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Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Encyclopedia
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical
, by composer Alan Menken
and writer Howard Ashman
, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy
film The Little Shop of Horrors
, directed by Roger Corman
. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll
, doo-wop
and early Motown
, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".
In addition to the original long-running 1982 off-Broadway
production and subsequent Broadway
production, the musical has been performed all over the world. Because of its small cast and relatively simple orchestrations, it has become popular with community theatre
, school and other amateur groups. The musical was also made into a 1986 film of the same name, directed by Frank Oz
.
. Audrey is a pretty blonde with a fashion sense that leans towards the tacky. They lament their stations in life and seek a life away from the urban blight ("Skid Row (Downtown)"). They are co-workers at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, a run-down flower shop owned and operated by the cranky Mr. Mushnik. Seymour has recently obtained a mysterious plant that looks like a large venus fly trap. While he was browsing the wholesale flower district, a sudden eclipse of the sun occurred, and when the light returned, the weird plant had appeared ("Da-Doo"). Seymour is secretly in love with Audrey and names the plant Audrey II in her honor.
The little plant does not thrive in its new environment and appears to be dying. Seymour questions why it should be doing poorly, since he takes such good care of it. He accidentally pricks his finger on a rose's thorn, which draws blood, and Audrey II's pod opens thirstily. Seymour realizes that Audrey II requires blood to survive and allows the plant to suckle from his finger ("Grow For Me"). As Audrey II grows, it becomes an attraction and begins generating brisk business for Mushnik. As the caretaker of the plant, Seymour has suddenly gone from loser to hero ("Ya Never Know"). Audrey's boyfriend beats her, and she reveals that she secretly has feelings for the timid Seymour. Her dream is to have the ideal suburban life with Seymour, complete with a tract home, frozen dinners and plastic on the furniture ("Somewhere That's Green").
Meanwhile, the employees at Mushnik's are sprucing up the flower shop, due to the popularity of the now large Audrey II, and the revenue it is bringing in ("Closed for Renovation"). Orin Scrivello, a sadistic
dentist
, is Audrey's abusive boyfriend. Modeled after the "Leader of the pack
" characters of the 1950s, Orin drives a motorcycle, wears leather, and enjoys bringing other people pain ("Dentist!"). Orin encourages Seymour to take the plant and get out of Skid Row. Realizing that his sudden profitability is completely dependent on the plant (and therefore Seymour), Mushnik takes advantage of Seymour's innocence by offering to adopt him and make him a full partner in the business ("Mushnik and Son"). Having always wanted a family, Seymour accepts, even though Mushnik has always yelled at him and treated him poorly.
Meanwhile, Seymour is having difficulty providing enough blood to keep Audrey II healthy. When Seymour stops feeding the plant, Audrey II reveals that it can speak (in a demanding voice) and says that, if fed, it will make sure that all of Seymour's dreams come true ("Feed Me (Git It)"). Seymour initially refuses, but he then witnesses Orin abusing Audrey. The plant presents this as a justification for killing Orin. Not realizing he is being manipulated again, Seymour gives in to his baser instincts and agrees. He sets up a late-night appointment with Orin, intending to kill him. However, Seymour loses his nerve and decides not to commit the crime. Unfortunately for Orin, who has been gassing himself with nitrous oxide
, the gas device is stuck in the 'on' position, and he overdoses while asking Seymour to help save him. Seymour, unable to shoot Orin, lets him asphyxiate ("Now (It's Just The Gas)"). Seymour feeds Orin's body to the now huge Audrey II, and the plant consumes it with ravenous glee ("Act I Finale").
Before they can go, Mushnik confronts Seymour to accuse him of causing Orin's death, saying that the police are investigating, although they don't have much evidence yet; Mushnik has put two and two together: the bloody dentist's uniform, the drops of blood on the floor, and he has seen Seymour and Audrey kissing. Seymour denies it, but Mushnik wants him to give a statement to the police. Audrey II tells Seymour that he has to be rid of Mushnik or he will lose everything including Audrey ("Suppertime"). Seymour tells Mushnik that he put the days' receipts inside Audrey II for safekeeping. Mushnik climbs inside the plant's gaping maw to search for the money, realizing the deception too late, and screams as he is chomped on, slurped and swallowed. Seymour now runs the flower shop and is approached by reporters, salesman, lawyers, and agents promising fame and fortune. Although tempted by the trappings of his success, Seymour realizes that it is only a matter of time before Audrey II will kill again and that he is morally responsible. He considers destroying the plant but, believing that his fame is the only thing that is earning him Audrey's love, he is unable to do so ("The Meek Shall Inherit").
As Seymour works on his speech for a lecture tour, Audrey II again squalls for blood. Seymour threatens to kill it just as Audrey walks in asking when Mushnik will return from visiting his "sick sister". Seymour learns that Audrey would still love him without the fame and decides that Audrey II must die after the scheduled LIFE magazine interview at the shop. Audrey is confused and frightened by Seymour's ramblings, but she runs home by his order. That night, unable to sleep and distressed by Seymour's strange behavior, Audrey goes to the flower shop to talk with him. He is not there, and the plant locks the door and begs her to water him. Not sensing the mortal danger, she approaches to water it, and a vine wraps around her and pulls her into the plant's gaping jaws ("Sominex
/Suppertime II"). Seymour walks in, realizes what is happening, and rushes at the plant in an attempt to save Audrey. He pulls her out, but Audrey is mortally wounded and tells him to feed her to the plant after she dies so that they can always be together. She dies in his arms, and he reluctantly honors her request ("Somewhere That's Green" (reprise)). Seymour falls asleep as Audrey II grows small red flower buds.
