‘Little Shop of Horrors’ offers chills, thrills and kills

Published 11:39 am Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The latest musical production from Bainbridge Performing Arts is a throwback to a simpler time in America.

A time of doo-wop, sock hops, skinny ties, twisting the night away and, of course, giant carnivorous alien plants bent on world domination.

Wait, what?

Oh, yes it was. And if that doesn’t sound like the early ‘60s you know, maybe it’s time you met … Audrey II.

Just don’t stand too close.

Audrey II is, of course, the name bestowed upon the now infamous carnivorous alien plant by Seymour, a shy, poor awkward young man who finds his life thrown into considerable disarray by the arrival of the otherworldly vegetation — and the subsequently rising body count — in BPA’s “Little Shop of Horrors.”

“It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work,” said Tim Davidson, the show’s director.

“We have a great cast,” he said. “They work so hard in rehearsal, and then they go home and they work more. So when you come back for the next rehearsal, they’re further ahead than when they left. Which makes it so much easier to get the final product that you’re looking for.”

The original musical, based on the 1960 film by the legendary Roger Corman, premiered in 1982 and was eventually made famous in New York’s Orpheum theater in Manhattan. It has since been reproduced countless times around the country and the world, including a Broadway production and a 1986 feature film version.

The story is part romance and part black comedy, done with a soundtrack that encapsulates the best of the early 1960s: doo-wop, Motown, etc. The aforementioned unfortunately dorky Seymour finds what he believes is his only chance for love and fame playing caretaker to a man-eating alien plant, which he names after Audrey, his coworker and the object of his romantic desires.

Nearly a decade ago, the show finally came to Bainbridge in a BPA production starring Davidson himself as Seymour.

“I’ve always been more of an actor, and then I started getting back into directing,” he explained. “The trick is in finding a way to make this production my own, without throwing out an idea just because it’s what we did the last time. It could still be the best choice even all these years later. Fortunately, [musical director] Josh [Anderson], [choreographer] Joanna [Hardie] and the cast are so fresh and innovative that such worries tend to fade as soon as I arrive at rehearsal.”

Donning Seymour’s trademark spectacles and sweater vest this time around is Ryan Bohannon.

“He’s got such a good grasp of the character that it’s gotten to the point where I’ll be like, ‘Here, hit these points and then you do whatever you do because what you do is right,’” Davidson said of Bohannon. “Sometimes he’ll do something different from what I said and I’m like, ‘I like it better.’”

Bohannon said that for him this show was a bit of a homecoming.

“I’m very lucky to say that BPA was the theatre I did my first show at after graduating from college,” Bohannon explained. “Their level of professionalism supersedes anything I have experienced and their sense of community is even stronger. The second I heard one of my favorite theaters was doing ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ it was obvious I had to jump at the chance.”

“This opportunity is truly once in a lifetime and something I thought I’d only dream about,” he said. “Ever since I learned about the show, I dreamed of playing this part. Coincidentally, Alex Davis-Brazill [playing Audrey] is my very first theater college friend, and is the person who really inspired me to get into musical theater by pushing me to audition with her for a singing class our freshman year.”

Directing a show that has proven to be so continually popular across generations and several formats, Davidson said, is both more and less stressful than working with perhaps lesser-known material.

“I think people love the plant,” he laughed. “It’s one of the few shows I’ve ever done where people say, ‘What show are you working on?’ and I say, ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ everybody — to a person — will say, ‘Oh, I love that show!’”

“Everybody knows ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and everybody wants to see it,” Davidson said. “That’s very gratifying, to know people are going to come and see it. But, then the expectations are high too because everybody is familiar with it, and you don’t want to disappoint them. When they come in already knowing the story they’re less forgiving of the flaws.”

Bohannon agreed that there is a bit more pressure working with such beloved source material, but that also the popularity of the story makes it easier to connect with the audience through the character.

“I think it remains so popular because each character’s wants and needs are never outdated,” he explained. “When you strip the show down to it’s core, the need for success, love and happiness is something everyone can relate to which is why the show has impacted so many people. One thing I love about ‘Little Shop,’ and theater in general, is it allows audiences to explore their inner demons safely through the characters.”

“The humor in the show keeps it lighthearted enough that they will still leave with a smile on their face — hopefully,” he laughed.

The show opens 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 with productions every weekend until Sunday, Oct. 26.

Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are available through www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org and at the BPA box office at 200 Madison Ave. North. Tickets are $27 each for adults, $22 for seniors and $19 for youth, students, military members and teachers.

Close encounters of the green kind

What: BPA presents “Little Shop of Horrors.”

When: Performances run Friday, Oct. 10 through Sunday, Oct. 26, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Where: Bainbridge Performing Arts, 200 Madison Ave. North.

Admission: Tickets are $27 each for adults, $22 for seniors and $19 for youth, students, military and teachers.