BWW Reviews: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Leaves Audience Hungry For More

The Otterbein University Theater Department's decision to use a black box theater arraignment for its summer lineup gave its season finale, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, its own set of advantages and one major disadvantage.

While it gave the show a more intimate setting, it also limited the number of people who can see this engaging, two-hour, musical. The decision cut the number of available seats from over 1,000 seats to 240, resulting in a near sell out of its July 11 premiere.

Those who got a ticket walked away quite satisfied with the musical about greed, ambition and a man-eating Venus flytrap plant. The musical, written by the late Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, is based on Roger Corman's B movie of the same name. The musical adaptation was made into a movie with Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin in 1986.

Preston Pounds, a senior from California, says he has been told most of his career he should play Seymour Krelborn. It's easy to see why. He is a perfect physical match to play the part of the nerdy florist who sells his soul to the Audrey II to earn fame, fortune and the hand of Audrey (played by Madison Tinder).

But it's his voice and his understanding of the character that stands out. It would be very easy to play Seymour as a bumbling, naive geek strictly for laughs. In the song, "The Meek Shall Inherit," Pounds conveys Seymour's conflict of whether he kill the plant and risk giving up his relationship with Audrey and the fame and fortune that comes along with it or continue to feed those who stand in his way to the plant.

Tinder, a senior from Houston, Texas, is equally strong as the female lead Audrey. With her squeaky voice and ditzy dialogue, Audrey often comes across as a dimensionally thin cartoon. Tinder keeps Audrey as a character, not a caricature. Tinder carries off the role of a woman who, despite her good looks, has been beaten down by her environment and her poor choices in boyfriends. She shows Audrey's longing for a life in the "Pine-sol scented air" of the suburbs in the song "Somewhere That's Green" and the guilt of her feeling of relief over the disappearance of her boyfriend, the sadistic Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.

Although you have to look very hard to see him (his only stage time is as a vagrant in "Skid Row"), John Henry Carter provides one of the strongest show as Audrey II. Carter sings the plant's lines off stage while puppeteers Sean Murphy and Alexx Conrad manipulate the man-eating plant.

Monica Brown, Haley Jones and Marina Pires bring a do-whoop funk to the role of the urchins, who serve as characters as well as storytellers of the show. While they are fans and friends of Seymour and Audrey, the streetwise trio is constantly on the lookout for a way to make a quick buck. Their costumes evolve from street clothing to gold shimmering dresses of The Supremes to ultimately scientists lab coats as they help cultivate Audrey II.

Kyle Hansen, as the demanding Mr. Mushnik and Harry Sanderson, who plays Scrivello as well as a host of other roles, also provided strong performances. Sanders, who played a variety of roles in ALMOST, MAINE, also made multi-gender cameos as Mr. Bernstein, Skip Snip and Mrs. Luce.

Throw the talented cast in with a slick, moving set and a sharp five-piece orchestra and you have all the ingredients for a magical performance. Just make sure you get your tickets early.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS will be performed at 8 p.m. July 12-13, 18-20 and 25-27. The show will also have 2 p.m. matinee performances July 14, 19 and 21. Tickets are $25 each. Student Rush discounts are available one hour prior to curtain, pending ticket availability. Call (614) 823-1109 or visit the Art Scene page at www.otterbein.edu/drama for more information about the 2013 Otterbein Summer Theatre season. The box office is open 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour prior to performances and is located in Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville.

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