The next day, Patrick Martin from the World Botanical Enterprises tells Seymour that his company wishes to take leaf cuttings of Audrey II and sell them across America. Seymour realizes what the plant's evil plan was all along; Audrey II caused the solar eclipse
and came from an unknown planet to conquer Earth. He then tries shooting, cutting and poisoning the plant, but it has grown too hardy to kill. Seymour, in desperation, runs into its open jaws with a machete
planning to kill it from the inside, but he is quickly eaten. Patrick, Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon search for Seymour. Not finding him, Patrick tells the girls to take the cuttings.
Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon relate that, following these events, other plants appeared across America, tricking innocent people into feeding them blood in exchange for fame and fortune. Out of the fog, Audrey II, bigger than ever, appears with opened new flowers revealing the faces of Seymour, Audrey, Mushnik and Orin, who beg that, no matter how persuasive the plants may be, they must not be fed ("Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants)"). Audrey II slithers towards the audience and threatens them. (In the original off-Broadway production, plant tendrils fell all over the audience, as if each audience member were being pulled into the plant. In the Broadway production, a monstrously huge Audrey II was projected out over the fifth row and the balcony seats, as if it would eat the audience members.)
at the Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982. This original production, directed by Ashman, with musical staging by Edie Cowan, was critically acclaimed and won several awards including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award
. Howard Ashman wrote, in the introduction to the acting edition of the libretto, that the show "satirizes many things: science fiction, 'B' movies
, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend".
When it closed on November 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances, it was the third-longest running musical and the highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history. Though a Broadway transfer had been proposed for the production, book writer Howard Ashman felt the show belonged where it was. The production ran for 5 years. Since it was not produced on Broadway, the original production was ineligible for the 1982 Tony Awards. The producers were the WPA Theatre, David Geffen
, Cameron Mackintosh
and the Shubert Organization. The Audrey II puppets were designed and operated by Martin P. Robinson
.
An original cast recording, released in 1982, omits the songs "Call Back in the Morning", and "Somewhere That's Green" (reprise), and only had abridged versions of "Now (It's Just the Gas)," "Mushnik and Son," and "The Meek Shall Inherit." It also shifts the location of the song "Closed for Renovation," appearing in the show after "Somewhere That's Green" while appearing on the cast album after "Now (It's Just the Gas)" to serve as an upbeat bridge from Orin's death to the Act II love ballad, "Suddenly, Seymour". This recording features Leilani Jones
, who replaced Marlene Danielle as Chiffon two weeks after the musical opened.
production opened on January 1, 1983 at the Comedy Theatre, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. It ran for 813 performances, starring Barry James as Seymour and Ellen Greene (reprising her role) as Audrey. It received the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical and closed on October 5, 1985.
Act II
and an avocado. It has a huge, nasty-looking pod that gains a shark-like aspect when open and snapping at food. The creature is played by a series of four increasing[ly] large puppets".
The first puppet is a small potted plant "less than one foot tall" held by the actor portraying Seymour. He manipulates the plant himself with his hand and then sets it down, where it is moved by an unseen hand from beneath a shelf. The second puppet is larger than the first and is operated by Seymour during the song "You Never Know". A fake arm in a sleeve matching Seymour's jacket is attached to the plant's pot, while the actor's real arm operates the plant. The third puppet sits on the floor and is large enough to hide a person inside, who moves the plant's mouth in sync with Audrey II's voice, which is supplied by an offstage actor on a microphone. The puppeteer's legs are clad in green tights with "leaf" shoes" that serve as the plant's tendrils. In Act II, the largest puppet again hides an actor inside, who manipulates the puppet's mouth and often some of its branches. By this point, the head is at least eight feet in diameter and capable of "swallowing" the three main characters. For the finale, additions can be made to make the plant appear even bigger. Extra stage hands are often used to move larger branches and roots, which, in the original off-Broadway production, spilled off the stage and into the audience. In some productions, dangling vines over the house enhance the effect of Audrey II menacing the audience.
Amateur productions of Little Shop of Horrors receive designs for building the puppets from MTI
, as part of the rental scripts and scores, based on the original Martin P. Robinson designs. Some companies who have produced the show in the past and built their own puppets rent them out to other companies to recoup some of their construction costs.
tone of the 1960 film, although it changes much of the story. The setting is moved from Skid Row
in Los Angeles
to Skid Row in New York. Seymour's hypochondriacal Jewish mother
is omitted, and Seymour becomes an orphan in the care of Mushnik. Also dropped is the subplot involving the two investigating cops. The characters of Mrs. Siddie Shiva and Burson Fouch are also omitted, although Mrs. Shiva is mentioned as being the shop's biggest funeral account. The character of the gleefully masochistic dental patient (played by Jack Nicholson
) is deleted from the stage musical but restored in the 1986 film version (played there by Bill Murray
).
