Review: ‘Little Shop’ a definite must-see

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Those who haven’t yet seen Van Wert Civic Theatre’s production of Little Shop of Horrors should think about doing so while tickets last.

The production, directed by Chad Kraner, along with Music Director Dee Fisher, and Choreographer Kim Pollock, is an excellent version of the iconic off-Broadway musical about a shy nebbish who finds a plant that’s out of this world — literally. Pollock and Griffen Waltmire are also assistant directors for the production.

Seymour Krelborn, who works at Mushnik’s Skid Row Florist Shop, is a bumbling orphan who sweeps out the store and dreams of being somebody and finding love with co-worker Audrey, a blonde who’s currently in a masochistic relationship with decidedly painful dentist Orin.

As the show opens, Mr. Mushnik is ready to lay off both Seymour and Audrey because of lack of business when Audrey suggests Seymour display his unusual plant, which he has named Audrey II in her honor, in the shop to bring in customers. The plant does just that, but, unfortunately, also has a quirky plant food need: human blood. From there, the body count rises as Seymour struggles to keep Audrey II satisfied so the customers will keep coming in.

The cast of the VWCT production is one of the strongest in years, with Adam Ries as Seymour, Nancy Williams Shuffle as Audrey, Dan Basinger as Mushnik, and Bob Reese as Orin.

Each of the lead actors does a wonderful job of bringing depth and subtlety to their characters, while also doing musical justice to the songs in Little Shop.

As Seymour, Ries — picture a tall Rick Moranis — plays the geeky florist to perfection, while handling the musical requirements of the show with ease. Ries does a great job of showing how Seymour, who starts out as a shy and innocent guy, struggles with the pressure of finding food to satisfy Audrey II’s insatiable need for human blood. 

Veteran Shuffle has the acting chops to handle the challenge of playing the long-suffering Audrey, who is abused by her dentist boyfriend but is still a nice girl at heart looking for love. Shuffle also has a well-trained voice that enhances Audrey’s songs in Little Shop.

Basinger, another veteran actor, lends his own special interpretation to Mushnik, the inner city florist who eventually adopts Seymour, but begins to get suspicious when people start disappearing.

Reese also gets into his role as Orin, the sadistic dentist, with gleeful abandon, as he snorts laughing gas and immensely enjoys the screams of his customers as he goes at them with hammer and chisel and other instruments of torture. 

That brings us to the Shoop Da Doo Girls, the Greek chorus that links the various scenes of Little Shop together, musically. The girls, Chiffon (Kim Warnecke), Crystal (Stacy Rife), and Ronnette (Debbie Briggs), with assistance from background singers Emily Penton, Rachael Dettrow, and Janelle Moorman, threaten to steal every scene they’re in, with their street-smart sassy attitudes and smooth harmonies.

Anyone who has seen Little Shop before knows that the person who sings Audrey II’s part has to have a big voice. John Shuffle, who has spent decades singing classical music roles, handles that part with aplomb, booming out Audrey II’s songs and its pleading for Seymour to “feed me”.

Veteran actor Matt Krol is also good in a couple of roles, including promoter Skip Snip and a florist shop customer who goes gaga over Audrey II, as does Patrick Martin as Cory Ream, while the ensemble consisting of Vaydah Deming, Kecia Pontius, Lisa Eichler, Dolores Foreman, Alexis Glossett, Trent Glossett, Evan Joseph, P.S. Luhn, Dale Terry, Courtney Wendel, Rachael Wilson, and Reanna Wilson provide excellent acting and musical support for the main characters.

In addition, local radio station owner Chris Roberts has fun with a cameo as a radio announcer who does an interview with Seymour that Mushnik and other Skid Row denizens listen to on a portable radio.

The orchestra consisting of Fisher on keyboard, Tanya Best on percussion, and Matt Alessandrini on bass, is also excellent. In fact, there are no weak links in this outstanding production. Although Thursday’s premiere was the first official performance of Little Shop, it came off wonderfully — as the audience’s reaction showed — and will likely only get better as the production continues its run.

Perhaps the biggest star of Little Shop is Audrey II, the man-eating series of plants designed and built by members of the Jay County (Indiana) Civic Theatre and loaned to VWCT for this production. Josh England also does a stellar job of handling the puppeteer duties to operate the plant.

The florist shop set designed by Kraner is also excellent, as are the costumes designed by Kristy Bidlack and Ann Nusbaum, light design by Mary Ann Falk, props provided by Dolores Foreman and Matt Krol, and sound design by Burdette Bolenbaugh.

Little Shop of Horrors continues this weekend, as well as Thursday-Sunday, May 9-12. Evening performances start at 8 p.m., while Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Word of mouth from those who attended Thursday’s premiere should have tickets for this production flying out the door, so call the VWCT Box Office soon at 419.238.9689, Monday through Friday, before they’re all gone. You’ll be glad you did.