Hi, I desperately need to talk about the Stratford Festival’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. NO this is not becoming a review blog. But in the words of Trixie and Katya, “it’s a show where we talk about whatever we want, because it’s our show, and not yours”. And I feel like reviewing.
Little Shop has been one of my favourite musicals since high school, when I played in the pit band for our (all girls. SOS.) production. Please refer to my Instagram feed, where I posted my first attempt at playing the score in years. BYE, EARS. BYE, NEIGHBOURS. BYE, DIGNITY.
Anyways, LSOH has always held a special little place in my heart. So, when my bestie Eliot texted me offering me a ticket to the Stratford production, I freaked the F out and couldn’t accept fast enough. And after I posted on Facebook that I was seeing the show and one or two people asked how it was, I knew I needed to take to my new-and-improved platform to talk about it.
Let’s just get into it. I LOVED THIS PRODUCTION. OH MY GOD.
Aside from A Chorus Line a few years ago, I haven’t seen many musicals in Stratford; the majority of my musical theatre-going is done in Toronto. And I was SO impressed! I loved the theatre, and, on an unrelated note, I loved the idea of “stay in the lobby and drink and maybe meet some of the cast”. While I didn’t partake this time around, 15-year-old me was freaking out over the concept of meeting the performers. But yes, I loved the theatre!
The show. First of all, I loved the set; simple, yet interesting. I liked the idea of Mushnik’s being stationary and everything revolving around the shop. I also was obsessed with the lighting design; Michael Walton, ya done good. A little lightning in a sci-fi show will get me every time.
THAT PLANT THO. Audrey II is astonishing. This plant is truly a character on the stage; in the scene before “Sominex”, the movements made by this puppet were next level. I am so impressed by this team and by the designers.
We all know that Audrey (I) is my dream role. I am D Y I N G to play that part……and Gabi Epstein killed it. I’ve seen Gabi around on the ‘gram and through other Toronto theatre friends. But I had NOOOO idea she could sing like that. Holy hell. I also loved that she made Audrey real. If there’s one thing I learned from my stint as Adelaide, it’s that you need to make these “caricature” characters real. If they’re whiney and annoying and too dumb, they aren’t loveable. Gabi’s Audrey was SO loveable, and I think this was largely due to her not putting on a silly character voice. The accent does the work for her, and we were left with a vulnerable and sweet Audrey. My ONLY gripe was that I prefer “Somewhere That’s Green” to be a sweeter, softer piece; this is a musical direction thing, not a Gabi thing. Her belt is PHENOMENAL and the song sounded stunning. But with all of the giggles coming from the audience (which I never understand; to me it is so not a funny song) I longed for something a little bit more raw before we get into the intensity (and hilarity) of the rest of the show. But that doesn’t matter. Brava, Gabi. So impressed by you.
Hi, I’m in love with André Morin. His Seymour was great. The vocals were phenom. Nothing else to say.
I do have a thing or two to say about Dan Chameroy. First of all, I dare you to do a role out of drag. JK. (But really…)
This man. I’ve seen him in many a Panto and others, and it was a joy to see him in LSOH. His Dentist was hilarious….I am a true lover of physical comedy, and everything he did was gold. Something as simple as fiddling with the zippers of his leather jacket was perfection. While his Dentist was amazing, I honestly would have paid just to see his interpretation of the three salespeople in “The Meek Shall Inherit”…I don’t know WHO had the AUDACITY to come up with these characterizations, but I was screaming. As soon as I saw him break that fourth wall with the removal of a wig, I knew how special this little rotation of roles was…I swear, this number alone will make you laugh harder than any other part of the show.
Also, a nod to Donna Feore’s direction. The comedy in this show was incredible; there were moments of what I can only describe as “head choreography” (during “The Meek Shall Inherit”, I believe) that are SO difficult to perfect, and it was just that: perfection. Also, there was one choice that particularly grabbed my attention. The urchins during “Dentist”. Typically, the girls are totes swooning over Orin during his song, and I’m always a little confused by it; it doesn’t really help us believe that he is a disgusting character who deserves to die. In this production, the girls are grossed out by him. It was SO funny, so unexpected, and it made me clap that much harder when he bit the dust. Brava for great direction!
I also need to applaud Dana Osborne for her costume design………okay, for one costume in particular. I loved all of the costumes throughout—honourable mention goes to the Dreamgirls-esque green numbers that the urchins wore in Act II—but my favourite was…………….the finale costumes. SUE ME. I LIVE FOR THAT NUMBER. But seeing grown adults in leafy onesies brought me more joy that I could have imagined. I love seeing what different productions do with that number, and her costumes made me want to leap out of my seat. So good.
HONOURABLE FRIGGING MENTION GOES TO:
Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette. The VOICES. Oh my GAWWWW. So good. BRA. VA.
Jordan Mah for his portrayal of the grocer during “Da-Doo”. Go see the show and you’ll know what I mean. Dead.
SO, anyways. I could talk about this show for days. Highly recommend you make the trip out to Stratford for this production. 11/10! Yay Canadian theatre!