In the musical, the character of the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, is killed by suffocation from laughing gas
instead of being stabbed with a dental instrument. His abusive relationship with Audrey is added to the musical to give Seymour a motive to kill him. In the film, Seymour murders several innocent bystanders, and Mr. Mushnik tricks a thief, who comes to rob the shop, into looking for money inside the plant, where he is eaten. In the musical, Seymour tricks Mr. Mushnik into doing the same when Mushnik plans to turn Seymour over to the police. The musical transforms two neighborhood girls into a chorus of three street urchins: Crystal
, Chiffon
and Ronette
, named after (and reminiscent of) girl group
s of the 1960s. The evil plant is named "Audrey II" rather than the film's "Audrey Junior", and instead of being a crossbreed of a butterwort and a Venus Flytrap
, it is now a creature from outer space
intent on taking over the world.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the ending. The musical ends with Orin, Mushnik, Audrey and Seymour all eaten by the plant, and the three girls report that Audrey II's progeny continues to consume people. In the 1960 film, Mushnik and Audrey survive, and the plant's carnivorous activities are discovered when its flowers bloom with the faces of its victims, including Seymour, imprinted on them. The musical references this ending in its finale, in which the Plant's four victims' faces are seen in its blooming flowers.
and noted as the only film written by Howard Ashman
, it starred Rick Moranis
as Seymour, Ellen Greene
as Audrey, Vincent Gardenia
as Mr. Mushnik, Steve Martin
as Orin Scrivello, DDS, and the voice of Levi Stubbs
as Audrey II. Bill Murray
played the small comic role of the masochist, Arthur Denton. The 1986 film follows the plot of the musical closely but omits the songs "Ya Never Know," "Mushnik and Son", "Now (It's Just the Gas)", "Sudden Changes," "Closed for Renovation" and "Call Back in the Morning"; the final cut
ending also omits "Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed The Plants)". Other changes include the removal of Mr. Mushnik's adoption proposition and a new ending, in which Seymour is able to save Audrey from Audrey II and then electrocutes the plant after it has destroyed the shop. Seymour and Audrey marry and move to the tract home of her dreams, but a small Audrey II-type bud is seen in their garden, which portends a possible spread of the alien plants. An ending more faithful to the stage version was filmed, in which the plant eats Audrey and Seymour and then, having grown to massive size and reproduced, goes on a King Kong
-style rampage through New York City. It was received poorly by test audiences, and the upbeat alternate ending was used for the theatrical cut. A new song for Audrey II, "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In 2003, an $8 million revival of Little Shop of Horrors was planned with the goal of opening on Broadway
on August 14. A $1 million pre-Broadway production debuted at the Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida
on May 16, 2003. The revival featured several people involved in the original 1982 production. Lee Wilkoff, who originated the role of Seymour in 1982, was cast as Mr. Mushnik. The production was directed by Wilkoff's wife, Connie Grappo, who was the assistant to Howard Ashman
during the original production. Martin P. Robinson
, who designed the original Audrey II puppets and was a muppeteer for Sesame Street
, enlisted his friends at The Jim Henson Company
to create new, high tech
puppets especially for the show. Hunter Foster
and Alice Ripley joined the cast as Seymour and Audrey, respectively, and the prologue was recited by Robert Stack
.
This version of Little Shop of Horrors received mixed reviews, with some critics complaining that by expanding it to fit a larger theatre, the intimacy of the show was lost. Other critics were harsher, calling the show "flat" and "uninspired", judging several actors as miscast, although the Miami Herald declared that "Alice Ripley's Audrey – part lisping Kewpie doll
(a la Ellen Greene, who originated the role), part dental punching bag – is heartbreakingly adorable."
In June 2003, the producers announced that the Broadway production was being canceled because "In spite of the great number of talented people involved, the elements of this production did not come together in the way we would have liked." Nevertheless, the production was not quite dead. Producers ousted Grappo in favor of veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks
and fired everyone in the cast except Foster. New casting began on June 3, with plans for September previews.
The musical finally made its Broadway debut at the Virginia Theatre on October 2, 2003 with a cast including Foster as Seymour, Kerry Butler
as Audrey, Rob Bartlett
as Mr. Mushnik, Douglas Sills
as Orin, Michael-Leon Wooley
as the voice of Audrey II and DeQuina Moore
as Chiffon. Although this was the first time it had played on Broadway, the show's success in film and numerous regional productions made it fall under the "Revival" category for the 2003 Tony Awards. Foster was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.
The revival was fairly faithful to the original 1982 production, although there were some changes. It used the expanded version of the title song heard in the 1986 film, expanded the song "You Never Know" with a "WSKID" radio introduction while also revising the Act I Finale and adding an Entr'acte before "Call Back in the Morning." The orchestrations were also beefed up for the bigger theatre to include reeds, trumpets and percussion, whereas the original production used a 5-piece combo. In the finale, a gigantic Audrey II extended over the audience to snap its hungry jaws at them.
The cast album
of the production was recorded by the original Broadway cast on September 15, 2003 and was released on October 21. Four songs were deleted during the show's development process: "A Little Dental Music", "The Worse He Treats Me", "We'll Have Tomorrow", and "I Found A Hobby", although they were included as bonus material for the album.
The production closed on August 22, 2004 after 40 previews and 372 regular performances. The closing Broadway cast included Joey Fatone
as Seymour and Jessica-Snow Wilson as Audrey.
starring as Seymour. Audrey was played by Tari Kelly, Lenny Wolpe
filled the part of Mushnik, and James Moye played Orin. The tour closed April 16, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio
.
