Horrific Fun

The Brook Theatre’s first production offers romance, song and a man-eating plant.

By: Megan Sullivan
Never trust a carnivorous plant. Especially when it prefers the taste of human flesh over insects and invertebrates.
   In the musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors, a hapless florist’s assistant cultivates a unique plant that changes the fortunes of the rundown, Skid Row flower shop in which he works. No one has ever seen a plant quite like the one Seymour discovers, and Mr. Mushnik’s store becomes a gold mine. As Seymour’s fame grows, so does the plant’s appetite for more and more human blood, resulting in grisly consequences.
   The newly renovated Brook Theatre in Bound Brook will open its first season with Little Shop of Horrors Oct. 20 through Nov. 12. "I’ve always loved this show," says Brook Arts Center’s executive director Gerry Appel, who years ago played Mr. Mushnik in a production at Shawnee Playhouse in the Poconos and directed the show in upstate New York. "Although they tried to duplicate it on the movie screen (in 1986), there’s nothing like seeing it live."
   Interestingly enough, the musical itself is an adaptation, by composer Alan Menken and writer and lyricist Howard Ashman, of the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors. The black comedy, directed by Roger Corman, was filmed in two days with a script put together in one day.
   "Talk about low budget," Mr. Appel says. "All of the scenes were filmed with just one take throughout and that’s it. Very low budget, but it had in it someone who no one had ever heard of before by the name of Jack Nicholson. He had a very small part, but I think that’s what has helped it to really become what it is now because his character was a dental patient who loved having pain inflicted on him. You know, good old Jack."
   The musical is faithful to the comic tone of the film, although it makes a few slight changes to the story. One difference is the introduction of three new characters: a Greek chorus of street urchins named Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette (named after famous ’60s girl groups).
   Raritan resident Michelle Russell, who plays Chiffon, says the urchins help tell the story and move it along. "I’ve wanted to do this show forever," says Ms. Russell, who has an acting degree from Montclair State University. "I was a huge fan of the (1986) movie as a kid."
   While the 1960 film wasn’t well made, Messrs. Menken and Ashman saw something behind this cult classic. "These guys who put together the musical just looked at it, made a few changes and put a tremendous musical score behind it," Mr. Appel says. "I mean, it rocks."
   Mr. Menken’s musical score was composed in the style of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop and early Motown. The show had its world premiere in May of 1982 at the WPA Theatre and opened off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre a couple of months later. The original production, directed by Mr. Ashman, won several awards, including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Award for best musical, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award. When it closed after 2,209 performances, it was the third-longest running musical and the highest grossing production in off-Broadway history.
   "To me, I think ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is one of the most perfectly written musicals ever," says Paul Kelly, who plays Seymour in the Brook Arts Center’s production. "There’s nothing wrong with it. There really isn’t."
   A professional actor based in New York City with an acting degree from Florida School of the Arts, Mr. Kelly first played Seymour in the same production Mr. Appel was featured in as Mr. Mushnik. "Seymour is kind of like the underdog," Mr. Kelly says. "He’s never had a mother or father, he’s an orphan, and all he really wants is (his co-worker) Audrey. He does everything in the show just to have her, basically.
   "He just wants a regular life because he never had one," he continues. "Even working in this flower shop, Mushnik makes him sleep under the counter and Seymour’s fine with that, he gets meatloaf for dinner and water. The plant is his opportunity to have money and essentially be with Audrey for the rest of his life."
   Audrey has a sadistic dentist boyfriend, however, and doesn’t realize that Seymour seems like a better choice. "Orin is abusive to his patients and his girlfriend, but Audrey has so little self-esteem that she thinks my character is it for her, like she doesn’t deserve anyone better," says Patrick Andrae, who also plays six other characters in the production.
   A research chemist for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the Jamesburg resident involves himself with community-based theater in central New Jersey as a hobby. "I always play the villain," he says. "It’s easy and it’s fun."
   As Orin, Mr. Andrae gets to use some pretty interesting tools on his dental patients, as well as wear a costume atypical for a doctor. "He dresses like a biker, like ‘Leader of the Pack’ type thing, ’60s motorcycle gang," he says.
   While the plant — which Seymour names Audrey II in honor of his secret love — has had a positive impact on the flower shop’s business, Mr. Mushnik notices that some strange things have happened since its arrival. "Audrey’s boyfriend goes missing, the police call me down to the station… suspicion is that Seymour might be up to no good," says Franklin Park resident Bob Dumpert, who plays Mushnik. A computer systems analyst, Mr. Dumpert has been involved with community-based theater for many years, including numerous shows at Plays in the Park in Edison.
   Seymour at first feeds Audrey II with his own blood, but becomes weaker and weaker as the plant’s appetite increases. He continues to feed the plant, however, because it promises to help him win over Audrey, but things quickly get out of hand.
   "In order to get that fame and the girl, he has to feed the plant blood, which he gets from people," Mr. Kelly says. "So, it’s a paradox. And the play is so cleverly written that you don’t end up hating Seymour… He’s kind of the everyman a bit."
Little Shop of Horrors will be performed at the Brook Theatre, Brook Arts Center, 10 Hamilton St., Bound Brook, Oct. 20-Nov. 12. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Oct. 22, Nov. 12, 2 p.m., Oct. 31, 7 p.m. (followed by Halloween party). Tickets cost $25, $20 seniors/students ($35 Oct. 31). Mention this article at ticket purchase time and receive $5 off (opening weekend only). For information, call (732) 469-7700. Brook Arts Center on the Web: www.brookarts.org