Lyric Stage presents Little Shop of Horrors
Book + Lyrics by Howard Ashman Music by Alan Menken
My thoughts on Little Shop of Horrors at Lyric Stage or…little shop, big fun or…see more Seymour!
Going to see Lyric Stage’s Little Shop of Horrors is like going to the house that gives out the best candy on Halloween. This production is a major treat. Little Shop is a small story that most usually plays small venues. However, Director Sasha Maya Ada succeeds in filling the large stage of the Majestic Theater while also keeping the intimate story of Seymour, Audrey, and that plant from outer space in focus.
The set design by Spencer Meador is a realistic rendering of a down and out florist shop in NYC. There’s excellent lighting and projections that enhance songs from Scott Guenther and Bill Eickenloff’s sound design allowed all the dialogue and Howard Ashman’s lyrics to be heard clearly.
And what’s a trip to Skid Row without that now classic Alan Menken music? No need to worry. Music Director Bruce Greer and his wonderful orchestra have us all tapping our toes and trying not to sing along. There’s no denying that live music is the best way to enjoy a musical.
The song “Skid Row” is in my top five favorite theater songs, and I can usually tell how much I am going to enjoy a production by how well the song is staged. Director/Choreographer Ada and Choreographer Avery-Jay Andrews stage it more inventively than I have previously seen. They certainly get the plight and poverty of the characters across, but also convey through movement that the characters are in New York City. It’s a thrilling song featuring all the cast members and the first-rate ensemble that includes Keith Warren, Andre’ Pernell Williams, Pamela Anglero’, and Noelle Saul.
For thrills of the chilling kind, we have master puppeteer Brandon Borick who brings Audrey II to life and Christiön Dior Draper whose soulful, incredibly powerful baritone resounds through the Majestic giving Audrey II a voice. Draper also raises the rafters singing “Feed Me” and “Suppertime.” Can a plant be all bad who can sing like that?
Great singers are plentiful in Little Shop and none more so than the three women who help tell the story and sing their hearts out as the urchins and as Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon. Natassia Dominique, Sydney Cornelius, and Jéssica Webba would have given the Supremes major competition and do they ever look spectacular in those many different sequined dresses designed by Tricia Guenther. I want to see these women in concert.
Brian Hathaway, who plays the florist Mr. Mushnik, is a performer created in musical theater heaven. He’s a fine vocalist, consummate actor, and has a real gift for comedy. It is hilarious watching him channel his inner Tevye in the number “Mushnik and Son.”
Jeff Wells is Orin the dentist. Orin, also Audrey’s boyfriend, is sadistic, abusive, and oh so hilarious. Wells, clad in black leather, can literally “shake a leg” and has the crowd howling as he sings about the “pleasures” of being a dentist. Orin’s the character you love to hate, and Wells plays the part to the hilt.
Catherine Carpenter Cox is the submissive, abused, and slightly ditzy Audrey. It’s impossible not to like Cox’s Audrey and hope she finds happiness with Seymour. Though petite in size, Cox has a wonderful, strong soprano and brings power and passion to “Somewhere That’s Green” and especially “Suddenly Seymour.”
Reflecting on Esteban Vilchez’s performance as Seymour, I decided it is Vilchez’s ability to get lost in a character that sets his Seymour apart. Seymour is probably the most complex character in the show. He’s a sweet, geeky and lovable loser, at first. He gets fame and fortune, but at a very high price. Vilchez makes Seymour’s troubling journey palpable. That skill coupled with his vocals and athletic, jumping on the counter, dancing make Vilchez’s Seymour a classic.
Director Sasha Maya Ada has staged a Little Shop of Horrors that could most likely leave the Majestic and go on tour. When I attended, the audience literally screamed its approval. It’s got it all and is particularly fun at this time of year. Put off working on your costume for a while and see Lyric Stage’s Little Shop, but whatever you do, don’t feed the plant.
*See brief interviews with cast members @dfwcenterstage tiktok