A production began previews on November 17, 2006 at the Menier Chocolate Factory
. This revival, directed by Matthew White, featured an all-new Audrey II designed by David Farley, likely based on the pitcher plant
. The production was a critical and commercial success and transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre
in London's West End
in March 2007. At the end of June 2007, the show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre in the 's West End, and it ended its run on September 8, 2007. The London cast featured Paul Keating
as Seymour, Sheridan Smith
as Audrey, Alistair McGowan
as Orin, and Mike McShane
providing the voice of Audrey II. Smith and McGowan received 2008 Laurence Olivier Award nominations for their performances, and the production was nominated for Best Musical Revival. The production began touring the UK in 2008.
A new production opens on November 9, 2011 at The Broadway Studio Theatre
, Catford.
, ran for one season on Fox Kids
in 1991. Seymour and Audrey were depicted as teenagers, and the plant, "Audrey Junior", was not man-eating or evil, but had a huge appetite for meat and retained its catchphrase, "Feed me!" Each episode also featured two stylish music video sequences, many of which were raps by the plant. IMDB credits Frank Oz
with the inspiration for turning the movie/musical into a cartoon.
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
, by composer Alan Menken
Alan Menken
Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
and writer Howard Ashman
Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
film The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
, directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
and early Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".
In addition to the original long-running 1982 off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production and subsequent Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, the musical has been performed all over the world. Because of its small cast and relatively simple orchestrations, it has become popular with community theatre
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
, school and other amateur groups. The musical was also made into a 1986 film of the same name, directed by Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
.
Act I
A voice "not unlike God's" recalls a time when the human race "suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence". A trio of 1960s street urchins named Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon set the scene ("Little Shop of Horrors") and comment on the action throughout the show. Seymour Krelborn is a poor young man, an orphan living in an urban skid rowSkid row
A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...
. Audrey is a pretty blonde with a fashion sense that leans towards the tacky. They lament their stations in life and seek a life away from the urban blight ("Skid Row (Downtown)"). They are co-workers at Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, a run-down flower shop owned and operated by the cranky Mr. Mushnik. Seymour has recently obtained a mysterious plant that looks like a large venus fly trap. While he was browsing the wholesale flower district, a sudden eclipse of the sun occurred, and when the light returned, the weird plant had appeared ("Da-Doo"). Seymour is secretly in love with Audrey and names the plant Audrey II in her honor.
The little plant does not thrive in its new environment and appears to be dying. Seymour questions why it should be doing poorly, since he takes such good care of it. He accidentally pricks his finger on a rose's thorn, which draws blood, and Audrey II's pod opens thirstily. Seymour realizes that Audrey II requires blood to survive and allows the plant to suckle from his finger ("Grow For Me"). As Audrey II grows, it becomes an attraction and begins generating brisk business for Mushnik. As the caretaker of the plant, Seymour has suddenly gone from loser to hero ("Ya Never Know"). Audrey's boyfriend beats her, and she reveals that she secretly has feelings for the timid Seymour. Her dream is to have the ideal suburban life with Seymour, complete with a tract home, frozen dinners and plastic on the furniture ("Somewhere That's Green").
Meanwhile, the employees at Mushnik's are sprucing up the flower shop, due to the popularity of the now large Audrey II, and the revenue it is bringing in ("Closed for Renovation"). Orin Scrivello, a sadistic
Sadistic personality disorder
Sadistic personality disorder is a diagnosis which appeared only in an appendix of the revised third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The current version of the DSM does not include it, so it is no longer considered a valid...
dentist
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, is Audrey's abusive boyfriend. Modeled after the "Leader of the pack
Leader of the Pack
"Leader of the Pack" is a 1964 pop song recorded by girl group The Shangri-Las. It became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964.-Original Shangri-Las recording:...
" characters of the 1950s, Orin drives a motorcycle, wears leather, and enjoys bringing other people pain ("Dentist!"). Orin encourages Seymour to take the plant and get out of Skid Row. Realizing that his sudden profitability is completely dependent on the plant (and therefore Seymour), Mushnik takes advantage of Seymour's innocence by offering to adopt him and make him a full partner in the business ("Mushnik and Son"). Having always wanted a family, Seymour accepts, even though Mushnik has always yelled at him and treated him poorly.
Meanwhile, Seymour is having difficulty providing enough blood to keep Audrey II healthy. When Seymour stops feeding the plant, Audrey II reveals that it can speak (in a demanding voice) and says that, if fed, it will make sure that all of Seymour's dreams come true ("Feed Me (Git It)"). Seymour initially refuses, but he then witnesses Orin abusing Audrey. The plant presents this as a justification for killing Orin. Not realizing he is being manipulated again, Seymour gives in to his baser instincts and agrees. He sets up a late-night appointment with Orin, intending to kill him. However, Seymour loses his nerve and decides not to commit the crime. Unfortunately for Orin, who has been gassing himself with nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
, the gas device is stuck in the 'on' position, and he overdoses while asking Seymour to help save him. Seymour, unable to shoot Orin, lets him asphyxiate ("Now (It's Just The Gas)"). Seymour feeds Orin's body to the now huge Audrey II, and the plant consumes it with ravenous glee ("Act I Finale").
