Little Shop of Horrors, CHB Municipal Theatre, courtesy of Waipawa M&D, until June 29.
Reviewed by Rachel Wise
“Little shop, little shop of horrors, little shop, little shop of horrors…”
Sorry, I have had that tune playing in my head ever since I went to The Waipawa M&D’s performance of Little Shop of Horrors last night.
I had been looking forward to this production for a while, knowing there were some great voices about to be unleashed on the stage of the historic CHB Municipal Theatre, and that the production would be lavish and fun. Director Lisa-Jane Easter and musical director Alex Walker are experienced and talented with many a success behind them – this promised to be good.
The sense of anticipation in the theatre was palpable…the gruesome logo, dripping blood, projected onto the theatre curtain brought a sense of foreboding, and the formal march of the conductor (musical director Alex Walker) and orchestra to the orchestra pit was the cue to lean forward in our seats and get ready…
There’s high energy from moment one, in this production of this stage and screen icon.
The trio of Ronette (Victoria Logan), Soleil Fletcher (Chiffon) and Keshia Fletcher (Crystal) are fun, with superb voices, and act their bobby-socks off throughout.
The set is a stunner. Set designers Jonathan Easter and Kath Keir have created a suitably grim Skid Row, with an intriguing depth to it…the lighting, designed by director Lisa-Jane Easter, is fantastic. It deepens the gloom, highlights the action and it dances to the music. I was almost waiting for it to take its own bow at the end…
It’s a small and hand-picked cast and five minutes in I couldn’t imagine anyone else in these roles. Superb casting has Danny Priestly nail the part of gruff and tad doddery Mr Mushnic, a part that allows him to use the full range of his impressive voice.
Elijah Graham as Seymour is endearingly geeky, sings the roof off the stage and you can’t help but be rooting for the guy. His frazzled decline as the show goes on is perfection. Physically he embodies poor, geeky, bedevilled Seymour throughout.
Mahinārangi Lawrence – someone just told me it’s her first musical but I don’t believe it. Petite, expressive and full of energy, she IS Audrey, and she sings like an angel. The onstage chemistry between her Audrey and Elijah’s Seymour is strong – they work as a tight unit.
This is starting to look like a list, sorry, but nobody in this cast stands out alone, they look and sound like a tight, funloving crew, each performance is a favourite in its own right and they’re all fabulous. Jon Fletcher is – how could he not be – the voice of the amazing creation Audrey 2, and Dean Alsop is the puppeteer behind the plant’s persona, bringing the horrible herbage to life.
Well, favourites except for Shaun Newell as Oram Scrivello. Shaun’s Oram is horrible. Horribly funny that is. He’s stomach-turningly revolting, with a great voice and a real talent for physical comedy. You feel like you shouldn’t laugh – but you do. He also plunges in and out of the spotlight as different characters – quick costume changes are a cool feature of the show.
The live orchestra lifts this production into a class of its own. These musicians have put in the hard yards and it shows, and we’re privileged to have them.
A lot of the humour in this show rides on the delivery, and this cast delivers in spades. There’s a lot of physical comedy, it’s fast-paced and full-on, the choreography (Lisa-Jane Easter) sharp and the cast slick and well rehearsed.
The word for this show is energy. The cast gives it 100 per cent, it overflows into the audience who went from toe-tapping to bopping in their seats. You become fully invested in the story. By half-time I was needing a breather.
This cast leaves everything on the stage. It was fun, dramatic, and once again the outstanding quality we expect of a Waipawa M&D show.
Come along, be amazed, be prepared to be exhausted, and don’t feed the plant!
Waipawa M&D’s Little Shop of Horrors, at the CHB Municipal Theatre, Kenilworth St Waipawa until June 29, tickets at eventfinda.