Nobody would ever have thought that a musical about a man-eating plant, based on a film by Roger Corman, would become one of the most beloved musicals of all time. But indeed, Little Shop of Horrors, by the late Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, has accomplished just that. There’s a new production off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in New York running into January. There is also a production at the Pasadena Playhouse that officially opens this week for a run through October 20th.
First some background: Little Shop of Horrors began its life off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in 1982 where it ran for five years. In the musical a nebbish Seymour is in love with Audrey, a blonde bombshell who is in a relationship with an abusive dentist. She doesn’t pay much attention to Seymour. A very unique plant shows up that draws a lot of attention to Mr. Mushnik’s store where they both work and to Seymour himself. It’s what they don’t know about the plant, that he names Audrey II, that complicates things.
The original production made a star of Ellen Greene, who went on to reprise the role in the 1986 film version with Rick Moranis as Seymour. A remake of that film is scheduled to begin production next year.
As for these two productions, they couldn’t be more different.
Michael Mayer directs the New York production with a cast that follows the long tradition of casting the show. Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) and Tammy Blanchard (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) play Seymour and Audrey. Christian Borle (Falsettos) plays Orin, the dentist.
The Pasadena Playhouse production appears more exciting. George Salazar, most recently seen on Broadway in Be More Chill, plays Seymour. Mj Rodriguez, best known for the series Pose, plays Audrey. Matthew Wilkas (Gayby) plays Orin. The production is directed by Mike Donahue (The Legend of Georgia McBride). It is the non-traditional casting, which includes Amber Reilly (Dreamgirls) as the voice of Audrey II, a part usually sung by a man, that makes this production really intriguing.
To read my interview with the company of Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Little Shop of Horrors go here.
For tickets to the New York production go here.
For tickets to the Pasadena Playhouse production go here.
Main photo from the Pasadena Playhouse production. Photo by Jeff Lorch/Courtesy of the Pasadena Playhouse