WHAT: Little Shop of Horrors
WHERE: Prescott Park Arts Festival
BLURB: Quirky script, fun score
HIGH POINT: Accomplishing a sense of intimacy in the open park.
Little Shop of Horrors has put the biggest, baddest, and deadliest plant center stage at the park this season. It's lollipop entertainment if you take it lightly, which is its intent, and bizarre, with creepy undertones if staying easy isn't your ride.
The piece features a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, and music by Alan Menken.
Little Shop is definitely an oddball musical. It's a bit science fiction, with a dose of cartoon-style horror, and an odd sense of humor, all which could upset some sensitivities.
For that reason, here's a bit more outline than the usual for those unfamiliar, so you can make an educated choice.
Seymour (Andrew Johnson), a hapless, geeky, young man, with nary an ounce of self-esteem, works for Mr. Mushnik (Zeke Solis) at Mushnik's Flower Shop, on Skid Row.
Seymour is convinced he's a loser, which Mushnik (who "acquired" him from an orphanage years earlier) reinforces at every turn.
The sole bright spot in Seymour's life is Audrey (Tia Marie Apicella), the shop's other employee.
Audrey is a pretty young woman, dense, but very sweet, and to her mind not worthy of kind Seymour's affection. Instead, she's convinced the best she deserves is her highly abusive relationship with Orin (Liam Henry Ellis), a sadistic dentist.
We meet the shop trio as Mushnik announces he's closing the place; biz is abysmal. Seymour saves the day with an exotic, new plant he's discovered and nurtured (and dubbed the Audrey II aka "two-ee"), which miraculously and immediately attracts people to the store.
As the coffers fill, Seymour discovers the prized, displayed plant will only survive if fed a diet of human blood.
Things quickly advance from pricked fingers to something sinister. In his effort to keep the money-making plant alive, and continue impressing Audrey, Seymour does the unthinkable.
The tale is narrated throughout by three neighborhood girls, Crystal (Armani Ponder-Keith), Ronnette (Emerese Noel), and Chiffon, (Kira Whitehead) who sing the tale, and bring the sass along with a good dose of humor and their strong, interesting voices.
This production features a committed group of artists, on and off stage.
Johnson's Seymour is every bit the charming, dysfunctional milquetoast the character should be. The body language is perfectly on point, and Johnson's voice is clear, and attractive.
Tia Marie Apicella's hapless Audrey pulls at the heartstrings; not an ounce of self preservation, or self esteem visible. She gives a perfect delivery of this oddly scripted, affecting character, and brings a strong voice to the production.
The bloomin' puppet is voiced by Darrick Brown, the man of a golden sound. His deep, rich tones are smashing and infuse the character with delightful creepy charm.
Puppeteer Chris Ryan is the other half of Audrey II, who brings the plant's physicality to life perfectly. Together Brown and Ryan give Audrey the star presence required.
Solis as Mushnik and Ellis as Orin both do stand up jobs, but on opening weekend, take a bit more time to strengthen their characters. Some of this may be due to a director's character choices.
Overall, Director Tom Alsip has done an impressive job making a smaller cast fill the large open space of the park - not an easy accomplishment.
The combination of his stage direction along with Mary Beth Marino's deft choreography, and Bretton Reis's lighting design keeps the focus well direct and the energy high. Along with the cast they are able to achieve moments of intimacy that reach to the back of the large seating area. Again, quite the achievement.
The attractive, interesting set design by Nate Bertone is certainly a player in all this. His design plays a key role in coloring the show and directing the eye and even the sound, smartly designed by Teddy Hallet.
Which brings us to Musical Director Kathy Fink and her band. Their sound is full, rich and never overpowering. It's a triumph.
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