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Synopsis
Seymour Krelborn, the meek employee of Mushnik’s Skid Row florist lives a dreary life among the other unfortunate residents. The light of his life is his co-worker, Audrey, a fragile woman stuck in a relationship with a sadistic dentist. The flower shop is broke and Mr. Mushnik is on the verge of closing when Seymour shows him this strange plant he has found while shopping during a solar eclipse. However, the plant begins to wither. Seymour frantically tries to nurse it back to health, though water, sunlight, fertilizer, and minerals but none work. When he pricks his finger on a rose thorn and a few drops spill onto the plant the plant comes to life (literally) He names the plant Audrey 11 after his secret love. Mushnik is pleasantly surprised when customers begin flocking in after seeing the little plant in the window and the shop starts pulling in record
takings. Spoiler alert I!! Reading on may give away the story !!
The plant grows and Seymour becomes a local celebrity but there’s a problem as Seymour is running out of blood !! Seymour and Mushnik become concerned, when Audrey turns up at work with a black eye and a broken arm , caused by her sadistic dentist boyfriend, Orin Scrivello. Orin arrives at the shop one night to pick up Audrey and Seymour sees how roughly he treats her. He decides that Orin being a sadistic dentist deserves to get chopped up and fed to the hungry plant. The next day, Seymour goes to Orin’s office to shoot him but as
luck would have it, Orin in a sadistic flight of fun dons a special gas mask to get his Nitrous Oxide fix but the mask malfunctions and Seymour watches his nemesis asphyxiate before his eyes. Seymour drags the body back to the flower shop, where he reluctantly chops it up and feeds it to Audrey 11.
The next day Seymour tries to comfort Audrey for Orin’s unexpected disappearance and promises to stand by Audrey no matter what. Invigorated from finally winning Audrey’s love, Seymour returns to the flower shop. He is confronted by Mushnik, who had seen Seymour dismembering Orin’s body the night before.
Mushnik assumes that Seymour’s devotion to Audrey caused him to murder the cruel dentist, but does not suspect that Audrey II is involved and knows nothing of its grisly diet. Mushnik leads Seymour upstairs at gunpoint, planning to turn him in to the police. He then offers Seymour a proposition, leave town forever or he goes to the police.
In the ensuing scene Seymour nervously backs Mushnik into the gaping maw of the hungry plant and Mushnik become more plant food. Seymour’s celebrity increases as Audrey II grows into a giant
but Seymour is terrified that the plant’s eating habits are getting out of hand. He finally puts his foot down, denying the plant any further feedings. That night Audrey comes to the shop and the plant grabs her and when half way through eating her Seymour returns. He drags Audrey out but it’s too late. Audrey’s last wish is to be fed to the plant to go “somewhere that’s green” An angry Seymour tries to kill the plant but he too becomes plant food. The plant is now set to expand beyond the shop……
Review
Review by Vicki Avery
Noda District 9
Welwyn Thalians performed the comedy horror rock musical, Little Shop of Horrors, at the Hawthorne Theatre in Welwyn. This well-known story follows the hapless florist shop worker, Seymour Krelborn, who raises an alien plant in the hope of changing his fortunes. Little does he know that his ‘strange and interesting’ plant, which feeds on human blood and flesh, has plans of its own.
Brimming with enthusiasm, the cast certainly delivered with some exceptional moments. Alex Ryde, was well cast as the nerdy, needy, pathetic and bumbling Seymour, and provided a convincing performance, showcasing excellent musical ability.
Audrey, played by Tammy Wall, gave a marvellous interpretation of the hopeless, gullible heroine, with beautiful vocals throughout. “Somewhere That’s Green” showed great musicality and control.
Audrey 2 was skilfully executed in a combined effort by both puppeteer (Vincent Clemmens) and vocalist (Peter Sayers) to provide a convincing portrayal of the animated plant.
Mr. Mushnik (Terry Cull) acted the shopkeeper well and I enjoyed his duet with Seymour “Mushnik and Son”.
Orin (Tim Spinks) gave some good comic, outlandish moments as the sadistic Dentist. It is all too easy to go over the top with this part, however, there were moments when I did not feel this actor went far enough. A difficult part to interpret during rehearsals and a little more balance was needed here.
The Chrystal Girls, Chiffon and Ronnette were well cast and delivered some outstanding solo and joint vocals, certainly talents to watch out for in the future. The supporting ensemble all threw themselves into the spirit of the production with great enthusiasm and clearly enjoyed being involved in this fun musical. “Skid Row – Down Town” was an excellent start to the show.
Director, Amanda Sayers, assisted by Nick Baker, provided a good interpretation of this musical, ensuring all key directional elements such as simple setting, continuous action, flowing pace and spatial consistency were achieved.
MD, Peter Farrell, handled the orchestration well, providing good tempo and sound throughout, achieving well-balanced group sound and harmonies.
The Choreography was adequate and well performed, albeit there was a slight lack
of creativity and a sense of clumsiness about it at times. Overall, the production was of a high standard and I am sure that the company was extremely proud of their creative team with what they produced.
Technically, the planning and execution of the lighting was of a high standard apart from some occasional dark spots down stage. The sound and effects were generally well controlled; the set was simple, visually consistent, and well sourced, enabling near-seamless transitions and good pace. The costumes were the correct style and added to the visual quality.
Projection and characterizations were very good in a well-directed show, which the whole audience thoroughly enjoyed and showed their appreciation with some very enthusiastic applause.
Thank you for your generous hospitality
Vicki Avery
Welwyn Thalians “Little Shop of Horrors”
Director: Amanda Sayers
The Hawthorne Theatre, Welwyn 14/11/2014
| Seymour Krelborn | Alex Ryde |
| Audrey | Tammy Wall |
| Mr Mushnik | Terry Cull |
| Orin Scrivello | Tim Spink |
| Crystal Girls | Alisan Downes, Louise Bateman |
| Chiffon | Emma Fox |
| Ronnette | Libby Fox |
| Plant (Audrey II ) voice | Peter Sayers |
| Plant (Audrey II) animator | Vincent Clemmens |
| Mrs Bernstein | Jackie Radford |
| Mrs Bernstein's PA | Colleen Town |
| Partrick Martin | Peter Dunham |
| Mrs Luce | Gill Shaw |
| Mrs Luce'a PA | Dot Lutkin |
| Skip Snips | Brian King |
| Skip Snips PA | Lauren Ryan |
| Skid Row Ensemble: | Colleen Town, Martin Lester, Dot Lutkin, Angela Monaghan, Brian King, Jackie Radford, Vikki Collins, Stephanie Dunn, Lauren Ryan, Gillian, Shaw, Jackie Radford, Peter Dunham |
| Production Director | Amanda Sayers |
| Assistant Director | Nick Baker |
| Musical Director | Peter Farrell |
| Stage Director | Vincent Clemmens |
| Assistant Stage Manager | William Maxwell |
| Stage Crew | John Thorn |
| Wardrobe | Penny Howcutt |
| Prompt | Angela Dunham |
| Properties Manager | Vanessa Baker |
| Properties Team | Katherine Brassett, Nick Baker |
| Lighting Design | C.F. Biggs Theatre Services & Hawthome Theatre |
| Costumes | Harlequin Costumes, Baldock |
| Hawthorne Theatre Manager | Mark Woolman |
| Hawthorne Theatre Technical Manager | Julian Brooks |
| Conductor | Peter Farrell |
| Guitar | Andy Skelton |
| Bass | Paul Burdon |
| Keyboard | Peter Farrell |
| Percussion | Chris Gray |
