Little Shop of Horrors Nat'l Tour Review

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 9:57am

Woo! I'm very excited. I recently just played Seymour at our high school and I'm going to see this with my Audrey and Mr. Mushnik. I saw it on Broadway twice, but I'm still excited to see this cast. I'll let you know how it is when I come back!


Updated On: 4/24/05 at 09:57 AM

[Jera]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 9:58am

cool! Can't wait to hear about it!

jera

[DTBG2]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 10:09am

Enjoy It! I played Seymour last year in high school..it was great..

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 11:53am

WONDERFUL cast! Enjoy...especially Tari Kelly.

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 12:04pm

Tari Kelly is wonderful as Audrey. Dare I say it, better than Kerry was in the role.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 12:54pm

Saw the Bway production and loved it so much. It was one of the best productions Ive ever seen. Im sure the tour is of the same caliber. Enjoy :)

[ShuQ]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 1:00pm

Ohhh...this cast is SO phenomenal. Every single one of them were so great, I saw it twice. Have fun!

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 5:06pm

"Tari Kelly is wonderful as Audrey. Dare I say it, better than Kerry was in the role."

I agree...the tour is coming to Cleveland (I saw it in Cincinnati when I was visiting CCM). I hope the cast signs on for another year or so. Tari wasn't sure yet if she will...she wants to move on to something new.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 5:14pm

I saw the Broadway production with Jessica-Snow Wilson and Joey Fatone and it was great, but from the audio clips on Tari Kelly's website, Tari blows Kerry and Jessica-Snow out of the water. I regret missing the tour when it came to Hartford.

[bwaymargie]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 7:33pm

I have nothing but good things to say about Tari, Jonathan, and the rest of the cast. The Urchins (I don't remember their names) are Amahzing (as Seth Rudetsky would say) It is truly stellar, onstage and off. I was fortunate to meet both Tari and Jonathan and get a backstage tour and they were so helpful in talking about theatre, and the biz and everything.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 7:35pm

Tari is one of the sweetest actresses I have met...

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 7:46pm

I listened to Tari's clips from the website...vocally, she is MUCH BETTER than Kerry.

[Jera]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 7:51pm

I listened to Tari as well. I prefer Kerry, but that's just me.

jera

[La Vie Boheme]

Posted: 4/23/05 at 8:05pm

Where is the tour now?

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 12:05pm

Okay, here we go...

Little Shop of Horrors (The Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore, MD)

The show started off with a bang. The three urchins, Latonya Holmes, Yasmeen Sullieman, and Iris Burruss, sang the crap out of the opening song. These girls were amazing. "Ya Never Know" was really impressive. The opening soloist (I forget which one) tore it up. The girls started off "Skid Row" very powerfully, but for some reason, the song didn't pack the punch it should have until the last note. Jonathan Rayson played Seymour as mentally challenged, which worked sometimes, but became kind of grating. He had a pleasant enough voice and I was very impressed with him during "Feed Me" and "The Meek Shall Inherit," but he didn't leave a lasting impression. His "Grow for Me" was short and sweet, which was fine, but it never reached its comic potential. And that's basically how I felt about the entire show. It felt to me that some cast members were trying to get the show over with as soon as possible and they really blew over some potentially hilarious parts. And I never bought that he was in love with Audrey. Rayson was very stiff in his delivery and lacking in emotion. Tari Kelly played Audrey and I thought she was wonderful. Her "Somewhere That's Green" really worked for me because it has the right balance of comedy and sweetness. She belted the crap out of "Suddenly Seymour," one of the highlights of the show for me. She was Ellen Greene-esque, but she didn't come off as a carbon copy of Ellen Greene, which was a relief. Ray DeMattis was Mr. Mushnik. I had seen Ray DeMattis before on Broadway when he was the understudy for Rob Bartlett and I remember really enjoying him. But today he just didn't seem into it. He was serviceable. "Mushnik & Son" worked fine and DeMattis did a couple of funny things, but something was missing. It wasn't as funny as it could have been. The biggest disappointment was James Moye as Orin, et al. His "Dentist!" started out promising, but the number never became the showstopper that it needs to be. He also didn't seem very into the show. "Now (It's Just the Gas)" was a complete let down. Once again, the scene wasn't as funny as it could have been. It was just blown over very quickly. I did, however, like him during "The Meek Shall Inherit," as Skip Snip. His three characters during that song and every other character he played during the show besides Orin, all came off the same, though. As the voice of Audrey II, Michael James Leslie really rocked out. He took a little getting used to because he had a slightly different approach, but he was another highlight of the show. I had also seen (well, heard) Leslie on Broadway when he understudied Michael Wooley. I noticed that when he was understudy, he stuck more to what Wooley did, but now since he's the headliner, he was able to do a lot of different things with the character. He did some pretty cool things with his voice, and he was really enjoyable in the role.

