It’s not surprising that to open its 50th anniversary, Florida Studio Theater would stage an amazingly popular rock satirical musical that premiered 1982. It was based loosely on a 1960 film that satirized horror dramas, urban plight concerns, and efforts to powerfully and financially dominate the world. At FST, Sean Daniels has directed the drama to be more realistic without losing any of the satirical humor.
Little Shop of Horrors is introduced and commented on throughout by a trio of Black singers-dancers, nostalgically choreographed by Jim Weaver. They keep plot and its points clear between scenes and sound good doing so, starting with “Skid Row (Downtown).”
The Curley-Clays’ set shows that seedy area on both sides of the main, two-sided simple Flower Shop locale. Its downstage outside is amply wide to take in abusive action by a pain-afflicting dentist (John Gregorio, rightly horrific) toward the shop’s lovely sales-gal (Samantha Duval, endearing as her Audrey becomes the female romantic lead).
Mr. Mushnik (Joel Blum, acting appropriately to fit the name of his character) owns the central shop. It’s empty until his young salesman Seymour publicizes shop wares by window displaying an unusual plant he’s found. Sam Seferian’s Seymour, bruising his finger when feeding the Plant (whom he’s named Audrey II), learns it needs blood (and later body parts) to thrive.
Seferian sings of how he gets the plant to “Grow for Me” so it’ll keep attracting customers and maybe Audrey I. The latter would love to be “Somewhere That”s Green,” and it’s a while before she discovers attraction to “Suddenly, Seymour.” Meanwhile, he’s received offers from all who want the plant or parts of it, so his boss has proposed an adoption: “Mushnik and Son” to keep all in “the family.”
The plot gets thicker along with the plant, and there are attempts to get its help in world domination. How all works out, including the uproariously awful end of “Dentist” and fate of Sefarian’s lovable Seymour, makes Little Shop of Horrors close to a morality play musical.
The Finale consists of a song with a commandment I think all in and out of the show (including the plant’s vocalist and its manipulator at FST) will want to obey. Why not find out?