Act II
The flower shop is busier than ever, and Seymour and Audrey are having trouble keeping up with the onslaught of new business ("Call Back in the Morning"). Audrey eventually confides to Seymour that she feels guilty about Orin's disappearance, because she secretly wished it. The two admit their feelings for one another, and Seymour promises that he will protect and care for Audrey from now on ("Suddenly, Seymour"). The two plan to leave together and start a new life, although Seymour mistakenly attributes Audrey's feelings to his newfound fame, not realizing that she loved him even before, when he was just a shophand.Before they can go, Mushnik confronts Seymour to accuse him of causing Orin's death, saying that the police are investigating, although they don't have much evidence yet; Mushnik has put two and two together: the bloody dentist's uniform, the drops of blood on the floor, and he has seen Seymour and Audrey kissing. Seymour denies it, but Mushnik wants him to give a statement to the police. Audrey II tells Seymour that he has to be rid of Mushnik or he will lose everything including Audrey ("Suppertime"). Seymour tells Mushnik that he put the days' receipts inside Audrey II for safekeeping. Mushnik climbs inside the plant's gaping maw to search for the money, realizing the deception too late, and screams as he is chomped on, slurped and swallowed. Seymour now runs the flower shop and is approached by reporters, salesman, lawyers, and agents promising fame and fortune. Although tempted by the trappings of his success, Seymour realizes that it is only a matter of time before Audrey II will kill again and that he is morally responsible. He considers destroying the plant but, believing that his fame is the only thing that is earning him Audrey's love, he is unable to do so ("The Meek Shall Inherit").
As Seymour works on his speech for a lecture tour, Audrey II again squalls for blood. Seymour threatens to kill it just as Audrey walks in asking when Mushnik will return from visiting his "sick sister". Seymour learns that Audrey would still love him without the fame and decides that Audrey II must die after the scheduled LIFE magazine interview at the shop. Audrey is confused and frightened by Seymour's ramblings, but she runs home by his order. That night, unable to sleep and distressed by Seymour's strange behavior, Audrey goes to the flower shop to talk with him. He is not there, and the plant locks the door and begs her to water him. Not sensing the mortal danger, she approaches to water it, and a vine wraps around her and pulls her into the plant's gaping jaws ("Sominex
Sominex
Sominex is a trademarked name for two over the counter sleep aids. In the United States diphenhydramine is marketed under this name by GlaxoSmithKline. In the UK Actavis UK markets Promethazine hydrochloride under the Sominex brand....
/Suppertime II"). Seymour walks in, realizes what is happening, and rushes at the plant in an attempt to save Audrey. He pulls her out, but Audrey is mortally wounded and tells him to feed her to the plant after she dies so that they can always be together. She dies in his arms, and he reluctantly honors her request ("Somewhere That's Green" (reprise)). Seymour falls asleep as Audrey II grows small red flower buds.
The next day, Patrick Martin from the World Botanical Enterprises tells Seymour that his company wishes to take leaf cuttings of Audrey II and sell them across America. Seymour realizes what the plant's evil plan was all along; Audrey II caused the solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
and came from an unknown planet to conquer Earth. He then tries shooting, cutting and poisoning the plant, but it has grown too hardy to kill. Seymour, in desperation, runs into its open jaws with a machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
planning to kill it from the inside, but he is quickly eaten. Patrick, Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon search for Seymour. Not finding him, Patrick tells the girls to take the cuttings.
Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon relate that, following these events, other plants appeared across America, tricking innocent people into feeding them blood in exchange for fame and fortune. Out of the fog, Audrey II, bigger than ever, appears with opened new flowers revealing the faces of Seymour, Audrey, Mushnik and Orin, who beg that, no matter how persuasive the plants may be, they must not be fed ("Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants)"). Audrey II slithers towards the audience and threatens them. (In the original off-Broadway production, plant tendrils fell all over the audience, as if each audience member were being pulled into the plant. In the Broadway production, a monstrously huge Audrey II was projected out over the fifth row and the balcony seats, as if it would eat the audience members.)
Original production
The musical had its world premiere on May 6, 1982 at the Workshop of the Players' Art (WPA) Theatre. It opened off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982. This original production, directed by Ashman, with musical staging by Edie Cowan, was critically acclaimed and won several awards including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
. Howard Ashman wrote, in the introduction to the acting edition of the libretto, that the show "satirizes many things: science fiction, 'B' movies
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend".
When it closed on November 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances, it was the third-longest running musical and the highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history. Though a Broadway transfer had been proposed for the production, book writer Howard Ashman felt the show belonged where it was. The production ran for 5 years. Since it was not produced on Broadway, the original production was ineligible for the 1982 Tony Awards. The producers were the WPA Theatre, David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
, Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
and the Shubert Organization. The Audrey II puppets were designed and operated by Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson is a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company. He originally built, designed, and performed the puppets for Little Shop of Horrors. He is perhaps best known for his work on Sesame Street. He has performed the characters of Telly Monster, Slimey the Worm, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Tony...
.
An original cast recording, released in 1982, omits the songs "Call Back in the Morning", and "Somewhere That's Green" (reprise), and only had abridged versions of "Now (It's Just the Gas)," "Mushnik and Son," and "The Meek Shall Inherit." It also shifts the location of the song "Closed for Renovation," appearing in the show after "Somewhere That's Green" while appearing on the cast album after "Now (It's Just the Gas)" to serve as an upbeat bridge from Orin's death to the Act II love ballad, "Suddenly, Seymour". This recording features Leilani Jones
Leilani Jones (actress)
Leilani Jones is an American actress who first came to the world's attention in the original production of Little Shop of Horrors.-Biography:...
