Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Seattle

A Blooming, Warm-Hearted Little Shop of Horrors Kills It
at ACT Theatre

Also see David's review of Third


Jessica Skerritt surrounded by Naomi Morgan, Alexandria Henderson and Nicole Prothro
In their third co-production in many years, the 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Theatre have hit a vein of musical delight with the first major locally produced staging of the smash Off-Broadway and film musical Little Shop of Horrors in well over a decade. The clever, tuneful breakthrough hit for composer Alan Menken and the late lyricist/librettist Howard Ashman (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin) fares far better in an intimate setting like ACT's Falls space than it did in a large house like the Paramount (where the tour of the Broadway revival played in 2004). In the confident hands of director/musical stager Bill Berry and musical director R.J. Tancioco, a well-nigh perfect team of actors and designers have built a Little Shop to die for!

Based on a famous quickie Grade Z Roger Corman film of the early '60s, Little Shop takes place in a skid-row florist shop staffed by nerdy, clumsy Seymour Krelborn (Joshua Carter), basically an indentured servant to the oy-so Jewish and cranky shop owner Mr. Mushnik (Jeff Steitzer) who took him in as a child. Shop girl Audrey (Jessica Skerritt) has a Jayne Mansfield coiffure and figure, but also a predilection for playing the masochist to her slimy dentist beau Orin Scrivello (David Anthony Lewis) who leaves her with black eyes and worse. As the shop's days appear to be numbered, Seymour unveils a strange little flytrap plant that draws in a few customers. When other plant foods fail to perk up the plant, which he names Audrey II, a prick of his finger and a few drops of blood work wonders. Before long the plant is growing exponentially, and the shop is doing land-mine business, with Seymour a minor media sensation. Then, Audrey II utters her first words: "FEED ME!" in a sinister soulful voice which can also belt out a mean tune. Audrey II convinces the Audrey-smitten Seymour to kill off the leather-jacketed DDS Orin. Faint-hearted Seymour can't bring himself to do the deed, but when Orin bites it by accident, Seymour stands by and lets it happen, and feeds the cad to the plant. Soon an Audrey/Seymour romance is budding, but with Audrey II still craving fresh human flesh, there's more carnage and less chance of a happy ending in the cards.

Joshua Carter's take on Seymour makes him more lovable, less doltish and lets us see what Audrey sees in him, and his vocals are top-notch throughout, especially on his "Grow for Me" solo, and the soaring duet "Suddenly Seymour" with Skerritt's Audrey. Miss Skerritt, now among our top local young musical-comedy actors, does a neat balancing act keeping Audrey from becoming too much of the prototype dumb blonde, and wringing laughter and tears from the score's best known number, "Somewhere That's Green", the yearning "I want" prototype number copied by Menken and Ashman in some of their later songs like "Part of Your World" and "Belle." Steitzer's meshuggeneh Mushnik is another great character turn for one of our best old pros, raging at his under paid staff and frolicking through the mock-tango "Mushnik and Son" with Carter. David Anthony Lewis makes slime-bag Orin an Elvis wannabe and milks his "Dentist" number for every laugh that's in it, and does a breathlessly good job of taking on a range of other bit parts throughout the show.

As a sassy trio of street urchins named Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon, Naomi Morgan, Nicole Rashida Prothro, and Alexandria Henderson go major-Motown on their vocals and serve up enough tea and shade in their characterizations to launch a Bravo-style "Real Urchins of Skid Row" franchise. Eric Esteb masterfully manipulates the full-size Audrey II puppet (based on the original design by Martin P. Robinson) while Ekello J. Harrid, Jr. serves up her full-bodied "Soul Train" style vocals. Kudos to sound designer Justin Stasiw and musical director R.J. Tancioco for working out a smooth balance between the vocalists and the musicians.

Martin Christoffel has created a very original style of show curtain, keeping the reveal of the eccentric and minutely detailed Mushnik's interior hidden until after the title song prologue. He has created a neat street/stoop area for when the action goes outside, while Robert J. Aguilar's lighting design is eminently successful in creating a building sense of foreboding throughout. Pete Rush's costumes are campy '60s style delights, especially Audrey's outfits and a succession of eye-poppers for the Urchins, culminating in some red dresses that would be at home in Dreamgirls.

Director Berry has done some of his very best work here, and his team should keep this Little Shop of Horrors packed throughout its three-month run.

Little Shop of Horrors runs through June 15, 2014, at ACT Theatre, 700 Union Street in downtown Seattle. For more information go to www.acttheatre.org or www.5thavenue.org .


Photo: Tracy Martin

- David Edward Hughes