Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway Version) by Stagecrafters, Royal Oak

Reviewed by Suzanne Angeo (member, American Theatre Critics Association; Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle), and Greg Angeo (Member Emeritus, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle)

Stagecrafters has a lot to celebrate this year. They’re launching their 67th season, and marking the 100th anniversary of the Baldwin Theater, with a darkly comic and raucously fun rock-and-roll musical “Little Shop of Horrors”. Based on Roger Corman’s 1960 film of the same name, it was adapted for the stage and first opened off-Broadway in 1982 and ultimately ran for five years. It garnered numerous awards, due in large part to the catchy songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who drew heavily from early Motown, R & B, and other pop music from the early 60s. It has become one of the most popular shows for community theatre groups.

This ambitious production by Stagecrafters is an irresistibly lively show, a really fun way to spend an afternoon or evening. Shows of this kind can be a challenge for many community theatre groups (especially if there’s a large, funky, flesh-eating plant that takes up most of the stage). But Stagecrafters is more than up to the task.

The setting: a failing Skid Row flower shop (complete with winos and bums in the street). Edmund Guay as shopkeeper Mr Mushnik displays good instincts in presenting his character, who’s fallen on hard times. During the course of the show, Guay (a former theatre teacher and veteran actor) gets to display his fine singing voice and extensive stage experience.

Mushnik’s sad sack shop assistant Seymour (understudy Michael Phair for a recent matinee) finds an odd little plant in the alley one day during an eclipse, and brings it back to the shop. He soon discovers it needs more than just water and sunshine…it needs human blood in order to thrive. Seymour does his best to oblige, and the plant not only grows large and menacing, but develops a bellowing voice, demanding (in raucous song) even more from its hapless caretaker. Seymour makes a Faustian bargain with the beastly plant – success in return for human sacrifice. A perfect setup for laughs and rollicking rock and roll music, right?

Phair gives Seymour a shy, nerdy likeability and his voice is well suited for the score, although there are times he’s hard to hear and seems to lack energy; other times he’s strong and steady. Seymour has an unrequited crush on shop girl Audrey (another matinee understudy, Alexa Carollo) who has a weakness for no-goodnicks. Case in point: her current boyfriend, the sadistic biker-dentist Orin (Gage Soucie), who keeps her in black eyes and ace bandages. Carollo plays Audrey as sort of a trashy-sweet innocent kid, not easy to pull off, but she does it and she’s the heart of the show. She’s got a show-stopping voice, especially in the lovely, wistful “Somewhere That’s Green”.

Soucie, as Orin, comes off like a crazed hipster in black leather who just happens to carry a small can of nitrous oxide for a quick blast wherever he goes. He totally rocks his opening number, “Be a Dentist”. (Soucie also plays six other bit parts, displaying a formidable range of comic skill.) The wicked dentist hams it up with mad abandon, but not-so-divine justice awaits him just around the corner. Not for little children or the faint of heart.

N’Jeri Nicholson, Tan Mason and Stacey Barrett as Ronette, Crystal and Chiffon - three street urchins that form a sort of girl group Greek chorus - interpret the action onstage for the audience throughout the show. As characters, they provide a musical bridge between scenes. As singers, they are great together, but Ms Barrett deserves a shout-out for her especially smooth moves.

Music and theatre artist William Scott Davison gives excellent voice to the ghoulish vampire plant with plenty of campy attitude, worth the price of admission. Davison is discreetly tucked away somewhere backstage, along with the 10-piece orchestra, which is equally fabulous under the direction of Jose Reyes. The score is simply infectious, and it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to jump up and dance on your chair. Songs like the rockin’ intro “Little Shop of Horrors”, performed by the girl group, and “Skid Row” performed by the company, get the audience whooping and clapping their appreciation.

The events in the story give the Stagecrafters crew ample opportunity to explore their creativity in crafting sets and costumes, as seen in the set design by Drew Hall, lighting by Matt Weber, and costumes by Michael Ameloot. Puppeteer Josh Gray, hidden inside the giant monster plant, does a near-Herculean job manipulating its jaws during all those musical numbers. Veteran Detroit-area choreographer Christine Campbell-Cormier does splendid work with the small cast on a small stage.

Director Jeff LaMothe makes good choices and takes some creative risks that keep the energy high and the show lots of fun. It takes ingenuity to fit such a big, noisy show into a relatively compact space and have it work this well. Especially in a community theatre setting, with non-professionals who really make sacrifices of time and energy, plus relatively limited resources compared with professional theatre companies. This “Little Shop” is really entertaining, with amazing local talent on display, and well worth a visit.

Rated PG-13

Now through October 23, 2022

Tickets $35; $25 on Thursdays ($3 ticket fee for all tickets purchased online, by phone or at the door)

Stagecrafters at the Baldwin Theatre, Main Stage

415 S. Lafayette

Royal Oak, MI 48067

(248) 541-6430

www.stagecrafters.org

Stagecrafters is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing arts organization with support from: Michigan Arts & Culture Council; National Endowment for the Arts; Royal Oak Arts Council; Oakland County; Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority; and DTE Foundation