To quote from the Author’s note in the Lib:
‘Little Shop of Horrors satirizes many things: science fiction, ‘B’ movies, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend. [The actors] should play with simplicity, honesty, and sweetness – even when events are at their most outlandish.’ (Howard Ashman).

It is pleasing to be able to respond to the above sentiment positively – BAOS Youth DID treat this show with the attributes listed by Howard Ashman.

PRESENTATION/ SETTING – DESIGN AND DÉCOR: The setting was simple for this production. Flats were painted in sludgy greys to represent the dirty, brick walls on Skid Row. White and grey were the predominant colours within this design scheme. The shop interior was minimal and plain and the stark, white walls added to this effect. The flowers on display in Act 1 were suitably weedy and unattractive. Later, in Act 2, the blooms were bigger and fresher and made a marked difference to the interior of the shop. The clock on the shop wall was manually changed from behind the scenery and this was great. The attention to detail was not lost here. The dental lab was grotty, grimy and terrifying. The compact space was created by using a right-angled corner of flats, painted with white tiles and splattered with bloody hand prints, left by all the previously, terrorised patients. Even the dental chair has red bloody marks on it. The set wasn’t intricate or complex but it was suitable.

LIGHTING: George Malin: This certainly added a touch of magic to the production; the design and execution of the lighting was noticeably superb throughout. When we first met the bigger of the two plants, Audrey 2, the red and blue lights pulsated in time to the music and they cast a fantastical glow onto the characters. The thunder and lighting effects were fabulous. The lights flashed whenever a dramatic moment occurred; for example when Audrey was half eaten by the plant. There was a glittering skyline in the background and a couple of lamps hanging above the staircase. Green lighting was used well – as foreshadowing of what was to follow. Reds and oranges were used to good effect. The lighting design was quite complex overall and it was brought to full-fruition. Well done to this department.

SOUND AND EFFECTS: James Hartland: The sounds levels were not always balanced – the music was much louder than the vocals and this was a shame, as some of the lyrics were lost. The sound FX of the motorbike coming and going and the truck outside the shop, were well-achieved. The sounds of Mushnik being swallowed and gobbled by Audrey 2 were gruesome and entertaining. All of the cues were handled promptly.

COSTUME: Friends & Family of BAOS: This was a beautifully-dressed production; the era was well-portrayed. Colour schemes were adopted for the chorus girls and the variety of costumes appeared very pulled-together in overall style. Leggings, cropped tops, fabric Alice bands, sneakers with bobby sox, waspie belts – these added to the overall style. The urchins on Skid Row looked suitably down-and-out in their caps and overcoats – all in shades of brown and grey. Audrey looked perfect in her pencil skirts and fitted blouses. The leopard print was a good choice, especially her leopard print sling. Her waist-length, white, fur bomber jacket was delightful! Later, her crisp, white floor-length nightgown was ideal. Mushnick’s grey suit was suitable dowdy and safe. Seymour’s coral-coloured tank-top was neat over his checked shirt. His previous thick-rimmed, dark glasses had been ditched a few scenes in; it was a noticeable transition. The ‘cleaning’ girls looked great in their white T-shirts and overall dungarees. Orin was slick in his black, skinny jeans, black leather jacket and white tee. His white, dentist’s coat was perfect. The potential Agents and Producers looked sharp en masse in their trilby hats and shirt-sleeves. Mrs Luce Looked fabulously eccentric in ‘her’ white wig, checked jacket and purple tights and the mini-grannies wore matching white wigs and frumpy dresses. The, ‘Life Magazine’ crew were neat in their black suits, complete with stick-on moustaches and white rolled-up contracts. For the end of Act 2, the girls wore white lab coats and glasses; beneath these were amazing, multi-coloured sequinned body-con dresses, which jazzed-up the finale for Act 2.

PUPPETS: Provided by: Marc Parrett from Monster World: These hired plant puppets were superb; vividly green, with gigantic mouths able to open fully, lined with pumped-up, fuchsia-pink lips. The various sizes of Audrey 2 were perfectly depicted and the puppeteers could access the moving parts well.

HAIR & MAKE UP: Friends and Family of BAOS: Audrey’s platinum, bobbed, blonde wig was perfect. Orin’s slicked back hair added to his smoothly, greasy looks! Audrey’s black eye was particularly well-achieved. The hair and make-up were immaculate and era-appropriate all around. Well done.

