Musical madness
The story of a man-eating plant from outer space did not, on first glance, seem to be the stuff of which hit musicals are made.
“Little Shop of Horrors” is based on a 1960 Roger Corman sci-fi/horror flick that wasn’t even a hit by most box-office standards, despite the presence of a young Jack Nicholson in a small part. Yet in 1982, when a campy musical production opened off-Broadway with Motown-style songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, it became a smash.
More than 22 years later, almost everybody knows the story of Seymour and the Big Green Mother From Outer Space. Surprisingly, the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre has never tackled this irreverent crowd-pleaser — until now.
The professional summer-stock company opens “Little Shop of Horrors” tonight for a nine-run performance through Aug. 1 at North Idaho College.
Most people know this musical through the 1986 film version directed by Frank Oz. It boasted an all-star cast of comic actors: Steve Martin, John Candy, Jim Belushi, Bill Murray and Christopher Guest. Most prominent of all was Rick Moranis as Seymour, the nebbishy flower-shop owner who finds his life taken over by the monstrous plant.
The CdA Summer Theatre has cast Frank Jewett, one of the most popular and versatile members of the troupe, as Seymour. Meghan Maddox, another favorite, will play Audrey, his sweetheart.
The plant, Audrey II, will be played by … well, not an actual person. As is customary in this show, the plant is a giant, Muppet-like creation.
“We have a great plant, which we rented (from a theater) in Missoula,” said Roger Welch, the theater’s artistic director and the director and choreographer of this show.
The puppeteer will be Josh Heinig, and the voice will be supplied by Steve Booth.
In the movie, the voice was provided by Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops, so this is no ordinary plant. It’s a plant with some pipes. It also has a salty vocabulary, so be forewarned.
The three musical narrators, Crystal, Chiffon and Ronette (named for ‘60s girl groups), will be played by Kelly Kunkel, Krista Kubicek and Melissa Fleck.
Jack Bannon, a TV and screen veteran, plays Mr. Mushnik the shopkeeper, and Christopher Moll plays multiple roles.
Steven Dahlke is the musical director, presiding over a small (by CdA Summer Theatre standards) guitar-drums-bass-keyboards combo. Michael McGiveney designed the sets and Judith McGiveney did the costumes.
You can expect to hear all of the songs made famous from this show, including “Suddenly Seymour” and “Feed Me.”