[FIPS WAS THERE...] 'LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS' AT THE GALLERY PLAYERS

From Left: Audrey II, Philip Jackson Smith (Seymour) and Emily McNamara (Audrey). | Photo by Bella Muccari

We here at FIPS spend a hell of a lot of time out and about in Brooklyn, attending outdoor concerts, comedy shows and various other events. So [FIPS Was There...] is where we're gonna' talk about all this shit.

When it comes to cult classic Halloween movie-musicals, The Rocky Horror Picture Show pretty much has the market cornered. But as much as I enjoy Tim Curry playing a sweet transvestite, I’ve always had a thing for the 1986 flop Little Shop of Horrors. The film, based on the 1982 off-Broadway musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman (which itself was a based on the 1960 dark comedy starring a young Jack Nicholson), has always hooked me. I don’t know if it’s Rick Moranis’s doughy performance, or Ellen Greene’s gloriously odd vocals or even Steve Martin’s creepy ridiculousness that brings me back time and time again. But for some reason, that kooky gang and their people-eating plant just makes me happy.

Of course, the movie’s pretty terrible – especially when you consider that they took all the dark shit that made the off-Broadway show so great and made it all sweet and vanilla (thanks Hollywood!). That happy ending you see in the film? Yeah, that doesn’t exist in the original show.* Without giving anything away, let’s just say things don’t go so well for Seymour and Audrey. This is supposed to be a parody of a B movie horror film, after all. It wouldn’t be right if everything were tied up in a happy bow at the end.

Lucky for us, The Gallery Players have brought the original script and all it’s campy glory back to life in their production of Little Shop of Horrors, currently playing through November 13th. Director and Choreographer Joe Barros wanted to remain true to the Faustian good vs. evil theme, investigating “beyond the theme of fame and its self-destructiveness, while also toying with the different levels of seduction.” That’s all well and good, but what you’re really here for is a campy horror musical, and this Little Shop delivers like Domino's.

All the elements of the classic B movie horror films are there: from the pre-show music playing when you first enter, to the unpolished sets, over-the-top performances and the visible stage hands here and there. In any other show those imperfections would probably add up to one big, hot mess. But here, they work in the best possible way.

The performances in this production are spot on. Emily McNamara plays Audrey, the vacant sexpot-next-door whose low self-esteem can easily be measured by the number of black eyes she gets from her dentist boyfriend (played by the ever versatile Paul Sadlik, who also plays about 95 other roles in the show). Audrey’s knight in shining plastic glasses is Seymour, played here by Philip Jackson Smith. Both McNamara and Smith give their characters – and their subsequent love affair – a certain earnestness that offsets the ostentatious, exaggerated kitsch happening around them. They’re sweet. And they can sing the shit out of that score, so quite frankly, that’s all that matters.

Also singing the shit out of the score are Vasthy Mompoint, Debra Thais Evans, and Tamala Baldwin - who play Chiffon, Ronnette, and Crystal - our skid row Greek Chorus. I’m one of those people who immediately feels happy whenever he sees any black women singing in a musical, so I was pretty much on board when Mompoint, Evans and Baldwin showed up on stage. The three could probably tighten up their harmonies a bit, but fuck if I cared – when they were singing, I was happy as could be.

But it’s Audrey II that you’re really there to see, and at The Gallery Players, she’s undergone a bit of a makeover. Puppet Designers Fergus J. Walsh and Michael Bush have reconceived the original plant puppet designs. They've taken her from the “Venus Flytrap on steroids” we’re used to seeing, to more of a “hellacious Hibiscus/Heliconia hybrid.” As if that change weren’t enough, Audrey II is now voiced by a girl – more specifically, the fabulous Babs Rubenstein. Oh, and operated by a puppeteer; one Thomas Bradfield, who moves freely around the stage. It’s a jarring distinction from the norm, allowing The Gallery Players’ production to really separate itself from the pack.

No matter how different Audrey II feels, the infectious score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman will feel familiar. Songs like “Suddenly Seymour,” “Skid Row,” “Somewhere That’s Green,” and of course, the title song, will keep you humming way after you leave. Also worth noting is the band, lead by Musical Director Lilli Wosk. Nice job, folks!

All in all, a deliciously fun night of super campy theater. All without crossing a bridge. Thank you, Gallery Players! I’d highly recommend skipping the midnight showing of Rocky Horror this year and check out Little Shop of Horrors instead. For one, it’s way more family friendly. And besides, who can stay up past midnight these days anyway?

Little Shop of Horrors runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm through Sunday, November 13. There will be special 2pm matinees on Saturdays November 5 and 12. Tickets run $18 for adults and $14 for Seniors & Children 12 and under. For more information about the show and to get tickets, check ‘em out here.

*Actually, the 1986 movie tried to keep the original ending of the off-Broadway show, but test audiences hated it, so they rewrote and reshoot. But like Real Housewives parodies and cats climbing into jars, all great things in life can still be found on YouTube.