Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
‘Feed Me, Seymour!’ It’s suppertime for Audrey II at APT
By the time you see the full-grown Audrey II — massive at 150 pounds and brought to life by puppeteer Ethan Dilday with vocals by Rusty Turner — it will be just a delightful dessert for the full-blown smorgasbord of talent and tech served up by Arkansas Public Theatre in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“This show has everything you could possibly want,” says Aaron Young, who returns to the APT stage as the “clumsy, meek, dorky, and apologetic” Seymour Krelborn. “Comedy, romance, heart-tugging moments, and of course a blood-thirsty plant!”
With music by Alan Menken (“Newsies,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Sister Act”) and lyrics by Howard Ashman (“Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), “Little Shop of Horrors” made its Broadway debut at the Virginia Theatre on Oct. 2, 2003, but it’s also one of the longest running Off-Broadway hits and a favorite of community theaters. New York Times critic Ben Brantley says it “has its own sly message for an era in which celebrity is regarded as a constitutional right: Embrace fame at your peril. It’s a killer.”
“Seymour was poor and in love with someone who he viewed as out of his league,” Young explains. “So when he found a shortcut to getting what he wanted — in the form of a man-eating plant — he couldn’t resist! Ultimately, things did not end the way he wanted them to.”
Here’s the premise, if you
somehow don’t know it. Seymour works at a flower shop on Skid Row owned by Mr. Mushnik (Eric Andrew Vera in the APT production). But he’s also a budding scientist, trying to create interesting hybrid plants with the cuttings he buys from a Chinese merchant. During his recent visit, there’s a bolt of lightning, everything goes dark, and when the lights come back on, there’s a strange and unusual plant — some kind of relative of a Venus flytrap, he thinks — that is there where it wasn’t before. And he buys it.
Seymour names the plant Audrey II after his co-worker and crush, Audrey — who has plenty of weird problems of
her own, most of them related to the sadistic dentist she’s dating.
“Audrey has lived a rough life,” actress Sarah Riedmueller says sympathetically. “She tries to find the joy in life even when things are hard. By focusing on her dreams, she finds her little spot of happiness.”
“Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. is not a nice guy. He’s definitely the villain of the first act, and kind of gets what’s coming to him,” says Jason LeCompte, making his APT stage debut after playing Dan Goodman in “Next to Normal” for Arts One Presents. “I am the total opposite of him! That’s why I thought it would be fun to play him” — and several other roles
among the denizens of Skid Row.
Also living on Skid Row — and acting as the Greek chorus for “Little Shop” — are Chiffon (Brittany Tavernaro), Crystal (Anna Joie) and Ronnette (APT newcomer Binta Francis).
“‘Little Shop of Horrors’ has held a special place in my heart since I was a child,” says Francis, who appeared on the AOP stage as Esmerelda in “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” “It is the first movie musical I ever watched with my family. My siblings and I still bond over it to this day. It’s always been a dream of mine to be an urchin!”
“‘Little Shop’ is much like ‘Fiddler On the Roof’ or ‘The
Music Man’ in that it seems to be a rite of passage for every actor,” says Joie, most recently on the APT stage in “Almost, Maine.” “Most other actors I know have done it at some point, and I thought maybe it was my turn. Now I see why — it’s such a fun show!
Crystal, she says, “is fiercely loyal, fiery, and doesn’t shy away from tough love or abrasiveness. You’ll see me in her protectiveness toward Audrey and her push for Seymour to be more sure of himself. Those track really