, who replaced Marlene Danielle as Chiffon two weeks after the musical opened.
Original Off-Broadway cast
- Seymour Krelborn — Lee WilkofLee WilkofLee Wilkof is an American actor and veteran of the Broadway stage. He originated the roles of Sam Byck in Assassins and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, later earning a Tony Award nomination for the 2000 revival of Kiss Me, Kate...
- Audrey — Ellen GreeneEllen GreeneEllen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
- Mr. Mushnik — Hy AnzellHy AnzellHy Anzell was a Yiddish-speaking American television and movie actor, who first played plant store owner "Mr. Mushnik" in the original off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors with Ellen Greene. He was also in the original 1976 Broadway cast of Checking Out.-External links:...
- Chiffon — Marlene Danielle (replaced after two weeks by Leilani JonesLeilani Jones (actress)Leilani Jones is an American actress who first came to the world's attention in the original production of Little Shop of Horrors.-Biography:...
) - Crystal — Jennifer Leigh Warren
- Ronette — Sheila Kay Davis
- Audrey II (voice) — Ron TaylorRon Taylor (actor)Ronald James Taylor was an American actor, singer and writer. He grew up in Galveston, Texas and later moved to New York to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, he began working in musical theater, appearing in The Wiz , before getting his break with the 1982...
- Audrey II (manipulation) / Wino #1 — Martin P. RobinsonMartin P. RobinsonMartin P. Robinson is a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company. He originally built, designed, and performed the puppets for Little Shop of Horrors. He is perhaps best known for his work on Sesame Street. He has performed the characters of Telly Monster, Slimey the Worm, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Tony...
- Orin Scrivello, Narrator, Wino #2, Customer, Radio Announcer, Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, Skip Snip, and Patrick Martin — Franc LuzFranc LuzFranc Luz is an American actor of stage, film and television, seen in popular leading dramatic film roles in the 1980s and 1990s. These credits were supplemented with TV guest appearances and several regular roles in TV series...
1983 West End
A London West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production opened on January 1, 1983 at the Comedy Theatre, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. It ran for 813 performances, starring Barry James as Seymour and Ellen Greene (reprising her role) as Audrey. It received the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical and closed on October 5, 1985.
Musical numbers
Act I- Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors) — Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette
- Skid Row (Downtown) — Company
- Da-Doo — Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette
- Grow for Me — Seymour
- Ya Never Know — Mushnik, Chiffon, Crystal, Ronette and Seymour
- Somewhere That's Green — Audrey
- Closed for Renovations — Seymour, Audrey and Mushnik
- Dentist! — Orin, Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette
- Mushnik and Son — Mushnik and Seymour
- Sudden Changes — Seymour
- Feed Me (Git It) — Audrey II and Seymour
- Now (It's Just the Gas) — Orin and Seymour
- Coda — Chiffon, Crystal, Ronette and Audrey II
Act II
- Call Back in the Morning — Seymour and Audrey
- Suddenly, Seymour — Seymour, Audrey, Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette
- Suppertime — Audrey II
- The Meek Shall Inherit — Company
- Sominex/Suppertime (reprise) — Audrey and Audrey II
- Somewhere That's Green (reprise) — Audrey
- Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants) — Company
Audrey II puppets
The character of Audrey II is described as being "An anthropomorphic cross between a Venus flytrapVenus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap , Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces...
and an avocado. It has a huge, nasty-looking pod that gains a shark-like aspect when open and snapping at food. The creature is played by a series of four increasing[ly] large puppets".
The first puppet is a small potted plant "less than one foot tall" held by the actor portraying Seymour. He manipulates the plant himself with his hand and then sets it down, where it is moved by an unseen hand from beneath a shelf. The second puppet is larger than the first and is operated by Seymour during the song "You Never Know". A fake arm in a sleeve matching Seymour's jacket is attached to the plant's pot, while the actor's real arm operates the plant. The third puppet sits on the floor and is large enough to hide a person inside, who moves the plant's mouth in sync with Audrey II's voice, which is supplied by an offstage actor on a microphone. The puppeteer's legs are clad in green tights with "leaf" shoes" that serve as the plant's tendrils. In Act II, the largest puppet again hides an actor inside, who manipulates the puppet's mouth and often some of its branches. By this point, the head is at least eight feet in diameter and capable of "swallowing" the three main characters. For the finale, additions can be made to make the plant appear even bigger. Extra stage hands are often used to move larger branches and roots, which, in the original off-Broadway production, spilled off the stage and into the audience. In some productions, dangling vines over the house enhance the effect of Audrey II menacing the audience.
Amateur productions of Little Shop of Horrors receive designs for building the puppets from MTI
Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International, often abbreviated MTI, is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City. The League of American Theatres and Producers calls MTI "A leader in the theatrical licensing industry."-Description:...
, as part of the rental scripts and scores, based on the original Martin P. Robinson designs. Some companies who have produced the show in the past and built their own puppets rent them out to other companies to recoup some of their construction costs.
