By Michael Buzzelli
When wimpy Seymour Krelbourne (Chad Elder), a clerk at Mr. Mushnik’s Flower Store in the middle of downtrodden Skid Row, finds a mysterious plant, his life takes a strange new turn. Suddenly, Seymour becomes popular, and the flower store booms. His boss, Mr. Mushnik (Sean Michael Barrett), takes a liking to him. The girl he admires, Audrey (Chelsea Davis), might even like him back. If only he could get rid of her pesky boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. (Travis Myers-Arrigioni)
Audrey II (voiced by Franklin Mosley, and played by a group of puppeteers) has it all figured out. All of Seymour’s problems can be solved at “Suppertime!” Because when this plant gets hungry, it wants people food. No, scratch that…he wants people to be his food!
The plant Audrey II is a man-eating monster from another planet, but that, such as it is, is life on Skid Row. Just ask Crystal (Tiara Emery), Ronette (Jalise Gary), and Chiffon (Sean Hale), the singing Greek chorus in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“Little Shop of Horrors” is another fine addition to Pittsburgh’s spooky season of shows, alongside “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Greer Cabaret and “Night of the Moth Man” at Arcade Comedy Theater.
Elder is terrific as the geeky, schleppy Seymour. He is a community theater treasure with star potential (he already has a fan base, several audience members were there just for him). He has a great singing voice, which you can hear when he sings (more on that later).
Davis is a belter of the highest caliber. She nails the high notes in “Somewhere That’s Green” and “Suddenly Seymour.” Her characterization of Audrey stands among the best.
Myers-Arrigioni is a dastardly dentist. He sparkles whenever he’s on stage. He probably has a great singing voice as well (We’re almost there).
Mosley gave a fun spin to Audrey II, the evil plant attempting to take over the world, one victim at a time.
The set is marvelous, including the aforementioned malevolent killer Venus Fly Trap controlled by Lyle Hieronymous, Katie Kerr, Amber Mount, and Johanna Philips.
Ian Scully-Szejko’s projections turn the entire auditorium into a circa-1950s Los Angeles Skid Row. Its a wonder to behold.
“Little Shop of Horrors” has amazing music by the talented team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. It’s incredibly campy fun!
The show had one big flaw (here it is). The orchestra, led by Travis Rigby, overpowered the vocals. You could only hear the singing when the cast hit the highest notes, or when the song had a preamble leading into the music. It was a fantastic band, but it was hard to hear anything else.
P.S. The cast had microphones, yet it was tough to hear them, especially on the far right side of the theater where this reviewer sat.
Word on the street is that the director, Nik Nemec (on his way to becoming one of Pittsburgh’s finest musical theater directors) and the fine folks at Heritage Players are looking into solving the issue.
If someone could tamp down the orchestra one or two notches, or hide them behind the stage, the Heritage Players would have a hit on their hands!
-MB
“Little Shop of Horrors” runs until November 2 at the Seton Center, 1900 Pioneer Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15226. If you would like more information, please click here.
