In 1860, Roger Corman directed a horror-comedy film called, “Little Shop of Horrors”. After its initial success, Playwright Howard Ashman and Composer Alan Menken adapted it into a musical in 1982. Since then, it has been performed worldwide, most recently in the Tregaron Black Box Theater. 

I saw the “Little Shop” performed for the first time on Nov. 21, where I was pleasantly surprised by the enthralling storyline, which follows the adopted son of a plant shop owner Seymour Krelborn played by Junior Leo Naftulin. Throughout the performance, Krelborn discovers a rare and exotic Venus flytrap named Audrey II that he uses to obtain fame, love and money in exchange for blood. 

At its core, the musical explores Seymour’s moral decline, as he slowly helps the memorable ensemble of characters meet their grim fates. Most notably, he begins by killing his crush’s ex-boyfriend and later even his adoptive father after pressure from Audrey II.

It soon spirals into a mess he can’t control after realizing the plant’s true aspiration: world conquest. Despite its complexity, I feel the show managed to accurately tell a fluid story within its two-hour runtime.

The musical takes place in a run-down city called Skid Row, illustrated with a creative and engaging stage. The set featured four pop-up walls of the plant shop with scaffolding behind it, and when the setting changed, the scaffolding was flipped by various crew members, with brick designs on the back.

But on both opening and closing night, in the second half of the musical, the set was not prepared properly and large gaps were left between the last two blocks and the accompanying stairway, meaning the actors had to make precarious jumps. However, this issue was resolved by the quick thinking stage crew. 

The first half of the show flew by, with one dark twist after another. Seymour and his lover Audrey, played by Junior Carolina Fournier Miranda, were eventually ended by the very same plant he grew. It felt like a dramatic and unexpected conclusion, but also a slightly rushed one. 

Despite its dark themes and quick moving plot, the show still at its core was a horror-comedy, and the comedy part was done very well. Even otherwise saddening scenes, such as the death of Fournier Miranda’s character, were made humorous by well timed jokes with absurd deliveries.  

The cast also delivered stellar performances throughout the show’s musical numbers. I particularly enjoyed the second song “Skid Row (Downtown)” which serves as an introduction to both the characters and the setting. 

It was clear how much effort went into each song, in both sound design and choreography. Unfortunately, technical issues occasionally disrupted the performance. These moments briefly detracted from the otherwise immersive experience. Particularly in the song “Dentist,” the microphone feedback on Orin Scrivello, played by Freshman Miles Fenkart, was overwhelming.

Other than the phenomenal leads, I quite enjoyed performances by Freshman Rose Satchell, who played the vampiric Audrey II. Despite not being seen until the very end, she did a fantastic job with both her lines and her vocals, bringing humor and euphony from behind the stage. 

In general, the cast’s performances were of very high quality. Though there were few ensemble members, they were all fantastic. My favorite line in the whole show was said by a character dubbed Customer, played by freshman Lei Goker, “What a strange and interesting plant!”.

The show’s leads, Naftulin and Fournier Miranda, along with the astonishing cast and crew’s support, created a remarkable show. The WIS production of “Little Shop of Horrors” masterfully balanced humor, horror and tragedy, delivering an experience that was both simple and complex and a show that was predictable, yet surprising.

By Mahina Diaz-Asper