Differences between the 1960 film and stage musical
The musical is based on the basic concept and dark comicBlack comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
tone of the 1960 film, although it changes much of the story. The setting is moved from Skid Row
Skid row
A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to Skid Row in New York. Seymour's hypochondriacal Jewish mother
Jewish mother stereotype
The Jewish mother or wife stereotype is a common stereotype and stock character used by Jewish comedians and authors whenever they discuss actual or fictional situations involving their mothers or other females in their lives who possess mother-like qualities...
is omitted, and Seymour becomes an orphan in the care of Mushnik. Also dropped is the subplot involving the two investigating cops. The characters of Mrs. Siddie Shiva and Burson Fouch are also omitted, although Mrs. Shiva is mentioned as being the shop's biggest funeral account. The character of the gleefully masochistic dental patient (played by Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
) is deleted from the stage musical but restored in the 1986 film version (played there by Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
).
In the musical, the character of the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, is killed by suffocation from laughing gas
Laughing gas
Laughing gas is a common name of Nitrous oxide, particularly when used as an anestheticLaughing gas may also refer to:* Laughing Gas , a 1936 comic novel by P. G...
instead of being stabbed with a dental instrument. His abusive relationship with Audrey is added to the musical to give Seymour a motive to kill him. In the film, Seymour murders several innocent bystanders, and Mr. Mushnik tricks a thief, who comes to rob the shop, into looking for money inside the plant, where he is eaten. In the musical, Seymour tricks Mr. Mushnik into doing the same when Mushnik plans to turn Seymour over to the police. The musical transforms two neighborhood girls into a chorus of three street urchins: Crystal
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, Chiffon
The Chiffons
The Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960.-Biography:The Chiffons were one of the top girl groups of the early 1960s...
and Ronette
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
, named after (and reminiscent of) girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
s of the 1960s. The evil plant is named "Audrey II" rather than the film's "Audrey Junior", and instead of being a crossbreed of a butterwort and a Venus Flytrap
Venus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap , Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces...
, it is now a creature from outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
intent on taking over the world.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the ending. The musical ends with Orin, Mushnik, Audrey and Seymour all eaten by the plant, and the three girls report that Audrey II's progeny continues to consume people. In the 1960 film, Mushnik and Audrey survive, and the plant's carnivorous activities are discovered when its flowers bloom with the faces of its victims, including Seymour, imprinted on them. The musical references this ending in its finale, in which the Plant's four victims' faces are seen in its blooming flowers.
1986 film adaptation
A film version of the musical was made in 1986. Directed by Frank OzFrank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
and noted as the only film written by Howard Ashman
Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
, it starred Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
as Seymour, Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene
Ellen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
as Audrey, Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia was an Italian American stage, film, and television actor.-Early life:...
as Mr. Mushnik, Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Orin Scrivello, DDS, and the voice of Levi Stubbs
Levi Stubbs
Levi Stubbles , better known by the stage name Levi Stubbs, was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Motown R&B group Four Tops...
as Audrey II. Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
played the small comic role of the masochist, Arthur Denton. The 1986 film follows the plot of the musical closely but omits the songs "Ya Never Know," "Mushnik and Son", "Now (It's Just the Gas)", "Sudden Changes," "Closed for Renovation" and "Call Back in the Morning"; the final cut
Final cut
Final cut may refer to:* The Final Cut , a 1983 album by Pink Floyd** "The Final Cut" , a song included on the above Pink Floyd album* The Final Cut , an industrial music group...
ending also omits "Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed The Plants)". Other changes include the removal of Mr. Mushnik's adoption proposition and a new ending, in which Seymour is able to save Audrey from Audrey II and then electrocutes the plant after it has destroyed the shop. Seymour and Audrey marry and move to the tract home of her dreams, but a small Audrey II-type bud is seen in their garden, which portends a possible spread of the alien plants. An ending more faithful to the stage version was filmed, in which the plant eats Audrey and Seymour and then, having grown to massive size and reproduced, goes on a King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
-style rampage through New York City. It was received poorly by test audiences, and the upbeat alternate ending was used for the theatrical cut. A new song for Audrey II, "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
2003 tryout and Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on August 14. A $1 million pre-Broadway production debuted at the Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
on May 16, 2003. The revival featured several people involved in the original 1982 production. Lee Wilkoff, who originated the role of Seymour in 1982, was cast as Mr. Mushnik. The production was directed by Wilkoff's wife, Connie Grappo, who was the assistant to Howard Ashman
Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
during the original production. Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson
Martin P. Robinson is a puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company. He originally built, designed, and performed the puppets for Little Shop of Horrors. He is perhaps best known for his work on Sesame Street. He has performed the characters of Telly Monster, Slimey the Worm, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Tony...
, who designed the original Audrey II puppets and was a muppeteer for Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, enlisted his friends at The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
to create new, high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
puppets especially for the show. Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor/singer, librettist and playwright.-Early life:Foster was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, but raised in Augusta, Georgia and Troy, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Michigan in 1992...
and Alice Ripley joined the cast as Seymour and Audrey, respectively, and the prologue was recited by Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
.
This version of Little Shop of Horrors received mixed reviews, with some critics complaining that by expanding it to fit a larger theatre, the intimacy of the show was lost. Other critics were harsher, calling the show "flat" and "uninspired", judging several actors as miscast, although the Miami Herald declared that "Alice Ripley's Audrey – part lisping Kewpie doll
Kewpie doll (toy)
Kewpie dolls and figurines are based on comical strip-like illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first produced in Ohrdruf, a small town in Germany, then famous for its toy-manufacturers....
