This plant's out for blood, but where's the bite?

Making its debut on Moonlight's mainstage at the amphitheatre, this "Little Shop of Horrors" is a pretty slick package, designed to entertain even the most squeamish out there. Director Kirby Ward's well-oiled production, though, is so patently unoffensive that one wonders if its carnivorous plant Audrey II somehow managed to swallow the show's edge along with its four principals.

"Little Shop of Horrors" began its life in 1960 as a low-budget Roger Corman film about a blood-thirsty plant, which was musicalized into a quirky, gory off-Broadway musical in 1982. Four years later, it was made into a movie starring Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, and original star Ellen Greene as the battered blonde ingenue, Audrey.

Kirsten Chandler

Copyright©2007 Ken Jacques

If there's one thing this production has going for it, it's a top-flight cast that includes several "Little Shop" veterans. Scott Dreier has carved out a career playing gawky schlub Seymour Krelborn, and it's easy to see why. He's goofy without being an all-out caricature, and his scenes with Kirsten Chandler (endearing as Audrey) are sincere. The pair's big second act duet, "Suddenly Seymour," though, is a bit reluctant to soar to the vocal heights for which the song is known.

It's indicative of many of the show's musical moments, actually. Musical director Terry O'Donnell's five-piece band rocks with the rhythms and sounds of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's '60s pastiche score, but the ensemble's powerhouse opening number, "Skid Row (Downtown)," doesn't explode to its necessary climax either.

David Engel

Copyright©2007 Ken Jacques

In a number of supporting roles (I lost track after the first seven or so), the chameleon David Engel shows his versatility. His sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, is both alluring and scary, and the myriad of other characters he plays appropriately loopy, fey, chipper, and soused. The talented Engel seems to be playing a little too "safe" here, though -- he could stand to be dirtier and more off-the-wall, just as Chandler's breathy Audrey could be a little whorier. These darker, dirtier elements are largely glossed over in Ward's wholesome production.

John Massey and Scott Dreier

Copyright©2007 Ken Jacques

John Massey creates a memorable, animated Mr. Mushnik, the owner of the titular flower shop. Donald Lee McKee and Jimmer Bolden bring the man-eating plant Audrey II to life with their animated puppetry and soulful vocal stylings, respectively.

The three multicultural street urchins are a mixed lot. Kimberly Henry captures the right early Motown style (both vocal- and movement-wise) as Chiffon. Jenn Aedo and Leslie Tammone are fine singers, and though they give it their best shots, they're quite plainly miscast as the remaining two-thirds of the trio.

Kimberly Henry, Leslie Tammone, Jenn Aedo, and Scott Dreier

Copyright©2007 Ken Jacques

The scenery, provided by Maverick Theatre, fills out the amphitheatre's expansive stage nicely, and opens up the chamber-sized show without losing too much intimacy. Sharell Martin's costumes, particularly those for Audrey, are fun, if perhaps a bit too clean and spotless, and Peter Herman's wig designs are attractive, with the slight exception of a couple of the Dreamgirls-styled 'dos seen briefly in Act II.

It's not a bad way to end out the season. Like the other three shows seen this summer at the Moonlight, it's slick, professional, and an enjoyable evening overall. If it fails to provide the memorable star turns of "Annie Get Your Gun" or "Me and My Girl," or the breathtaking drama of the recently closed "West Side Story," it's charming enough.

But this "Little Shop of Horrors," though it needn't descend into outright camp, might do better with a little less charm and a few more "horrors."

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