BWW Reviews: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Brings Man-Eating Adventure To Gettysburg Community Theatre

If any theatre in the area is working for the title of "the little theatre that could," it's Gettysburg Community Theatre. The distinction between it and other competitors for that title is that instead of chanting "I think I can," it's frequently chanting, "Look here, I did!" It has a small seating space but one that's extremely comfortable, a surprisingly large stage, a group of volunteers with a truly positive attitude, and some ambitious leadership. And it's got some powerhouse music going on.

Its latest labor of love featuring an adult cast has been LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which just finished its run this past Sunday. Howard Ashman and Alan Mencken's musical translation of the classic Roger Corman flick boasts some of the snazziest songs in modern musicals, puppets and creatures that would send the gentle puppet pals of AVENUE Q running, and the most hapless hero in world history. Under the direction of Greg Trax, a fine set of lead voices and a hardworking pit led by musical director Mary George kept the Motown beat of what was once the third-longest-running musical in Off-Broadway history going close to non-stop. (Although LITTLE SHOP copped a number of awards, it didn't win any Tonys as it wasn't on Broadway - the later Broadway production, thirty years after its 1982 Off-Broadway production simply wasn't as good and wasn't particularly successful.)

Artistic director Chad-Alan Carr is a classic Seymour, lacking only tape around his glasses to be the ultimate nobody (or perhaps more particularly the ultimate nebbish, a proper term for a musical with as much of a dash of Borscht Belt as this show has). Seymour may not be a loser, but he's no achiever, either; he spends his days cleaning and sweeping, and occasionally wrapping bouquets, at Mushnik's Skid Row Florist, with only his plant experiments in the back to keep him company. Carrie Trax as Audrey, the cute, perky florist's assistant with the demented boyfriend, brings a voice that carries off Audrey's famous, and beautiful-though-hysterically-funny solo, "Somewhere That's Green," perfectly. Between Carr and Trax, "Suddenly, Seymour," one of the show's classic moments, becomes an almost transformative event - they're that good. There have been professional productions with less powerful renditions of the song.

Anthony Crerand as Audrey's malevolent boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, DDS (do not forget the DDS), steals the show in the first act with his rendition of the infamous "Dentist!", the delightfully sadistic song that many people associate with Steve Martin's rendition in the film version of the musical (like HAIRSPRAY, there was a movie, then a musical, then a movie of the musical). Crerand also knows how to milk a death scene for every laugh it's worth, and in LITTLE SHOP that - to borrow a ROCKY HORROR SHOW phrase - ain't no crime. Although Steve Herr as Mushnik, the florist, lacks the Yiddishkeit normally associated with the part, he's got a nice portrayal of a man who's sure he's perpetually on the brink of financial ruin. If GCT ever decides to do straight plays, he's got an inside track on casting for Willie Loman. Matthew Barninger is cleverly cast as... well... everyone else, with a winning Claire Boothe Luce recruiting Seymour for "Life" Magazine.

Three special notes are in order. Jared Herr and Hans Schroeder are the puppeteers for Audrey II, the sinister bloodthirsty plant who won't accept a raw steak or an occasional Chihuahua instead of fresh body parts. Greg Trax, the director, who's also a fine singer, is the rumbling baritone voice of the plant from Hell, bringing off an exceptional "Feed Me!" that could scare a man of stronger mettle than Seymour into dragging in a stray fresh corpse or two.

Not at all a bad end to the summer season at Gettysburg; fall brings youth shows AMERICAN POP FOREVER and Meredith Willson's THE MUSIC MAN JUNIOR. The upcoming 2014 season will be announced on September 21. Call 717-334-2692 or visit www.gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org for details.

Photo courtesy of Gettysburg Community Theatre

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