**** Often I am asked, “Hw can you see the same play over and over?”. I always reply with the same answer. “Every production is unique , thus, I am not seeing the same play!”. This being said, yesterday afternoon I attended the new production of “Little Shop of Horrors” at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. This musical with a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken is based on the film version by Roger Corman. The young lady sitting next to me with her mother, had recently watched the movie. I , on the other hand have seen the film about 4 times and probably 15 productions of the musical, yet never “in-the-round”, so I was a bit anxious to see just how they would handle Audrey II.Let me refresh your memory , or perhaps tell you about this story for the first time. The story takes place in Skid Row in New York. For those of you who do not know the term, Skid Row is a very poor area with lots of bums and homeless people. There is a flower shop in the neighborhood ( why, is never answered, except this is where it all happens). The shop is owned by Mr. Mushnik ( played to perfection by Chicago favorite Mark David Kaplan). He has an employee, Seymour ( deftly handled by Jackson Evans), who he took in as a child and another worker, Audrey ( Maya Rowe). There is no explanation as to how he can afford to have all these employees when he does very little business, BUT, that is beside the point. After all, this is a “fantasy”!
Seymour has a plant that he has named Audrey II to honor the woman he adores. It turns out this plant grows when it takes in human blood and that is where the “horrors” comes in. The other characters in the play that are meaningful to the story are Orin, the evil, sadistic dentist that Audrey is dating ( one might call it that). This role is handled to perfection by Andrew Mueller, who also shows his versatility in handling several other minor roles. There is also a chorus designed to help move the story along. These three ladies, Lydia Burke (Crystal), Daryn Whitney Harrell (Ronnette) and Miciah Lathan (Chiffon) serve as what one might call a “Greek Chorus” or even better, the “Supremes” of this play.
There are some ensemble members as well, who also serve as puppeteers. Oh, yes. That is another part of the story, Audrey 2 is made up of several puppets and Jordan Anthony Arredondo, Ed Kross and Garrett Lutz make her alive on stage. The voice of Audrey II is handled by Lorenzo Rush Jr., who I might add is perfect. We never meet him until the curtain call, but his voice fills the Marriott theatre with power and I must say the puppeteers do an amazing job of blending in making the in-the-round staging work. It looks as if director and choreographer Tommy Rapley truly worked his magic in putting all the parts of the puzzle together. The sight lines and the puppet being on the stage worked!
The costumes (Amanda Vander Byl) worked and in particular, I was impressed by the costumes worn by the puppeteers. They blended right in allowing the audience to watch Audrey II as if she was truly alive. The lighting (Jesse Klug) and sound (John Johnson) were right on and the properties ( Ivy Thomas) were perfect. Jesse Mooney-Bullock’s puppet design was quite effective in that from small to huge, we never truly thought of Audrey II as anything but a plant! The orchestra led by Mason Moss is small and the production was a delightful way to spend an afternoon!
“Little Shop Of Horrors” will continue thru March 15th with performances as follows:
Wednesdays:1:00pm & 7:00pmThursdays:7:00pm
Fridays:7:30pm
Saturdays:4:00pm & 8:00pm
Sundays:1:00pm & 5:00pm
Show Type: Musical
Box Office: 847-634-0200
Marriott Theatre is located in Lincolnshire at 10 Lincolnshire Drive photos by Justin Barbin
Just South of Route22 and East of Route 21 in Lincolnshire
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Little Shop of Horrors”.
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