Ashman and Menken’s cute and clever musical of Little Shop of Horrors was tailor-made for the clever and irreverent culture of Off-Broadway theatre. A take-off on a cheesy Roger Corman horror film, the musical became an ironic commentary on a host of things. Since its creation in an ideal birthplace, it has begun to grow as perilously as Audrey II. First came Frank Oz’s 1986 film that had such potential, but knuckled under pressure and changed the ending to soften the blow for Middle America. While it had its moments, wimping out was pretty inexcusable. In 2003, over 20 years after the original production began its 2000 performance run, and after an aborted start and near total recasting, the show ran for 300 performances and earned Hunter Foster a Tony. Jerry Zak’s staging and Kathleen Marshall’s choreography have been faithfully reproduced for the tour that has arrived at Gammage Auditorium for the M&I Bank Broadway in Arizona tour.
This production is very similar to the original Off-Broadway production in terms of casting and presentation styles. The differences are much bigger, though: Scot Pask’s darkly ominous sets are proportional to the larger houses it is playing; and Jim Hensen Company’s Audrey II, though still enjoyably, is lost in the perspective.
Despite
being shrunk, the show is a solid offering of a very funny piece. Jim
Poulos is a sweet, not-so-nerdy Seymour with a strong voice. Tari
Kelly, the actress who began the tour as Audrey, has her own take
on the role that is much more subdued, both vocally and in performance, than
the iconic Ellen Greene in her two offerings. Her choice to pull Audrey into
herself might have worked quite well when it was still an Off-Broadway offering,
but now she just seems smaller and weaker. Lenny Wolpe is
a kinder, gentler Mushnik, and that makes Seymour’s actions that much
more deplorable. A highlight of the show is his and Poulos’ song and
dance number for “Mushnik and Son,” which features everything Hebraic
to hilarious effect. James Moye does a smooth job as Orin,
Bernstein, Luce, Snip, and Everyone Else, exuding the perfect amount of oily
charm and seething danger. The stand-ins for the Fates in this Tragedy, Chiffon
(Iris Burruss), Crystal (Badia Farhima),
and Ronnette (LaTonya Holmes) are strong singers and dancers
who play their parts to the hilt. Michael James Leslie’s deep,
melodic voice is a nice balance to Audrey II’s evil machincations. The
manipulation of the puppets by Anthony Asbury, Michael
Latini, and Marc Petrosino is remarkable, turing
the puppet into a buoyant murderer.
Pask’s sets are not unlike what I’ve seen for this production from other companies, but his backdrops create the darkest Skid Row I’ve ever seen. Donald Holder’s lighting has some really nifty tricks. William Ivey Long’s costumes are without surprise, while Domonic Sack and Carl Casella’s sound design was quite a hindrance to hearing much of the onstage singing and made Brent-Alan Huffman’s tiny orchestra sound tinny and canned.
This is a simple case of more is less. In an attempt to turn Little Shop into a Broadway show, it lost some of the charm that made it so easy to connect with and enjoy in the first place.
