Whatever you do, don’t feed the plant!
Less than a week away from opening night, “Little Shop of Horrors” presented by Delta Center Stage (DCS) is set to debut at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Jake and Freda Stein Hall at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center, 323 S. Main St.
The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. nightly Thursday to Saturday and will end with its 2:30 matinee show Sunday.
Based on the popular musical adaptation by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken about a rhythm and blues crooning, man-eating plant and a soft-spoken floral assistant named Seymour, this will mark DCS’s first ever presentation of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
DCS Executive Director Tim Bixler shared what may be a very little known fact about the musical in that it originally started as a movie filmed in 1960 and was show in two and a half days.
“Jack Nicholson was part of the cast,” Bixler said.
The main character, Seymour, which will be played by Zack Woodard, comes across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II, after his coworker crush and that is when the drama ensues.
“Audrey II” does not only serve as a focal point in the musical character wise, but in production as well.
“The big deal about this play is the tremendously expensive, but absolutely necessary giant puppets that are a big part of the show, you just can’t do the show without them,” Bixler explained.
Bixler also said because the puppets are so expensive to acquire, it’s one reason the show had not been done in Greenville as a community theater, but this time, they decided to “bite the bullet,” to the tune of roughly $4,000.
“That’s just for the rental and shipping of the puppets,” he said, noting it was an out front cash investment. “The point is, Greenville is going to see the professional puppets — they’re going to see the real deal.”
Bixler noted the puppets were rented from the authorized Broadway puppetry company and with there being a Broadway revival of the musical in the works, the DCS presentation will be somewhat of a preview.
On playing the character Seymour, Woodard said, “It has been a challenge that’s for sure. Most importantly because Seymour is myself in some form or fashion.”
Woodard said all of the characters he has ever played thus far were nothing like him, which is why playing Seymour presents a unique, but welcomed, challenge.
“He always likes to do nice things and he always likes to take care of people, that mattered to him,” Woodard said about Seymour. “He gives everybody a chance and I like that.”
Woodard said while he doesn’t have any feelings of nervousness now, the night before is usually when it sets in.
“Usually after you go out there the first night, it’s all right and you feel fine … you get all excited and once it’s over you say, ‘Wow I wish I could do that again,’” he said.
Woodard described his feelings overall as a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
Bixler and his wife, Sonya, director for the musical, share the same anticipation and feeling so far about the production — it as an astonishing cast of talent.
“It’s really been great, the cast has worked really hard and they’re all just really good. They’re gonna be ready, there’s no question about that,” Sonya said.
“We’ve got this thing covered,” Tim said. “There are actually a very limited number of written characters, but we’ve included a large chorus and there are going to be some singing numbers that will be world class and I’m not exaggerating.”
Bixler said the show features a talented family of singers who will function as a “Greek Chorus,” noting a trio of a mother and two daughters who he said have done an exceptionally good job.
“No one who comes to see it will be disappointed in the level of talent,” he said.
The typical late 50s, early 60s kind of “doo-wop” and rock-n-roll vibe of the musical is really fun, but there are lots of layers to it, according to Sonya.
“There’s lots of harmonies and I think in some places there are five-part harmonies, so they’re really doing a great job with that,” she said.
With all the complexity of the harmonies and puppet operation, Sonya said the musical will just overall be fun and great for families to witness, especially when Audrey II hits the stage.
Four different puppets will be used in the production as the Audrey II grows in size as the play develops.
The bigger it gets, the harder it gets to manipulate, which, according to the Bixlers, takes a lot of strength and a team of hard-working people.
“It’s live theater and there’s nothing like live theatre … Movies are wonderful and they have their own niche and place and all of that, but when you see people up there that you know performing and everything, it’s really special and to share it with your kids,” she excitedly said.
“It’s fun and this play kind of satirizes the old science fiction movies and that’s kind of fun, too,” she said, highlighting the literary motif of compromising one’s integrity to get what they want as illustrated in the musical.
“It’s a motif that is prominent in lots of really good literature,” she said.
Another fun fact Tim shared is Martin P. Robinson, the man who designed and built the puppets for the original 1982 and 2003 revival of Little Shop of Horrors, also happens to work for the Jim Henson Company.
Tickets for “Little Shop of Horrors” cost $20 for adults and $10 for anyone with a student ID or who is under the age of 16. DCS season ticket holders are free.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at Lagniappe Gifts, 1361 E. Reed Road, Montage Marketplace, 3227 Highway 82 East, E.E. Bass office, 323 S. Main St. or online at deltastage.com/ticket_listings.html via PayPal.
Tickets can also be purchased upon arrival, and there is no reserve seating.
