Trinity Rep's Little Shop of Horrors
I am one of the sixteen people who has never seen Little Shop of Horrors. How can that be? Well, it took me some time but I did get to see a very fine production of it this past week at Trinity Rep.
If you are on of the other fifteen people who have also never seen the show, here is a quick rundown:
A strange and unusual plant seems like just the thing to save a beleaguered Skid Row flower shop and its hapless employees, Seymour and Audrey. But when that plant turns out to feed only on blood and is inclined toward world-domination, well… things get a little messy.
The off-off-Broadway show of the early eighties was based on the low budget film from 1960. Later, in 1986, Frank Oz directed a film that started Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Bill Murray (!). It has a typical Hollywood ending from what I gather.
Trinity Rep, set designer, Sara Brown, offered up a colorful stage set up that offered ample opportunity for actors to move around and really use the space to its fullest capacity. The dancing and acting were superb. Although I have been living in PVD for less than a year, I even caught the references made about Providence.
I was most impressed with the performances Jude Sandy (Seymour) and Rebecca Gibel (Audrey) as both actors brought such a realism to their performances. Seymour was goofy, clumsy, and a fellow full of heart. And although Audrey was a little misguided with her choice of men, there was an equal bit of innocence in her as she navigated the world, too. Their romance blossomed (*), of course, but with all quirky love stories, it didn't end well for the star crossed sweeties.
A strange and unusual plant seems like just the thing to save a beleaguered Skid Row flower shop and its hapless employees, Seymour and Audrey. But when that plant turns out to feed only on blood and is inclined toward world-domination, well… things get a little messy.
The off-off-Broadway show of the early eighties was based on the low budget film from 1960. Later, in 1986, Frank Oz directed a film that started Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Bill Murray (!). It has a typical Hollywood ending from what I gather.
Trinity Rep, set designer, Sara Brown, offered up a colorful stage set up that offered ample opportunity for actors to move around and really use the space to its fullest capacity. The dancing and acting were superb. Although I have been living in PVD for less than a year, I even caught the references made about Providence.
I was most impressed with the performances Jude Sandy (Seymour) and Rebecca Gibel (Audrey) as both actors brought such a realism to their performances. Seymour was goofy, clumsy, and a fellow full of heart. And although Audrey was a little misguided with her choice of men, there was an equal bit of innocence in her as she navigated the world, too. Their romance blossomed (*), of course, but with all quirky love stories, it didn't end well for the star crossed sweeties.
(*) pun intended
The runs through May 12 at Trinity Rep in Providence. Catch it while you can!
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