By Barry Willis
The comic musical Little Shop of Horrors is both a cult favorite for its fans and a recurring production among community theater troupes here in the Bay Area. We can count on five or six such shows each year. The latest one is running at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa — and has been EXTENDED through Feb. 26th!
A down-on-its luck skid row flower shop needs a boost, and that’s what it gets when amateur botanist Seymour Krelborn (Noah Sternhill) breeds a carnivorous plant that thrives on human blood and tissue.
Named after his shopmate Audrey (Gillian Eichenberger), the plant grows bigger and more voracious daily, attracting a tremendous amount of media attention, and lots of paying customers into Mushnik’s Flower Shop (proprietor played by Dan Schwager).
This Little Shop of Horrors is an ambitious, amusing show…
It’s a mixed blessing for Mushnik, Audrey, and Seymour as they are soon overwhelmed with orders, including supplying all the flowers for the annual Rose Bowl parade. Audrey also wriggles out of a creepy relationship with a sadistic dentist named Orin Scrivello, played by Robert Nelson as a sort of Halloween Elvis impersonator.
Much of the story is propelled by the song-and-dance trio “the doo-wop girls” Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon (Aja Gianola-Norris, Serena Elize, and Chiyako Delores, respectively). Gianola-Norris directed the show, and Elize handled the choreography. The show’s singers are delightful, especially Audrey in the breakout hit “Somewhere That’s Green.”
This Little Shop of Horrors is an ambitious, amusing show with an impressive set by Luca Catanzaro, and a great band led by Lucas Sherman, but it’s hampered by awkward timing and a surplus of dead air—issues likely to be ironed out as the production rolls toward its final date of February 26. So grab your significant other and go see this campy classic.
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Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com
| Production | Little Shop of Horrors |
|---|---|
| Written by / Book by | Alan Menken / Howard Ashman |
| Directed by / Music Direction by | Aja Gianola-Norris / Lucas Sherman |
| Producing Company | 6th Street Playhouse |
| Production Dates | Thru Feb 19th |
| Production Address | 6th Street Playhouse 52 W. 6th Street Santa Rosa, CA 95401 |
| Website | http://www.6thstreetplayhouse.com |
| Telephone | (707) 523-4185 |
| Tickets | $35-$43 |
| Reviewer Score | Max in each category is 5/5 |
| Overall | 3/5 |
| Performance | 3/5 |
| Script | 4/5 |
| Stagecraft | 3/5 |
| Aisle Seat Review PICK? | ---- |