A Familiar 'Shop' with a Few Highlights — LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at MVT
I kicked off my Halloween weekend this Friday with
a trip to Manoa Valley Theatre to see their production of Little Shop of
Horrors—a gentle entry into the season of fright. I haven’t seen the show
on stage before and I haven’t seen the movie with Rick Moranis in I don’t know
how long, but long, and yet this production felt familiar.
The little flower shop of horrors—Mushnik’s—is set in urban Skid Row, in
the…“now”? That’s what it says in the program, though it felt thoroughly
past-tense; when, exactly, would be hard to pinpoint. In the opening lines of
the show, the audience is told that the story happens “...in an early year of a
decade not too long before our own...” OK, so that settles it. Good. It’s in
the past, with corded telephones. The story is also set in a place and time
when it’s “normal” for a girl to get beat up on by her boyfriend and for others
to stand idly by (until someone doesn’t...). That could be the present or the
past, depending on where you are and who you talk to. The stoops are peopled
with a trio of high-school dropout, hustling singing girls. The play is set in
motion because a once-orphan-boy-now-man finds an exotic new breed of plant.
This sci-fi horror musical classic holds a kind of cult status for many. The show is fun to watch, with the catchy songs, the off-kilt characters, and the eventually enormous Audrey II, a blood-thirsty plant with the power to corrupt the innocent. The MVT production offers a quality straightforward staging, with a few highlights.
Leiney Rigg as Audrey (Audrey the first, for whom the plant is named) shines for her singing and stage presence. She captures the essence of “urban damsel in distress” with pathos and humor, a real delight to behold. In the penultimate number/scene in act two, “Green,” which comes before the finale, Rigg, aided by the plant and Seymour, delivers just the right amounts of horror, humor, and heart.
Pedro Armando Haro (Seymour) reminded me a lot of Rick Moranis. His Seymour is awkward, nerdy, meek, and very likable. His interaction with Audrey II—both the baby and grown-up versions—contains the heart of the drama. Audrey II, brought to life by puppeteers Braddoc DeCaires and Jared Duldulao, and voiced by Myles M. McGee, is the perfect contrast to Seymour: Bold, loud, demanding, and manipulative. Certainly the most dynamic and captivating man-plant relationship I’ve ever witnessed. The intellectual payoff comes in realizing that the plant is simultaneously the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Seymour.
Larry Bialock plays Mushnik, the owner of the flower shop. He brings a well-shaped character to the ensemble. Nicholas B. Gianforti plays most of the other parts, including Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend Orin, with a funny, stagey, revolving-door energy that’s well-matched to the overall style of the show. Melody Davis, Cassie Favreau-Chung, and Rachel Wong—the singing girls—act as a chorus, singing and interacting with the other characters, and transforming to fit the needs of the plot. They round out the cast with style and sass.
The design elements were all at the level and scale you can regularly expect from MVT—really good, professional quality. The set, props, and costumes (Benjamin MacKrell, Sara Ward, and Dusty Behner) create a scheme of contrasting and complimentary shapes and colors, giving the show a look that is at once recognizable and yet not quite of this world—edgy gutter fantastical.
Guest Director Scott Rogers presents an overall enjoyable finished product, with the aid of Guest Musical Director Kenji Higashihama and Guest Choreographer Katherine L. Jones. Without offering much in the way of surprises, Little Shop at MVT meets and satisfies expectations, with act two being especially engaging as the big finish approaches and the big plant and Seymour have their final showdown, after which, the world will never be the same…
For more info, visit the MVT website or the Facebook event page.
This sci-fi horror musical classic holds a kind of cult status for many. The show is fun to watch, with the catchy songs, the off-kilt characters, and the eventually enormous Audrey II, a blood-thirsty plant with the power to corrupt the innocent. The MVT production offers a quality straightforward staging, with a few highlights.
Leiney Rigg as Audrey (Audrey the first, for whom the plant is named) shines for her singing and stage presence. She captures the essence of “urban damsel in distress” with pathos and humor, a real delight to behold. In the penultimate number/scene in act two, “Green,” which comes before the finale, Rigg, aided by the plant and Seymour, delivers just the right amounts of horror, humor, and heart.
Pedro Armando Haro (Seymour) reminded me a lot of Rick Moranis. His Seymour is awkward, nerdy, meek, and very likable. His interaction with Audrey II—both the baby and grown-up versions—contains the heart of the drama. Audrey II, brought to life by puppeteers Braddoc DeCaires and Jared Duldulao, and voiced by Myles M. McGee, is the perfect contrast to Seymour: Bold, loud, demanding, and manipulative. Certainly the most dynamic and captivating man-plant relationship I’ve ever witnessed. The intellectual payoff comes in realizing that the plant is simultaneously the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Seymour.
Larry Bialock plays Mushnik, the owner of the flower shop. He brings a well-shaped character to the ensemble. Nicholas B. Gianforti plays most of the other parts, including Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend Orin, with a funny, stagey, revolving-door energy that’s well-matched to the overall style of the show. Melody Davis, Cassie Favreau-Chung, and Rachel Wong—the singing girls—act as a chorus, singing and interacting with the other characters, and transforming to fit the needs of the plot. They round out the cast with style and sass.
The design elements were all at the level and scale you can regularly expect from MVT—really good, professional quality. The set, props, and costumes (Benjamin MacKrell, Sara Ward, and Dusty Behner) create a scheme of contrasting and complimentary shapes and colors, giving the show a look that is at once recognizable and yet not quite of this world—edgy gutter fantastical.
Guest Director Scott Rogers presents an overall enjoyable finished product, with the aid of Guest Musical Director Kenji Higashihama and Guest Choreographer Katherine L. Jones. Without offering much in the way of surprises, Little Shop at MVT meets and satisfies expectations, with act two being especially engaging as the big finish approaches and the big plant and Seymour have their final showdown, after which, the world will never be the same…
For more info, visit the MVT website or the Facebook event page.
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