2008 Woodie Awards
Little Shop of Horrors Review
"Suddenly, Seymour"
Sheeraz Hyder
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Campus News
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There are few things better to do on a Friday night, on any night really, than to celebrate the efforts of the Stevens Dramatic Society. In that vein, I took my two pre-froshes from Sleeping Bag Weekend to see the spring musical production of Alan Mencken and Howard Ashman's 1982 off-Broadway classic comedy The Little Shop of Horrors. The plot of the play is wonderfully simple and at the same time immensely complex. It has a twist at the end that no one who wasn't already familiar with the story was expecting, such as myself.
The characters in this story are as unique as the plot. Seymour, a gifted but shy self-proclaimed "experimental botanist" from Mushnik & Co. Florists, Skid Row's self-declared favorite florist, has been tinkering with different plant species in his spare time. The product of one of his experiments is named the Audrey II, in honor of his abused co-worker, Audrey. He secretly loves Audrey but lacks the self-confidence to tell her so. Gus Rath plays the part of Seymour to perfection, striking the right mix of genius and timidity that allows the audience to identify with his character's plight. Who hasn't honestly been in the position Seymour finds himself in?
Audrey is played by Alicia Mahon who acts the dual role of the victimized girlfriend and the flirtatious co-worker very well. Mushnik, played by Will Estes, is the penny-pinching and heavily-accented eccentric owner of the florist shop where Audrey and Seymour work. Will Estes sports a "Jewish" accent for Mushnik, adding to Mushnik's already unconventional character. However it is Dave Bazzano who is the voice of Audrey II which steals the show. Groovy is really the only word to describe it. Straight from the Seventies, Bazzano affects a voice that most of us associate with hippies. Yet he pulls it off by being over the top.
The Audrey II, Seymour discovers, is not a regular Venus flytrap. Instead of a craving for flies, it craves something that is "easy to come by" according to Seymour. However the audience knows it is hard to deliver, since it craves human blood. Seymour initially goes along with it, mutilating himself and feeding his creation in hopes that it "won't turn into a habit." This is one of the very bad ideas in the very long and cruel history of very bad ideas.
The characters in this story are as unique as the plot. Seymour, a gifted but shy self-proclaimed "experimental botanist" from Mushnik & Co. Florists, Skid Row's self-declared favorite florist, has been tinkering with different plant species in his spare time. The product of one of his experiments is named the Audrey II, in honor of his abused co-worker, Audrey. He secretly loves Audrey but lacks the self-confidence to tell her so. Gus Rath plays the part of Seymour to perfection, striking the right mix of genius and timidity that allows the audience to identify with his character's plight. Who hasn't honestly been in the position Seymour finds himself in?
Audrey is played by Alicia Mahon who acts the dual role of the victimized girlfriend and the flirtatious co-worker very well. Mushnik, played by Will Estes, is the penny-pinching and heavily-accented eccentric owner of the florist shop where Audrey and Seymour work. Will Estes sports a "Jewish" accent for Mushnik, adding to Mushnik's already unconventional character. However it is Dave Bazzano who is the voice of Audrey II which steals the show. Groovy is really the only word to describe it. Straight from the Seventies, Bazzano affects a voice that most of us associate with hippies. Yet he pulls it off by being over the top.
The Audrey II, Seymour discovers, is not a regular Venus flytrap. Instead of a craving for flies, it craves something that is "easy to come by" according to Seymour. However the audience knows it is hard to deliver, since it craves human blood. Seymour initially goes along with it, mutilating himself and feeding his creation in hopes that it "won't turn into a habit." This is one of the very bad ideas in the very long and cruel history of very bad ideas.
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