The only people who really seemed into the show were Kelly, the urchins, and Leslie. Rayson as Seymour just let the things happen around him instead of being the actual star of the show. I wouldn't really say anyone was bad, they were merely serviceable. However, the production itself is amazing. Audrey II is a work of art. It's antics during "Feed Me" were incredible. The plant moved so freely and so spastically, it was really impressive. The biggest Audrey II was incredible. The plant was so unrestricted with its movements and it had a very strong "stage presence," if you will. Audrey and Seymour's deaths were really well done, incorporating the plant. The set was stellar. The shop itself had so much detail and even the background of New York City was awesome. I loved the set on Broadway, and even though it had definitely been downsized, I loved this set, too. The lighting was very cool, too. There were a lot of subtle lighting tricks used to accentuate certain scenes and it added a lot to the show. "Finale Ultimo (Don't the Feed the Plants)" ended the show with a bang. That number alone is worth the price of admission.

So, all in all, while I felt like it was too rushed and there were a lot of missed opportunities, I really enjoyed myself at the show. I was sad to see it end. The show started and ended on a high note. I loved Tari Kelly as Audrey and I loved the urchins. The highlights of the show for me were "Little Shop of Horrors," "Ya Never Know," "Somewhere That's Green," "Feed Me," "Act I Finale," "Suppertime" (I and II) "Suddenly Seymour," "The Meek Shall Inherit," and "Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants)."

After the show, they had a Puppet Talk with the puppeteers and Michael James Leslie. Even though my friends and I knew all the tricks due to having been in it, it was still neat to watch. There was a Q & A afterward that was also cool. After that, we got to briefly chat with Michael James Leslie and he was a really nice man. He thought it was cool that my one friend and I had seen him on Broadway, and we told him about our production and he seemed genuinely happy for us that it was a success.


*whew* Props to you if you stuck with me through that whole thing.

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 12:39pm

Jim Poulos played Orin et al. when I saw the tour and was amazingly funny in the role. It is a shame he's the understudy because I've yet to hear anything good about James Moye. For folks who haven't seen it yet, if they announce that Poulos is in the show, you are in for a real comedic treat.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 1:08pm

I agree. LSOH is a quick show. I think it's always gonna feel rushed no matter who's in it.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 2:45pm

Oh, I know it's a short show, but it felt rushed in terms of certain actors going really quickly through scenes instead of taking their time and making them funnier. For example, in Grow for Me, when Seymour plays with Audrey II, this is very funny if the actor takes his time. But, Rayson just kinda moved his finger up and down twice and went on with it.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 3:43pm

it may have just been a long day for the actors, the last matinee of the philly run they really paced it well (jon rayson got huge laughs for r-e-a-l-l-y dragging out the plant interaction in grow for me.

Posted: 4/24/05 at 3:49pm

Quibbler..... You were in Baltimore? I love the Hippodrome

AND~~ You share my birthday.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 3:54pm

I can't wait to see it again in july!!

[MTRBOI24]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 4:14pm

Good to see Jim is working. I saw him in RENT on tour about 7 years ago and he was AMAZING.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 4:19pm

The Hippodrome was a really nice theatre. I was worried about our seats because we were all the way back in AA in the orchestra, but we had an excellent view.

[iwearshoes]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 4:25pm

i saw the tour in la w/ anthony rapp and i loved it soo much...tari was awesome...i was just expecting how her part can just be random and bland but i was plesantly suprised. i haven't heard anything different about johnathan though

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 4/24/05 at 5:19pm

I never got to see the show in LA but I got my hands on a live recording of the entire show with Anthony Rapp and Tari Kelly and I was amazed. I agree with everyone's comments about Tari Kelly and I thought she did an amazing job as Audrey and there was very believable chemistry between her and Anthony. Anthony himself was probably my favorite Seymour to date although I haven't heard anything from Jonathan yet. He just had perfect comedic timing and a really strong voice and I thought he hit the character perfectly. I loved Hunter as Seymour but the lines he delivered weren't quite as believable although it could have just been a bad day for him. And Micheal James Leslie just blew me away with the power behind his voice. Anyways, I'm still kicking myself for missing the tour in LA but I will definitly be going to see it should it ever come back to the LA area.