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REVIEW REVIEW: Randall Theatre's 'Little Shop of Horrors' a rollicking good time Comment By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 5, 2015 at 1:30 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:26 AM By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 5, 2015 at 1:30 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:26 AM » Social News What do you do with a sassy, singing, flesh-eating plant named Audrey II? If you are Seymour, the nebbish assistant in “Little Shop of Horrors,” you parlay the trash-talking horticultural carnivore into fame, fortune and the love of a good woman. If you are Randall Theatre Company, you put on a rollicking good-time evening of rock 'n' roll, Faustian morality and a lot of New York kitsch. Just be careful not to get too close to Audrey II when it's feeding time. “Little Shop of Horrors,” by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, is the hardy perennial of horror rock musicals. It is based on a 1960 film by low-budget horror movie impresario Roger Corman. The musical opened off-Broadway in 1982, winning the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and ran for five years, with a subsequent film and many revivals. Seymour Krelborn (Brad Zentgraf) is a downtrodden florist’s assistant in an equally downtrodden shop on Skid Row. When the shop owner, Mr. Mushnik (Peter Quince), announces they are about to go under, Seymour suggests a display of the exotic plant he recently bought — a sort of mutation of a Venus flytrap. He has named the plant Audrey II, in honor of his adored co-worker Audrey (Mia Gaskin), a sweet soul with low self-esteem and a weakness for abusive men. Seymour is a bit creeped-out when he discovers the plant thrives only on human blood. But what are a few pinpricks and extended bloodletting when financial and romantic success are finally within your grasp? Audrey II grows, the florist shop flourishes, and Seymour is on his way. Then Audrey II begins to demand a square meal rather than mere snacks. What is Seymour to do? Hmm, there is Audrey’s abusive, leather-clad dentist boyfriend (Jon Oles). No one will miss him. And Seymour is well on his way down the slippery slope. The music is a mix of do-wop, rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll, the lyrics are witty and the plot line has enough bumps to it to keep audiences at the edge of their seats. Director Toni Holley has cast a musically talented mix of Randall veterans and newcomers, mixed it up with Deborah Downward’s slickly professional, witty choreography and captured the joyful B-movie vibe of this show. Zentgraf brings a strong voice and an appealing vulnerability to Seymour. He is well matched by Mia Gaskin’s poignantly tacky Audrey, complete with a nasal New York accent, and Peter Quince’s irascible Mr. Mushnik. BriAnna Johnson, Elizabeth Suzanne and Courtney Crawford play the “urchins” — Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon — a Greek chorus with the harmonies and moves of a '60s Motown girl group. The wild card in the mix is Jon Oles as the villain — or multiple villains — that tempt poor Seymour. Oles does a delicious Elvis imitation as the sadistic biker dentist (“The Leader of the Plaque”) but he also milks the laughs as a free-spending customer, a television network executive, a pompous female magazine editor and, best of all, a fast-talking, slimy Hollywood agent. Randall Theatre was able to borrow the sequence of appropriately lurid Audrey II puppets from Southern Oregon University’s Theater Department, which staged a previous production. John Wing provides Audrey II’s raspy, occasionally lascivious, voice and dastardly laugh; Kathy Wing is the puppeteer. “Little Shop of Horrors” has just enough gore and gritty vulgarity to be funny and still be suitable for a family audience. If you are nostalgic for some great music and a bit of New York attitude, Randall Theatre has just the show for you. For more information, see www.randalltheatre.com . Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at [email protected] . By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Roberta Kent for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 5, 2015 at 1:30 PM Updated May 6, 2015 at 10:26 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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