PROPS: There were numerous props in this show. A sign that a Props Department had got it right is when the props are used throughout without being overly-noticeable. Props should simply appear and be used as naturally as possible, for whatever purpose they are designed for. The dusters were used to full effect in the renovation number. In addition to these, there were plant cuttings, flowers in the shop, cash register, telephones, gun, blood buckets, contracts…the list goes on… Well done to this department for a positive contribution to this show.

STAGE MANAGEMENT: Alex Simpson: The scene changes were expertly – handled and the positioning of the puppets was always accurate – not once was the illusion shattered. All cues were prompt. This was a professionally slick production. Well done.

MUSIC/ORCHESTRA/MUSICAL DIRECTION: Ashleigh Powell: It is essential that the music be gutsy, powerful and full of passion and that is exactly what this 8-strong orchestra delivered. Of particular note - the trumpet solos in ‘Mushnik and Son’ were fabulous. Ashleigh Powell and his band did a superb job of bringing this show to life.

DIRECTION: Peter Cottell: This is a mighty show to direct and produce. The young performers got into their performing grooves and the show becomes its own beast! The puppets hired for this show were perfect and needed to be so, for the entire concept to work. The casting was excellent and it felt as if the Principals had been really stretched and challenged with these roles. There is good deal of maturity when it comes to the acting styles of many in this Company, indeed even the youngsters gave incredibly able performances and the credit of a good deal of this must fall at the feet of the Director. The ensemble-playing was outstanding and it is clear that the younger section of this Company is learning well from their older counterparts. This was a thoughtfully directed production.

SINGING: The singing was a highlight of this production – the sincerity was touching and the technicalities of some of the more complex numbers were undoubtedly well-achieved. The ensemble harmonies were tight. The ‘Speakeasy’ singers were fabulous. ‘Ya Never Know’ needed a little more gumption during the higher sections of the songs; simply to power the notes out into the auditorium. Some of the words were lost in, ‘Closed for Renovation’ and this was a shame; the music was a little too loud and the diction could have been clearer here. ‘Mushnik and Son’ was a snappy duet, which engaged the audience from start to finish. ‘Suddenly Seymour’, ‘The Meek Shall Inherit’ and ‘Feed Me’ were particularly all-encompassing; but there really wasn’t a weak number in this show. There were gorgeous vocal harmonies throughout. Well done all.

MOVEMENT AND DANCE: Holly Smith: This is a lively, upbeat show and the dancing was super throughout. There were many fabulous formations adopted on stage, with strong arm poses, slow, skipping steps and fabulous lunges; every dance was well-finished and highly polished. The Girls always moved in unison and their timing was consistently spot-on. Their use of gesture was always apt and timely; for example, whilst waiting at the bus stop, they danced in turn and repeatedly checked their lacquered nails. The hand gestures accompanying the, ‘Da Doo’ song were cute. The girls dancing in line for, ‘Ya Never Know’ were light on their feet. The steps; step-ball-change-flicks, shimmies, and step flicks complimented the music perfectly. ‘Be a Dentist’, saw the girls dancing around with toothbrushes and a queue of children having their teeth ripped out in the dentist’s chair. The duo telephone routine was perfectly brought to life and the timing was outstanding here. This is a tricky scene to navigate, but it was fully-realised. The mini-Mrs Luce’s were brilliant, dancing in their frumpy dresses and grey, granny wigs. The choreography for, ‘The Meek Shall Inherit’, was superb. Paper contracts were raised in the air, as the chorus marched in a large circle with intent, around Seymour, they lunged forward and back – there was a huge amount of conviction in these movements from each and every one on stage – well done. The finale dance was strong, with the four Principals in their deathly make-up and the whole Company giving it their all. The energy on stage was fabulous; lots of younger performers, the Principals, the puppeteers, the voice of Audrey 2, and the chorus girls – this is a Company that loves what it does and the audience love to see what they do so well.

PRODUCTION: This was a slick, well-rehearsed show. The music and dancing were fabulous and fully enriched the dialogue. Most of the dialogue was strong, but there were times when diction could have been improved to have made the words and meaning clearer for the audience. The lighting and sound departments achieved their effects well. The overall sound levels were a little off, but this didn’t hinder the audience’s enjoyment of the production. The outcome was a highly entertaining show.

