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From: malis@BBNCCS.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Little Shop of Horrors
Message-ID: <12170@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Aug-84 06:23:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12170
Posted: Tue Aug  7 06:23:30 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 10-Aug-84 01:45:21 EDT
Lines: 37

From:  Andrew Malis 

Play review: Little Shop of Horrors (**** of 5)

Little Shop of Horrors is a wonderfully funny musical comedy
based upon Roger Corman's low-budget 1960 "classic" film of the
same name.  It tells the story of Seymour, a nebbish who works in
Mushnik's Florist Shop on Skid Row, which is about to go out of
business.  He saves the shop, and gets the girl (a clerk in the
shop), by discovering a small unique plant he calls the Audrey II
(after the girl).  Of course, it takes him a little while to
realize what makes Audrey II grow, but once he gets it going, it
takes on a life and personality all of its own ...

The music is great and the lyrics are funny (the plot is
occasionally pushed along by a "greek chorus" of three ghetto
girls).  What really (literally) stands out, however, is Audrey
II.  There are actually five or six different Audrey II's during
the play, all designed and built by Martin P. Robinson, who is
curently with the Muppets and plays Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame
Street.  They are manipulated by William Szymanski, and Michael
Leslie provides a very appropriate voice.  They are marvels of
puppet technology.

I saw the national touring company in Boston, where it will be
playing for another month, and I believe the original
off-Broadway production is still going in New York (and it may
still be playing in London as well).  In Boston, it was directed
by Howard Ashman, who also wrote the book and lyrics and directed
the New York and London productions (and is working on the screen
adaptation of the show).  All three companies have gotten very
good reviews, and the night I saw it the (large) house was packed
and everyone loved it.

FEED ME!!!

Andy