By Bart Greenberg***When The Little Shop of Horrors opened in 1982 it was the ideal Off-Broadway musical; it featured a unit set with one simple inset—the dentist’s office, a small cast of mostly unknowns, a small band playing a sorta rock score (though the best song in the show is pure Broadway) and a weird story based on a grade Z movie that was filmed in two days. Little Shop also had just enough counter culture t
o make it seem a bit rebellious, plus enough blood to supply several companies of Sweeney Todd and a near Act 1 ending duet for murderers that recalled “A Little Priest.” There was also the unique twist of the puppetry (before they threatened to take over Broadway a decade later in Avenue Q).
The current revival, in its third year at the Westside Theatre/Upstairs, features most of the same virtues, with a new cast of Tony winners Matt Doyle and Lena Hall, with Brad Oscar and others who continue to keep the show fresh and lively. Their artistry and talent makes seeing the show the first time, or the second, very well-worth it.
Direction by Michael Mayer keeps everything moving along smoothly without a lot of fuss, and choreographer Ellenore Scott provides simple but clever movement for the show that emphasizes vocals and comedy over dancing. The design team of Julian Crouch (scenic design), Tom Broecker (costumes) and Bradley King (lighting) find a perfect blending of sophistication and tacki
ness in creating the environment of the play. Nicholas Hahon makes an essential contribution with his puppet designs based on the originals by Martin P. Robinson. The problematic element of the production is the sound design by Jessica Paz; far too many lyrics are lost in muddiness, especially when more than one person is singing at a time.
The biggest culprits of this issue are the three Urchins—Joy Woods, Tiffany Renee Thompson and Khadija Sankoh—all high energy and sarcastic wit. But since they carry the weight of narrating much of the show, their indecipherable enunciation, whether their fault or the sound design, is a major issue. In a featured role was Michael Iannucci (subbing for Brad O
scar at this performance) as flower shop owner Mushnik, who chose to bring some underplaying to the otherwise appropriately cartoonish approach of the rest of the cast. Iannucci created a truly repulsive character who the audience recognizes as truly deserving of his fate. The other villain of the piece, Orin, the sadistic dentist, was represented by the amazingly versatile Andrew Call, who actually inhabits a variety of other characters; the audience would not be the least surprised if two of them took the stage at the same time.
But the big news is Doyle (Company), who follows in the trend of far too handsome and hunky actors playing the nerdy and ineffectual Seymour. Despite his physical “deficiencies,” he gives a performance that captures all the hopelessness and desperation of a born-to-be-loser. His total commitment to the role includes a perfect physicality that emphasizes the
gawkiness of his role, creating great humor. And then there is his powerful and agile voice, which makes the most of his numbers like “Grow for Me” and the over the top love duet “Suddenly Seymour,” shared with the equally bedraggled Audrey, brought to life by the splendid Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). This sad and self-hating shopgirl, who doesn’t feel she deserves the devotion of her co-worker, is caught up in a sado-masochistic relationship with the gleeful dentist. Hall brings a freshness to her show-stopping number—and the best in the show—“Somewhere That’s Green.” There’s a specificity to each of the cultural images in the lyrics that Hall masters and is thus responsible for making this oft-performed song seem new. This is the essence of musical theater performance. With these two fine performers, the show is very worth seeing and seeing again. Now, if they can only solve the sound issue.
Little Shop of Horrors is playing at the Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd St., NYC. Tickets and further information can be found at littleshopnyc.com.