(a la Ellen Greene, who originated the role), part dental punching bag – is heartbreakingly adorable."
In June 2003, the producers announced that the Broadway production was being canceled because "In spite of the great number of talented people involved, the elements of this production did not come together in the way we would have liked." Nevertheless, the production was not quite dead. Producers ousted Grappo in favor of veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
and fired everyone in the cast except Foster. New casting began on June 3, with plans for September previews.
The musical finally made its Broadway debut at the Virginia Theatre on October 2, 2003 with a cast including Foster as Seymour, Kerry Butler
Kerry Butler
Kerry Marie Butler is an American actress known primarily for her work in theatre.-Early life and career:...
as Audrey, Rob Bartlett
Rob Bartlett
Robert Bartlett is a comedian, actor and writer who gained widespread fame as a comedian on the radio and television show Imus in the Morning. His most famous characters include: The Godfather, Dr...
as Mr. Mushnik, Douglas Sills
Douglas Sills
-Life and career:Born in Detroit, Michigan, he grew up in the suburb of Franklin, where he was friends with both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Sills attended Cranbrook School, from which he graduated in 1978, and the University of Michigan where he majored in music...
as Orin, Michael-Leon Wooley
Michael-Leon Wooley
Michael-Leon Wooley is an American television, film and theatre actor and singer. Wooley lends his voice to Louis the Alligator in Disney's Oscar nominated animated feature film, The Princess and the Frog. Wooley has also done a small role in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV.- Early life :Wooley was...
as the voice of Audrey II and DeQuina Moore
DeQuina Moore
DeQuina Moore is an American actress who is probably most notably known for her role as Pilar in Legally Blonde: The Musical.-Filmography:*Rachel Getting Married as Rachels Stylist *Ghost Town as Young Wife...
as Chiffon. Although this was the first time it had played on Broadway, the show's success in film and numerous regional productions made it fall under the "Revival" category for the 2003 Tony Awards. Foster was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.
The revival was fairly faithful to the original 1982 production, although there were some changes. It used the expanded version of the title song heard in the 1986 film, expanded the song "You Never Know" with a "WSKID" radio introduction while also revising the Act I Finale and adding an Entr'acte before "Call Back in the Morning." The orchestrations were also beefed up for the bigger theatre to include reeds, trumpets and percussion, whereas the original production used a 5-piece combo. In the finale, a gigantic Audrey II extended over the audience to snap its hungry jaws at them.
The cast album
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
of the production was recorded by the original Broadway cast on September 15, 2003 and was released on October 21. Four songs were deleted during the show's development process: "A Little Dental Music", "The Worse He Treats Me", "We'll Have Tomorrow", and "I Found A Hobby", although they were included as bonus material for the album.
The production closed on August 22, 2004 after 40 previews and 372 regular performances. The closing Broadway cast included Joey Fatone
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...
as Seymour and Jessica-Snow Wilson as Audrey.
2004 U.S. national tour
On August 10, 2004, a U.S. national tour of Little Shop of Horrors began, with Anthony RappAnthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
starring as Seymour. Audrey was played by Tari Kelly, Lenny Wolpe
Lenny Wolpe
Lenny Wolpe is an American musical theatre actor who has appeared in Broadway musicals including Wicked and The Drowsy Chaperone.-Biography:...
filled the part of Mushnik, and James Moye played Orin. The tour closed April 16, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
.
2006 and 2011 London revivals
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...
. This revival, directed by Matthew White, featured an all-new Audrey II designed by David Farley, likely based on the pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
. The production was a critical and commercial success and transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in March 2007. At the end of June 2007, the show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre in the 's West End, and it ended its run on September 8, 2007. The London cast featured Paul Keating
Paul Keating (actor)
Paul Keating is a British actor from London, England, best known for his performances on the West End stage. He has been nominated twice for an Olivier Award.- Stage career :...
as Seymour, Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
as Audrey, Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...
as Orin, and Mike McShane
Mike McShane
Michael "Mike" McShane is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian who first became known through his appearances in the early 1990s on the British version of the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway?-Biography:...
providing the voice of Audrey II. Smith and McGowan received 2008 Laurence Olivier Award nominations for their performances, and the production was nominated for Best Musical Revival. The production began touring the UK in 2008.
A new production opens on November 9, 2011 at The Broadway Studio Theatre
Broadway Theatre, Catford
The Broadway Theatre, Catford is a theatre on Rushey Green, Catford in the London Borough of Lewisham. A grade II* listed building, the theatre was built in 1932 and is an outstanding example of Art Deco design...
, Catford.
1991 Animated Cartoon Series
A Saturday morning animated cartoon version, titled Little ShopLittle Shop
Little Shop is a 1991 animated television series about a teenager and a giant talking plant that eats everything in sight. Little Shop was based on the off-broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was based on the 1960 Roger Corman film The Little Shop of Horrors...
, ran for one season on Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
in 1991. Seymour and Audrey were depicted as teenagers, and the plant, "Audrey Junior", was not man-eating or evil, but had a huge appetite for meat and retained its catchphrase, "Feed me!" Each episode also featured two stylish music video sequences, many of which were raps by the plant. IMDB credits Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
with the inspiration for turning the movie/musical into a cartoon.