LSOH: Complete Comedy or Mix?

Hey Guys
i'm doing little shop of horrors at my high school and playing seymour and i guess i was wondering your opinions on whether the whole show is just a big goof or if some parts are sincere and sad at times-certain examples of this seriousness would be the end of the meek will inherit or when seymour feeds Audrey to the plant-are there some parts in a show filled with comedy where there is a sad/touching aspect in it?
Thanks a lot

Howard Ashman's original Off-Broadway production achieved a mix of camp and heart that I haven't seen equaled, in any other production, or the film, for that matter. When Audrey sang "Somewhere That's Green," both in the initial version and in the reprise, you were surprised by how much you cared for these characters, as much as the rest of the show was a hoot. The supporting characters can play the heightened cartoonishness of the materlal, but I think there has to be an earnestness to the performances of Audrey and Seymour, without knowingly playing the comedy of the roles, in order to achieve the perfect balance.

---

Updated On: 2/12/06 at 10:47 PM

don't play audrey or seymore for laughs. they must be played with all sincerity and their naivity will naturally come out as humor at the right times.
somewhere thats green is so heartbreaking when done correctly.
the end, when he feeds her to the plant is sad, but there is humor mixed in...audrey says, "when i die...which should be very shortly..."
the supporting characters should definately be played as big charicatures.

---

and i do agree with horton. depends on the concept your director wants to go with.

---

I agree with any and all comments made that one shouldn't play for laughs. What's funny is the writing that when played sincerely becomes all the more funny. And there are moments in the show that can absolutely break your heart.

Every production I have seen that only played for laughs was truly an artistic failure---never seen this tactic work for LSOH.

---