Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Ogunquit Playhouse

“Little Shop of Horrors” currently running at the Ogunquit Playhouse is every bit as tacky, funny, and morbid as it should be.

This is one of those offbeat musicals that entertains you with its unusual charm, catchy tunes, and cartoon-like characters. With the plot line featuring a talking plant that feeds only on human blood, this is not your grandmother’s kind of musical. (Unless your grandmother regularly attends the wide variety of shows performed at the Ogunquit Playhouse.)

The musical is  written by the team of lyricist/librettist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, both who later worked on the Disney animated films “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”

Ashman is famous for creating beautiful flowing lyrics and Menken is strong in musical styling. You’ll notice a strong similarity between the numbers, “Somewhere That’s Green” from “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Part of Your World,” from “The Little Mermaid.” But the similarity certainly ends with the vastly different story lines.

Under the direction of Hunter Foster, who received a Tony nomination for playing the lead in the 2004 revival of the show, the story is about a NYC skid row nerdy loner named Seymour (Etai Benson) who works in a failing flower shop owned by a pushy New Yorker type, Mr. Mushnik (Adam Heller). After a rare celestial event, Seymour discovers an unusual flytrap plant that he dubs Audrey II (Latrice Royale) in honor of his blonde-haired love interest, Audrey (Talia Suskauer) who also works at the dismal floral shop.

Audrey is naïvely involved in an abusive relationship with a sadomasochist dentist, Orin (Edward Watts) who loves to inflict pain on his patients and, woefully, on Audrey as well.

While the Audrey II starts out as a normal houseplant, Seymour soon realizes that the plant can talk and begs him to feed it, not Miracle Gro, but human blood. Seymour obliges with droplets from his own fingertips. As the plant grows and gains notoriety, it brings new customers to the floral shop and fame to Seymour.

While other productions of Little Shop, the ever growing, ominous plant is portrayed by a large puppet manipulated by performers hidden in the plant. Vocals are provided by an offstage performer. Not so in Ogunquit! Director, Foster, adds a new twist by having a live performer, drag queen icon, Latrice Royale in full costume on stage providing vocals. Trust me, there is nothing more flamboyant, yet ominous, than a 6-foot 4 inch drag queen saying “feed me” when it first talks in the number, “Git It.”

As Audrey II needs more blood to feed on, Seymour is pushed to find other food chain sources than himself, resulting in unexpected consequences.

A Greek chorus like trio of street singers, (Chelsea Hooker, Briana Brooks, Olivia Elease) narrates much of the action while performing lively vocals and very soulful struts. This trio of street characters are sassy and brassy, taking the stage like Gladys Knight and her Pips.

The show has rock solid performances from Benson, creating the perfectly nerdy Seymour. Suskauer does some fine acting and amazing vocals as Audrey. Both are gifted performers especially in their numbers, “Somewhere That’s Green,” and “Suddenly Seymour.”

Heller, looking a bit like a middle-aged comic, Jerry Stiller, is a wonderfully overblown character that creates great comic moments. Watts, as the dentist and a myriad of other walk on characters, is as engaging as they come.

The set, knowing that every Ogunquit one is original and one of a kind, is a masterpiece of set construction and lighting. The floral shop takes up the entire stage making its way on a  moveable platform to center stage. The skid row neighborhood is appropriately drab and dank. The dentist office is frighteningly realistic even to the moment that Orin yells “spit” to the audience.

The technical wonder of the production is placing Royale as Audrey II at center stage in psychedelic flora and fauna. While she is stationary most of the time, she does rise to the occasion of a dance number or two flanked by the Da Vine Dancers (Nick Davis and Joseph Ryan Harrington), two real life vines that grow and spread along with Audrey II, acting very much like her back up dancers.  

My daughter, a Ru Paul Drag Race competition fan, got me up to date on Royale’s accomplishments on the show and her loyal following in the drag queen business. She knows how to captivate an audience and she’s a powerhouse that cannot be ignored. Bringing her to the Ogunquit Playhouse and having her perform as Audrey II, on stage, is a stroke of genius.

If you want to see a purely crazy show that has a few tips on plant care, see “Little Shop of Horrors.”  

And should you not have an adventurous and savvy grandmother that would appreciate “Little Shop of Horrors,” splurge a bit and stream a production of “The Sound of Music.”

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