Listennnnnn.
I’m not a fan of the horror and gore genres, but put it in a musical and inject into it a dose of campiness and dark humor and I’ll most probably give it a try. (And it also kinda helps if I have a friend in the cast, ‘cos honestly that was the case here.) So yeah, we watched The Sandbox Co.’s Little Shop of Horrors over the weekend, and had so much fun!
Little Shop of Horrors is an Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical about a botanical geek, Seymour, who has discovered a strange new plant after a total solar eclipse. He works at a flower shop owned by Mr. Mushnik, who (sort of) adopted him as a boy, and is happy and content to be there alongside the beautiful Audrey, for whom he harbors a secret crush. Unfortunately, nobody buys flowers in Skid Row and the flower shop is going bankrupt, so Mr. Mushnik decides its time to cut his losses and close the business down. Unwilling to give up on the shop, Audrey and Seymour show Mr. Mushnik the strange plant (that Seymour named Audrey 2) to convince him that it could attract potential new buyers if they display it by the shop window.
Sure enough, a mysterious customer comes in because they’re drawn to Audrey 2, which makes Mr. Mushnik reconsider permanently closing up shop. Seymour then continues to take care of Audrey 2, even though he becomes frustrated that it won’t grow despite everything that he’s done to nurture it. Eventually, he learns of its peculiar taste for blood, and he lets it feed on his own blood so it could flourish. Audrey 2 then begins to grow, attracting customers left and right and bringing good business to the flower shop. And the good news doesn’t stop there, because Seymour’s little dreams of having a family and being noticed by the love of his life are coming true as well. Until, of course, Audrey 2’s growing appetite demands more of Seymour than usual…
This is my first time watching Little Shop of Horrors on stage so I came in not knowing what to expect. All I knew of the show was that there’s a venus flytrap-looking plant that eats people and that’s it. I know I must’ve seen the 80s film sometime in my childhood because I recall some images from it, but I must have misremembered because I really did NOT know where the plot was going when we got to Act 2. I was genuinely hooked though, and by the time we entered the second act, the romance enthusiast in me was already rooting for Seymour and Audrey’s Happy Ever After.
I’m a clown, apparently.
Anywayyyyyy…
I’m familiar with Sue Ramirez’ TV and film work, but it’s my first time seeing her in a musical, and she did not disappoint. Her depiction of a lovable, naive, and vulnerable Audrey made you want to root for her despite her wrong decisions, and I especially loved her heart-tugging rendition of Somewhere That’s Green. I hope she considers doing more theatre productions in the future because I definitely want to see more of her. Perhaps a Tagalog musical next?
Watching Reb Atadero on stage is always a delight, and I think that casting him as Seymour was a great decision. Both his vocal skills and physicality brought life to this nerdy, bumbling fool of a character, who struggles with moral dilemmas involving family, fame, and love. Fun observation: We were seated on L3, and sometimes I could swear I saw Rick Moranis when I looked at him!
David Ezra was HILARIOUS! Every time he was on stage, whether as The Dentist, or some other minor character, he just cracked me up. (We were so amused, we kinda imitated this little laugh he did toward the end of the show as we were leaving the theatre just ‘cause.) So ~annoying that he’s funny AND has an amazing set of pipes. Dude, that’s unfair.
Sidenote: I kinda wanna watch again to see David’s alternate, Markki Stroem take on this role, for shits and giggles. looks to the sky for free monies
I super loved the urchins AKA the “Greek chorus” of the show (Abi Sulit, Paula Paguio, and Mikee Baskiñas). I could listen to them harmonize all day—they were just soooooo GOOD! And Audie Gemora, always a privilege to see him work his magic on stage, and it was a bit of a shame that he wasn’t there for the rest of the show. I did enjoy his and Reb’s Mushnik and Son number a lot, though.
And of course, this review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention OJ Mariano, who, quite literally ate up this role and left no crumbs (lol). As I write this review, I’ve been googling references to other productions of Little Shop of Horrors and I realize Audrey 2 is usually this really huge plant puppet, so this production’s take on the iconic character was actually kind of novel. And bold. I can’t reveal anything more about Audrey 2 (because the audience is requested not to at the end of the show so other first-time viewers won’t get spoiled), but I can say this: I thoroughly enjoyed watching OJ do a villain role again (it’s been A MINUTE since Godspell), and I am a greedy bitch who wants MOARRRR!
Sharing a Rappler Live Jam featuring the cast of Little Shop of Horrors for your enjoyment~ (this features the alternate cast: Nyoy Volante as Seymour and Karylle Tatlonghari as Audrey):
My sister and I commented on how eye-catching the backdrop was for Little Shop of Horrors, and I was very pleased to see how it became part of the story with the use of image mapping as well as the actors’ movement there. Without giving away too much, I just want to say I very much appreciated how symbolic that third level stage was in terms of Seymour’s personal story/journey, and maybe you’ll know what I mean when you get to watch it. A+ direction, kudos to Toff de Venecia.
I really had fun in the theatre with this one (taas kamay ng lahat ng LSS sa Suddenly Seymour!) and I think it’s a great show to watch with friends and family. If I had a gripe, though, it would be that the audio didn’t sound as good as I would have wanted it. Yes, we were seated at the farthest end of the theatre (L3), but we also had pretty much paid a similar amount (almost P300 cheaper, actually) to watch Buruguduystunstugudunstuy at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre and the audio there was amazing.
I’ve seen a couple of productions at the Globe Auditorium (Maybank Performing Arts Center) pre-pandemic era, and I can say the quality has improved, but it’s still not quite there yet. And this is sad because there were amazing voices in this show, but I felt like we were only getting 70% audio quality. It was difficult to catch the actors’ dialogue and lyrics especially when they’re talking fast or singing upbeat songs.
I hope that whoever’s in charge of managing the theatre makes some improvements soon, because theatre tickets are not cheap, and we certainly want value for money, and that includes being able to hear the actors in our musicals properly.
Little Shop of Horrors runs until July 28! For more information on cast schedules and ticketing details, follow The Sandbox Co on Instagram @thesandboxco. Or get your tickets straight from Ticketworld.
