Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors started life in 1960 as a low budget film from the King of the B’s Roger Corman and was in fact a loose remake of an earlier low-budget film, The Passionate People Eater. Shot on a shoestring budget of $30,000 over just two days and with no time for reshoots, the original film is full of fudged lines, amateur camerawork and were it not for a small cameo from Jack Nicholson as a patient in Orin Scrivello’s dental surgery, it is likely Little Shop would have been consigned to the history books as so many B-movie quickies of the era have been. However, as Nicholson’s star rose and he became one of the most critically lauded actors of the 1970s, the film was re-released numerous times on home media to capitalise on Nicholson’s fame and slowly, but surely, it became a classic example of a “so bad, it’s good” underground classic.

Unexpectedly, in 1982 composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman took it upon themselves to reinvent the story and by adding songs, the original film was not a musical, they premiered their musical off-off-off Broadway and something about the story of amateur botanist Seymour Krelborn and his monstrous creation captured the imagination of the New York public. The show moved upmarket to the prestigious Orpheum Theatre where it would run for 2,209 performances making it (at the time) the third-longest running musical and highest-grossing production in Off Broadway history.

The results were gold dust and it wasn’t long before the movie moguls came calling a second time and in 1986, Frank Oz, perhaps best known as the voice of Yoda in the Star Wars films and various Muppets characters, but also a respected director, signed on to direct a big budget remake. He brought Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, James Belushi, Levi Stubbs, John Candy and Christopher Guest along for the ride. Jack Nicholson regrettably couldn’t be convinced to reprise his role from the original so Bill Murray joined his Ghostbusters co-star Rick Moranis in the role instead. Inevitably, the film drew attention back to the musical and, since its release in 1986, you can guarantee that numerous productions of Little Shop of Horrors, both amateur and professional are running at any one time.

Little Shop was my first production as Head of Drama at Bradfield and ideally Bradfield audiences would have waited until 2025 for the tenth anniversary of the first Bradfield performance. However, the summer play cycle of Greek Play, Musical and Shakespeare Play meant that after last year’s production of “Oedipus the King” the return of Audrey 2 fell one year short. The 2015 production was staged in the Old Gym whereas this year the Greek Theatre inevitably gave it a very different feel. As a director, the biggest challenges of staging a musical in Greeker are ultimately deciding where to position the band and how to achieve many of the difficult effects needed without using theatre lighting and blackouts. Adapting Mushnik’s Skid Row florist to Greeker required careful planning and I am extremely grateful to Jason Thomas and the Estates Team for realising my set design so effectively. Combined with the monstrous plants and the fantastic costumes, once again designed and made by Claire O’Toole, I hope we managed to help the audience make the leap of imagination needed to transport themselves into the story being told. Akin to the 2015 production we had an excellent cast who brought the show to life and made it so memorable for the Greek Theatre audience.

Lead actors Luca (H) and Emma (M) brought Seymour and Audrey to life as both instilled sensitivity and vulnerability in their respective characters. They captivated the audience and sang superbly, ably supported by Daisy (K) as the matriarchal Mrs Mushnik. Shell pupils Jemima(I), Jennie (M) and Kiki (M) were magnificent as Chiffon, Ronnette and Crystal who, in their role as a Greek Chorus almost, guided us through the story and tackled some difficult harmonies with apparent ease. Special mentions should also go to Scarlett (J), Charlotte (LI), Jack (E) and Wilf (E) who also shone in their roles.

The ensemble nature of the production was further exemplified by Bea (LJ), Isabelle (LM), Heidi (LJ), Imogen (LK) and Issy (LM) who were convincing as the hobos, often gathered around their oil drum for warmth and sipping bottles hidden in brown paper bags. Similarly, Alec (G), Romilly (K), Emma (M), Bronte (K), Amelie(M), Bella (K) and Sophia (M), choreographer for all the dances, also populated Skid Row in a variety of supporting roles without which the performance would have been considerably less rich.

Mention must be made of Seb (G) who drew perhaps the biggest laughs of the night as the evil dentist, Orin Scrivello. Free of inhibition, Seb embodied the definition of ‘going for it’ and the audience couldn’t get enough.

The biggest applause however was rightly reserved for George (G) when he was finally revealed as the voice of Audrey 2. For so many people to think that we were using a recording and be stunned when George appeared was testament to the great job he did. Equally, Charlotte (LI), Jackson (A), Ginny (M) and Nell (J) deserve credit as they puppeted various versions of the plant bringing Audrey 2 to life and without them the ‘magic’ wouldn’t have been so real.

Many thanks also to David Quinn, Musical Director, and the talented musicians who accompanied the performance from their lofty perch upstairs in the Skene. Little Shop of Horrors was a magical way to end the 2023/24 Season … but remember, whatever you do, don’t feed the plants…