Little Shop of Horrors More Delight Than Horror

Ridgewood's Ryan Pifher has done it again. The village's resident theater guru has again put on an excellent show for fans of community theater in the area, directing black comedy classic "Little Shop of Horrors" at his Porchlight Productions Studio in Glen Rock.

"It's a really popular show and it's been one of my favorites for a while."

After speaking with Musical Director Jon Provan, the duo decided the show absolutely had to be done. The show is, afterall, Provan's favorite musical.

They weren't alone in that sentiment, either. Lead actress Nicole DiMittei also called it her favorite musical, and said she couldn't be happier to be a part of the production. In fact, it's the second time she's been cast as Audrey, the female protagonist and love interest of Seymour, the male protagonist.

"It was a really smooth show. And I had so much fun. I just absolutely love this show," the New York-based actress said, also noting that she most enjoys playing quirky characters, and Audrey certainly fits that description.

Although a veteran of Little Shop of Horrors, DiMittei said there were little differences from this production than the last she had done (she had done it three years ago; it was not a Porchlight production), and that direction gave it an edge.

"It's cool to do things a bit differently," she said.

The production is based on the 1960 b-movie (featuring Jack Nicholson before he was...Jack Nicholson) and the 1982 musical adaption in which Seymour, a worker in an unsuccessful flower shop in Skid Row, finds an exotic plant and becomes something of a celebrity.

The problem? To keep the plant (coined "Audrey 2") growing he needs to feed it blood. Desperate to win the love of co-worker Audrey, Seymour gradually becomes more bold, feeding the Audrey 2 the humans it needs to continue to grow so he can win her love and they can escape the dredges of Skid Row, after which they can find a cookie cutter home with a quaint lawn, as Audrey so desires.

As the plant grows, so too does the division in who the characters are–all bound to their seedy, poor past and present–and what they'll do to 'better' themselves.

Ultimately one part love story, one part tragedy, one part an exploration of humanity's penchant for selfishness, and all parts absurdity, the musical roars through with R&B and uptempo numbers for an hour-and-forty minutes.

Each character ultimately faces their demise because of their significant character flaws and at its conclusion, we're left to see that we all play a part in our own undoing. Some are so stricken by love that they abandon those traits that had garnered love in the first place, others so infatuated with the desire to succeed through greed, and even the meek are not unscathed.

Little Shop features a small cast–eight performers, all New York or New Jersey-based actors, all of whom said they love smaller, more intimate theater.

"It's going back to the grass roots," Nick Masson, who plays the sadistic dentist Orin.

"You don't see this kind of intimacy with the audience as you do with big Broadway productions."

And it certainly is more intimate. With but 40 seats and a small "black box" set, the performers are almost uncomfortably close. You can see the beads of sweat, the gleam in the eyes beneath the track lights overhead and feel the wind from their dancing. This is not Broadway; it might be better.

The first act kicks off with three girls dressed in black–Ronnette, Chiffon, and Crystal–working as both set movers, a Greek chorus, urchins, and a peanut gallery of sorts. They're street-wise, sassy "bad-ass" girls (according to the actors) who are both involved in the action and work as pseudo-narrators.

They are essentially the engine of the show, singing, dancing, acting and providing much of the comic relief opening the dark comedy/musical. Their timing on the comedy was spot-on, always using just the right tone to capture both the absurdity and the danger for the characters–all of them–ahead. Without such strong performances by Katt John (who plays Ronnette), Stephanie Arguelles (Crystal) and Jennie McGuinness (Chiffon), the production wouldn't have been nearly as strong. They immensely supplement the story and break up the action very well.

Matthew Silva plays Seymour, expertly showed a tender heart and a weak hard-on-his-luck disposition, in tune with the character. Silva, a recent graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, never does too much with the character, staying true to the naive sensibilities both in song and in dialogue. We never hear him muscle through numbers deceiving the fundamentals of who Seymour is, even as he strives to be someone he's not. While handed a raw deal in life and never valued for who he is as a character by others–and only valued for the fame and fortune he can bring them with his fantastical man-eating plant–Seymour isn't a bad person.