THE CAST:
Seymour: Jonathan Ainsworth: His first ‘fall ’on to the stage was well-achieved without being too obvious. His singing into a broom was sincere and pleasing – he was in possession of a super voice, which was a real treat for us. Seymour sang and spoke using crisp diction and a wonderfully rich vocal tone. When the baby plant started drooping, Seymour’s frustration was very real, as he spoke out to the audience and then sang to the plant under a spotlight. When he watered the plants in the window, he did so with real ease and a natural calmness, which was very pleasant to watch. Seymour relished the low notes in his songs and really made the most of them; this was very pleasing. Dripping droplets of blood into the mouth of the puppet was realistic and very amusing. His body language when conversing with Orin in the shop was spot-on; we could sense his discomfort yet see that he wasn’t about to give up. Seymour was fantastic in the ‘Mushnik and Son’ number – super clarity with his vocals. His fear whilst at Orin’s Dental Surgery was tangible! Even more could have been made of feeding Orin’s body to the plant; this was a little tentative and underplayed – don’t be afraid to make your movements bigger; relish these dramatic moments. Seymour’s distress in Act 2 became very apparent. His death inside the plant’s mouth was dramatic and effective. Congratulations on playing this huge role with so much charm and sensitivity.

Audrey: Maddie Walker: She looked perfect for this role. Audrey spoke in a ditsy, high-pitched voice, thick with a ‘New Yorker’ accent and whilst this was cute and very endearing, at times her diction was a little unclear. Do take care to clearly annunciate each sound, when speaking in an accent. It is easy to fall into the trap of not forming word-endings correctly when playing this role, and this can impair our full understanding of some words. Certain words she said in her cutesy accent were very beguiling; such as, ‘bizarre’. Her line out to the audience, ‘No, just handcuffed a little’, was very sweet and unassuming. Her singing voice was an absolute joy to listen to; a very well-rounded voice, with a wonderful tone. The song, ‘Somewhere That’s Green’, was performed with style and ease; the longer notes were powerfully sustained. There were some lovely, very natural movements and gestures between Audrey and Seymour throughout. Her fearful respect for Orin was heart-wrenchingly good, “Sorry Dr”, in her sweet voice. She wore an innocent smile whist referring to her outfits as, ‘Nice’. ‘Suddenly Seymour’ was a wonderful number. Later, when Audrey entered in her innocent, floor-length, white nightgown, we could feel that something very wrong was about to happen. Her innocence was very pronounced at this point. She walked with a Lady Macbeth-like absorption, as she descended the stairs and entered the shop. She entered the plant’s mouth half-way, but this wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been, and so her untimely death seemed unlikely to have been caused by such a gentle dalliance with the plant’s mouth - there was scope for a more intense struggle here. This was a lovely characterisation overall.

Mushnik: Jack Blackmore: He spoke in a very authentic NYC accent. He eavesdropped on the conversation in his shop between Orin, Seymour and Audrey, and then deftly moved away from the door in a flash, before returning downstage to express his wonder at what he had just heard. This was well-played and then led him neatly into a superb number, ‘Mushnik and Son’. Do ensure that your vocals include clear diction at all times. A pleasing tension was created between Mushnik and Seymour, following the ‘Suddenly Seymour’ number and it built up during this scene. His demise inside the plant was gruesome and brilliantly achieved, as he went almost head first into the giant mouth of Audrey 2. Well done.

Orin Scrivello (Dentist): Jack Walker: He played this part with gusto. Orin was suitably creepy, and charismatic. Whilst still a young actor; Jack sang out with soul. His physical movements were flamboyant and arrogant; he walked with loose hips and swagger. He repeated an aggressive sniff at the end of a strong statement, many times, which became a little off-putting. Orin was played by an actor much younger than the age of the character, but this became an irrelevance, as Orin swept us along with his villainous ways. His vocals were powerful, mature and full of sass. When Orin continued to recreationally inhale gas, borrowed from his dental practice, he amped-up his movements to match the state of his mind and this was very well-handled. He ensured that the irony wasn’t lost during his song, ‘Be a Dentist’ and this was a very funny number. He could have made even more of slapping Audrey’s face – don’t hold back. The scene in the dentist’s chair was superb – the comic timing was excellent. Orin entered the surgery with his head encased inside a portable gas-administering apparatus. He giggled when initially high on the fumes and this was a contagious kind of giggle that left the audience in fits of giggles too. However, his tussle to remove the apparatus was very real and his subsequent sudden death was extremely entertaining!

