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Theatre Calgary's Little Shop of Horrors opened Friday at Max Bell Theatre, blending dark comedy and doo-wop. The production runs through Oct. 25.
Theatre Calgary's production of Little Shop of Horrors opened Friday night at the Max Bell Theatre in the Werklund Centre, delighting a full house with its wild, woolly, and very funny take on the cult musical. The show, directed by Tracy Flye, runs through Oct. 25.
Little Shop of Horrors Plot and Characters
The oddball horror-comedy blends the slapstick humor of a 1940s Bowery Boys movie or The Honeymooners TV show with darker themes such as murder, domestic violence, and dental surgery. The plot revolves around Mushniks, a sad sack flower shop on Skid Row where American Dreams go to die.
Mr. Mushnik (Mark Bellamy) is a familiar New York City Jewish small business owner who complains about business but is secretly a softy when it comes to his staff, namely Audrey (Kate Blackburn), who is involved in a self-destructive relationship with an abusive dentist named Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. (Gaelan Beatty).
Audrey's admiring colleague is Seymour (Tenaj Williams), a nebbishy orphan who nurtures unconventional houseplants, including an odd-looking one he names Audrey 2, which resembles a miniature domed stadium encased in green ivy like that on the outfield walls of Chicago's Wrigley Field.
A chorus of three doo-wop singers (Jessica Jones, Michelle Yu, and Ineza Mugisha) dress in retro 50s outfits and hang out on the stoops of Skid Row, channeling girl groups like the Shirelles and the Supremes as well as contemporary acts like the Womack Sisters, who have brought that sound back with a 21st century vinyl spin.
Things take a turn when Mr. Mushnik, fed up by dwindling business along Skid Row, announces to Seymour and Audrey that he is closing up for good, only to have Seymour reveal Audrey 2, the uncharacteristically carnivorous plant that produces a turnaround in the shop's fortunes.
Cast and Creative Team Shine
Under the deft direction of Tracy Flye, the entire cast plays it broad and farcical, and Friday night it landed with a joyous roar from the Calgary audience, thanks in large part to the witty lyrics by Howard Ashman (with music by Alan Menken) delivered with comic gusto by Bellamy, Williams, Beatty, Blackburn, and the doo-wop trio of Jones, Yu, and Mugisha, who ought to organize a concert tour on their own.
But what really elevates Little Shop of Horrors is Audrey 2, a marvellous creation of the Green Fools, one of Calgary's iconic puppet companies run by Dean Bareham, a former Fraggle Rock puppeteer. Audrey 2 (operated by Jamie Konchak and voiced by Michael Lamont-Lytle) is loud, needy, obnoxious, funny, and unforgettable, as it pressures Seymour into a succession of choices driven by his growing fame as an OG plant influencer, long before social media ever existed.
Williams is a winner as the nebbishy Seymour, and Blackburn is frequently hilarious as the original Audrey, a pragmatist who finds her soulmate only to run afoul of a houseplant without a conscience. Bellamy turns Mushnik into a theatrical mensch, and Beatty, as the narcissistic, nasty D.D.S. known as Orin Scrivello, plays his heel turn to such delicious perfection that you can only lick your lips with delight when Audrey 2 gets down to dinner time with the demon dentist of Skid Row.
Little Shop of Horrors Ticket Information
Little Shop of Horrors runs through Oct. 25 at the Max Bell Theatre in the Werklund Centre. The production, which blends campy humor with darker notes, has been a hit with Calgary audiences, offering a lively and entertaining night out.
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