In fact, it's easy to empathize with Seymour and the events that unfold around him, partly because Silva brings a lot of emotion to Seymour but also because we've all sacrificed integrity at some point to get what we really want, sometimes only to find that the reason we'd been able to have gotten what we wanted in the first place is those very characteristics we felt held us back. It's a bloodletting of irony, for sure.

Mr. Mushnik, a Czech immigrant is the owner of the Little Flower Shop, a Skid Row business without a customer in sight, and a father figure of Seymour, though hardly much of a father. Mushnik, played by Lucas Turner, takes in Seymour to finally cash in on the American dream. His greed and temperment lead him to the belly of the beast (speaking of belly, Turner had a prosthetic stomach for the role, and spent about an hour doing makeup to look like a middle-aged Czech man).

Turner has incredible stage presence in this production. There's always a scowl, a primal anger, a dark cataract film behind even moments of bliss. It's creepy yet engaging and certainly appropriate for a production of this style and a character so wrought with anger, hostility and greed. Few act with their eyes as well as Turner did. He was a pleasure to watch perform.

How did he do it? Well, he said it's "about finding what works for the character and keeping it going."

"A lot of acting is listening and reacting."

Not to be outdone, DiMattei really steals the show as Audrey. With a nasally, high-pitched Brooklyn, NY voice (which came through in the songs but not to the point where the tone or pitch affected the sonic pleasure) called for Audrey's character, DiMattei had a difficult task. It's not easy to sound like that, sing like that and not slip up while also providing a comic edge, particularly on interactions with sadistic-boyfriend-dentist in the first act.

DiMattei even took some liberties with how the voice should sound, occasionally dropping it low (akin to Droopy Dog, even) but maintaining a warble that is consistent to the character to provide contrast.

She nailed each song note perfectly, marvelling the 40 or so audience members with a powerful voice and a quirky, engaging character you can hope only the best for. Of all the characters in the production, Audrey's is the one you most want to succeed. Her only real flaw is self-esteem; chained to her past she doesn't believe she deserves to succeed and see a better life. When on stage, the goofy, insecure Audrey just lights up beneath the stage lights. Even with the other excellent actors around, your eyes continue to turn toward Audrey. For such an unnatural seeming character (everything is exaggerated), it seems oddly organic.

Audrey's boyfriend dentist, Orin, is played by Nick Masson, who is larger-than-life in this production. Dressed in a leather jacket, displaying Alpha-male traits along with a childhood of violence (hurting puppies, kittens and guppies), it was only natural he'd be a dentist. While outright abusive, rude and downright unlikable, you can't help but...like him. In fact, you could almost mistake Masson for Steve Martin, proudly shouting with a slight smile of sadism that he's the "leader of the plaque."

And where would the story be without Julius Johnson? By day a biology teacher, Johnson had the task of playing the role of Audrey 2. Yep, stuck inside a rented puppet with a microphone and unbearable heat, Johnson sang Isaac Hayes-like soul numbers between proclamations that Seymour feed him the blood he so desperately needs.

At the conclusion of the play, Johnson is really the only one who makes it out alive. Man, again so consumed with greed, takes trimmings of the plant to spread it to homes all around the world, leading the audience to believe that the Audrey 2 is bent on eating all of humanity, deceiving humans and playing to their considerable flaws.

"It's fun being evil; I like being a bad guy," Johnson smiled.

Even experts agreed that the show was great. Randy Accardi, recreation director at The Antrim, a theater based in Suffern, NY, attended the show. Accardi, who's directed multiple productions of Little Shop himself, said Porchlight "did an excellent job," also noting that due to the small size of the stage, it's a difficult one to pull off.

"I'm very impressed," he said.

So if you get a chance, definitely come out and see Little Shop of Horrors at 555 Broad Street in Glen Rock. The acting is superb, the singing excellent, Pifher did a great job directing the play, and the live music played by him and musical director Provan is absolutely top-notch.

Tickets are available by calling (201)-857-3520; they're $25 for adults and $22 for seniors and students. Performances start on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m.