Based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film “Little Shop of Horrors,” was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken as a parody of the horror films of the period, Seymour Krelborn, a poor young man living on Skid Row,
Based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film “Little Shop of Horrors,” was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken as a parody of the horror films of the period, Seymour Krelborn, a poor young man living on Skid Row, works in a flower shop and longs to escape the urban blight to a nice house in the suburbs.
He comes into possession of a strange and unusual plant which, he soon learns and keeps secret, thrives on human blood. The flower shop is besieged with customers, anxious to see this new plant and to buy flowers, making the shop suddenly successful.
Unfortunately, this puts Seymour in the unenviable position of finding more food for his plant or risk losing his newly found fame, fortune and girlfriend, Audrey.
“Little Shop of Horrors” has been a huge undertaking,” says director Peggy Ellenburg in a press release. “Without the collaboration of our very talented music director Rosie Alfiler and the energy and imagination of pre-kindergarten teacher Sue Macklin who took on the making of Audrey II, I would not have dared enter into this arena.”
Island School alumni who also assisted were Taylor Gibson who helped Philip Steinbacher with choreography; Caira Nakasone, Heidi Skarajunsky and Jim Bray. Community volunteers include Chase Bohn, Bobbee Downs and Laurel Petterson McGraw.
Music is composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll doo-wop and early Motown, includes several show-stoppers including “Skid Row (Downtown),” “Somewhere That’s Green” and “Suddenly, Seymour.”
Little Shop of Horrors opened off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre on July 27, 1982. This original production won several awards including the 1982-1983 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. When it closed Nov. 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances, it was the third-longest running musical and the highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history. It has been performed all over the world.
The Island School production features 12 talented high school students: Gabriel Figueroa as Seymour Krelborn, Mehana Rietow as Audrey, Lyubov Malysheva, an exchange student from the Ukraine, as Mrs. Mushkin and Christian Potter as Orin, the dentist. Five young ladies play street urchins who are also featured singers and dancers: Sadie Jackson, Jasmine Libert, Christy Mayfield, Lexa Mink-Flacco, and Hayley Uliana. Samantha Barry is learning the ropes as stage manager. Brandon Deunk and Scott Emberson trade off operating the four plant puppets, whose voice is played by Nestor Figueroa, Gabriel’s father and is directed by Peggy Ellenburg with musical direction by Rose Alfiler.
The show runs for two weeks: 7 p.m. today and Saturday; 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 14 at Island School Theatre. Pre-sale tickets are $6 and available at the following outlets: Island School Office, Puhi; Dolphin Touch, Kapa‘a; Dr. Potters Dermatology, Kukui Grove Shopping Center and from cast members. Tickets are $8 at the door. For more information call, 246-0233 ext. 262 or e-mail peggy@ischool.org.
