Review: (Toronto) Little Shop of Horrors

(photo by Seanna Kennedy)

For a Good Time Call: Little Shop of Horrors 
by Keely Kwok 
@kowkles

Little Shop of Horrors is a fun, quirky musical about a bumbling, lovesick fella named Seymour Krelborn who works in a ramshackle of a flower shop on Skid Row. One day Seymour (Mark Willett)  brings a mysterious plant to the shop and calls it Audrey II (after his not-so-secret crush on the shop’s assistant). Audrey II, or Twoey, is unlike anything anyone has ever seen and suddenly business is booming! The only problem is, Audrey II has a rather peculiar diet… human flesh and blood. 

The Lower Ossington Theatre definitely delivers an entertaining, upbeat performance with a talented cast whose vocals hit you all the way in the back row. And it was a tough crowd. A lot of laugh lines didn’t receive a single chuckle but the cast rolled with it. And finally the sleazy Orin (Ryan Jeffrey), worked the room during his song Dentist! and the audience came round. I mean, who can resist that rock and roll, slightly psychotic charm?

Review: (Vancouver) Little Shop of Horrors

Greg Delmage, Nicole Stevens, Kerry O'Donovon, Veronika Sztopa Photo credit: Devin Karringten

Well, that was a lot of fun!

by David C. Jones

Little Shop of Horrors is a morbid little comedy musical about a young dweeb who finds a fascinating plant that starts him on a path out of the gutter and onto stardom. But this is a deal with the devil because Seymour Krelborn discovers to his horror that this plant thrives on blood.

Based on the 1960’s non-musical Roger Corman film – that marked the screen debut of Jack Nicholson as a crazed patient – this 1982 off-Broadway show is a cult hit containing a witty doo-wop Broadway rock score by composer Alan Menken and writer the late Howard Ashman. (Note to producers: Their names are illegible on the program cover and bios of them would seem fair. After all you couldn’t do the show if they didn’t write it.)