Audrey 2 Voice: Ava Mannings: Initially, I had presumed that Ava was inside the plant costume – so neat and synchronised were the movements and vocals! In actual fact, Ava was seated alongside the orchestra and was watching every movement Audrey2 made on a TV screen, and matched her voice to this. In turn, Chris the Puppeteer listened to Ava’s voice. Wow! What a soulful voice! What power! ‘C’mon, C’mon’ was fabulous, with the piano tinkling in the background, until Mushnik ended up inside the plant’s hungry mouth. Her commanding voice spoke and sang with outstanding intonation. ‘Gimmie a drink’, this was an excellent scene, as Audrey 2 taunted the real Audrey in the shop. Congratulations on a fabulous characterisation.

Audrey 2 Puppeteer: Chris Hobbs: He was positioned inside the plant costume and moved his arms and legs, which were disguised as the plant roots and leaves. He worked the mechanics of the mouth to open and close it often and this was extremely effective. At the mention of the Dentist, Audrey 2 perked right up and started to become a little lively – this was good. In Act 2, the plant became more animated, as it grew and the swaying and wriggling, whilst its tendrils moved and its mouth opened, was all fabulous. Chris had to work alongside Ava’s voice from the pit and this must have taken a good deal of rehearsing to get right. What fabulous teamwork. Well done – an excellent achievement.

Baby Audrey 2 Puppeteer: Finch Talbot-Ponsonby: The baby plant moved perfectly to convey its hunger, satiation and then growth. It’s mouth opening and shutting was brilliantly manipulated. As the plant grew, its mouth flapped open with sheer joy. The plant flopped whenever hungry; the puppeteers knew the script inside-out and this was evident in their excellent manipulation skills.

The Girls: Bangle: Molly Barrett, Crystal: Gemma Walker, Ronette: Evie Long, Cookie: Callie Broadbear, Shirelle: Emma Jones, Chiffon: Josie Smith: ‘So dump the chump’, was a super line, spoken with kindliness, yet a good deal of humour too. Between them, the girls worried about the low self-esteem of their friend, Audrey, and this led them very nicely into the song, ‘Somewhere That’s Green’. The girls worked fabulously in unison as they giggled their way through this lovely number. The reference the emergency room was perfectly timed. Their ‘Greek’ chorus truly came into effect once they had removed their white Lab coats and danced and sang in their multi-coloured, sequinned dresses. These girls were very professional in their approach to performing and they were strong all-rounders. They worked as a close unit and added a very positive vibe to the show. Well done girls.

Customer: (Girl): This was fabulous. She spoke clearly and with natural pitch and volume control. Her facial expressions showed just how smitten she was with the plant and she used her voice to convey a real spark of energy – superb stage presence from one so young, watch this space!

Patrick: A young lad came on to take plant cuttings, “I gotta truck”, with hands on his hips. He performed with a wonderful maturity and such ease. This is another young actor to look out for!

Chorus boys and Girls: You all did a fabulous job! From the opening of the show, some of you appeared a little, ‘Rabbit-in-the-headlights’, but this didn’t last – always sing up and out and the confidence will find you. Sing with conviction, with mouths relaxed and open and really feel the music. Bernstein was great, with the boys behind him and Mrs Luce was in possession of a powerful voice – this was an amusing cameo characterisation. Well done, Chorus – you were fabulous!

EFFORT, ORIGINALITY AND ATTAINMENT: Here we have a cult classic show and one that is very much enjoyed by a young cast and crew. The set was kept to a minimum here, but the action certainly wouldn’t fall into this category; there was nothing minimal about it. Good; this is a robust show, which demands that its performers are physically and vocally agile, wise to the irony and humour within the concepts and within the dialogue, and up for a challenge. I am delighted to report here, that BAOS Youth ticked all of these boxes and many more. This was their own version of the well-known show and they pulled it off. Congratulations to all involved.

Thank you for your most kind hospitality and I wish you every success with your next production,
​
CLARE TOGHILL