“Little Shop” brings dark humor and great music to the Studio Theater

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Ronnettes
From left, Amanda Kennedy as Chiffon, Melissa Mellinger as Ronnette and Hannah Boswell as Crystal.

The Carmel Repertory Theatre’s 2011-12 season continues with their latest musical “The Little Shop of Horrors.” This cult classic musical based on a 1960 black comedy of the same name first ran as an off-Broadway production in 1982 and later spawned a similarly cult classic film starring Rick Moranis in 1986.

Directed by Doug Peet and featuring a wonderful orchestra under the direction of Dick Leap, The Carmel Repertory Theatre’s production features an intimate set inside the Studio Theater that pairs well with the show’s memorable 1960s-era inspired setting and rock ‘n’ roll music.

Little ShopMost impressive to me was how well the production took advantage of the Studio Theater’s limited space and managed to still feel like a very large-scale production. The show’s first large musical number “Skid Row (Downtown)” featured the entire cast on stage at once without feeling crowded, awkward or impeded in any way. It was a wonderful way to start off the show.

Unfortunately, the particular performance I attended was tarnished by a number of technical microphone issues. Hopefully, this was just specific to the single performance and is something that CRT was able to iron out for upcoming performances.

My experience with CRT’s “Little Shop of Horrors” was an impressive and extremely fun time. Doug Messinger’s Seymour was appropriately dweeby and loveable. Brooke DeBetties performed the role of Audrey flawlessly, complete with her iconic voice and a number of wonderfully touching moments with Seymour. The Dentist, played be Jason Plake, stole the show in many ways during his hilarious laughing-gas accident at the end of Act 1.

The Carmel Repertory Theatre’s “The Little Shop of Horrors” is a sure-fire way to spend a great and unique evening with friends that will leave you humming “Suddenly Seymour” and “Somewhere That’s Green” for days to come.

“The Little Shop of Horrors” runs now through June 24. Performances are held Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range from $18 to $23 and may be purchased by calling 767-6973 or visiting thecenterfortheperformingarts.org.


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