“Little Shop of Horrors” is a BIG night of FUN!
Little Shop first premiered Off-Off-Broadway in 1982 as a workshop and made it to off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre the same year, playing over 2200 performances; then it deservedly went on to Broadway in 2003 and it’s been produced and performed around the country ever since. But Marriott Lincolnshire offers a special production (as they often do), by insuring smiles on the audience members’ faces from young to older, and skillfully handling the technical challenges of working in the round, especially to make the ever-growing Audrey II man eating plant function beautifully. Perhaps most importantly, the cast is a familiar to Chicago group of solid well-known performers who add a large spirit and connect strongly with the audience.
The show is nostalgic, but still fresh in many ways.
The production is sharp and clean, but brings a refreshing sense of humor, warmth and heart to this long-standing almost cult musical. Candidly, there are uncomfortable moments in a show that is 40 years old and addresses domestic violence with a touch of humor; it might have played back in the early ‘80’s but today, it’s difficult to watch, yet the cast keeps a lid on the humor of it but performs the script as written and required to make the plot work. The cast handles it well.
The show is certainly a bit campy but the cast’s chemistry is electric. Indeed, this sincere Seymour (played so warmly by the great Jackson Evans), and sensitive Audrey (another Chicago fave, Maya Rowe) bring genuine emotional warmth, allowing the absurdity and satire to coexist beautifully with its vulnerable love story. The show also works so well because of the talents of mark David Kaplan (Mr. Mushnik), Andrew Mueller (playing dentist Orin and so many others so well that you don’t even know it’s the same actor on stage!) and the amazing bass voice of the Lorenzo Rush, Jr. who we only hear until his curtain call) This cast gets the show’s darkly comic rhythm but perform with impressively nuanced performances, grounding the outrageous premise in authentic human relationships.
And Audrey II—may be a plant, but exudes life through inventive puppetry control and maneuvering and rightfully stands as a character in its own right.
Marriott Lincolnshire’s production is a triumph of imagination and theatrical craft, making it a must-see opener for this season’s opener at one of our Chicagoland beloved theaters.
