Aldridge Musical Comedy Society do perfect justice to the show.
The stage version of Little Shop of Horrors, which premiered on Broadway in 1982, was an adaptation of the first movie, made in 1960. A second film appeared in 1987, which catapulted its popularity and spawned regular stage outings across the world.
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s tale of an increasingly hungry New Jersey houseplant is beautifully constructed, mixing punchy tunes with a sometimes dark but always engaging storyline.
Aldridge Musical Comedy Society do perfect justice to the show, nicely capturing the endearing chemistry between it’s two central characters, Audrey (Lucy Talbot) and Seymour (Leo Wright) and hitting the big numbers with real power and energy.
The story is a delightful pastiche of those iconic 1950s sci-fi horror movies such as The Revenge of The Killer Tomatoes and The Creature From Black Lagoon. They were cult movies with shoestring budgets, but their popularity was huge. Ripe material indeed for a musical version!
Here, the villain of the piece is a houseplant that needs human blood to survive. As the story unfolds, the plant gets bigger and bigger, demanding more food from poor young Seymour… and we aren’t talking chicken nuggets!
The show is cleverly ‘narrated’ in song form by three singers, Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette (Lucy Pountain, Chloe Hancox and Rebecca Oatley) in that telltale 1960s Phil Spectre style. Harmonies are spot on, and the songs provide perfect underscoring for the action taking place.
Richard Beckett captures the kind but frustrated flower shop owner Mushnik well, and can certainly belt out a tune or two along the way, while Mark Newman channels his inner psychopath deliciously as the pain-seeking Dentist.
There are dark themes. Homelessness. Bullying. Coercion. Greed. They are all touched on but never dominate. What shines through is the sheer zest of the show, helped hugely by an energetic and hard working ensemble cast.
Lucy Talbot is superb as the sweet but hard-done-to Audrey, who dreams of one day having her own home in the country. Her version of Somewhere That’s Green is beautifully delivered. Her shop colleague and admirer, Seymour, is given huge likability by Leo Wright. As in all good shows, there has to be a love story, and this is a particularly sweet one.
And let’s not forget the potty mouthed, bad mannered plant, Audrey 2 (voiced by Peter Brown and operated by Emma O’Quin). The transition from sweet little seedling to a giant, man-eating, burping plant is a joy to behold.
Mark Bayliss directs the production as well as the band with precision and tempo.
For more information about Aldridge Musical Comedy Society, go to aldridgemcs.co.uk.