A short loop of old “coming attractions,” today known as trailers, precedes “Little Shop of Horrors” at Masquers Playhouse in Point Richmond.
The projected film clips are a perfect intro to the staged musical comedy. Included are a sci-fi wannabe thriller, “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers”; the fantastic “Bride of the Gorilla” with a young Raymond Burr in a pre-Perry Mason role; an imaginative box-office smash “Creatures of the Black Lagoon”; and a little-known horror entry, “The Vampire’s Coffin.”
On opening night, the hysterically funny clip from the silent film “The Alligator People” was so dated, the audience couldn’t help laughing; there was a similar response to excerpts from bad 1950s movies.
Masquers Playhouse’s silly production of “Little Shop of Horrors” combines a heap of over-the-top comedy, a touch of non-scary horror and a smidgen of unreal sci-fi. The music by Alan Menken and lyrics and book by Howard Ashman faithfully move the story along.
The principals in the show, which is based on the 1960s cult classic film, portray their characters with just the right amount of exaggeration to ensure the audience has fun: James Paul Gregory is the nerdy Seymour, who gets caught up in the need to feed an extra-terrestrial plant; Megan Ratto is Audrey, a sexpot who endures domestic violence from “a semi-sadist” biker just because; John Mannion as Mushnik, a Skid Row plant store owner, a sort of villain, manipulative boss and a guy who sprinkles Yiddishisms (oy vey, gevalt, matzah balls) into his speech.
A trio of foreground singers (Caitlyn Curl, Dahlia Guidos and Cassidy Hill), a throwback to Motown girl acts, is a ragamuffin Greek chorus; Cory Kahane portrays the show’s abusive dentist; he also plays numerous other minor comic roles.
The production is marvelously acted, charmingly stage-crafted, and wondrously amusing.
Most impressive is Audrey II, the bigger-than-life monster (voiced by Benjamin Pierson) that thrives by munching on humans, while also becoming a magnet for flower store customers. Starting as a small plant that bites its feeder’s hand, it grows into a huge people-eater.
Sharon Swingle and Joshua Symonds deserve special credit for their Audrey II puppet designs, and Soline Mason and Olivia Reed should get gold stars for running the giant puppet at the center of the action.
The show’s only tune that theatergoers are apt to leave singing or humming is “Suddenly Seymour,” like when the musical debuted in 1982. But on opening night in Point Richmond, a handful of folks could be heard growling, “Feed me.”
The next best song is the couple’s duet “Down on Skid Row,” in which Seymour moans about wanting to “get outta here.”
One of the show’s flaws is that many characters awkwardly enter and exit the stage by walking in front of the shop. And opening night had a few, likely one-off errors — when a clock fell off the wall and a metal bucket knocked off a counter noisily spun wildly on the floor.
Ably directed here by Symonds, “Little Shop of Horrors” had a somewhat checkered past before it became a campy cult classic. It was an off-off-Broadway show that premiered in 1982 and struggled to reach off-Broadway. It didn’t get to the Big Apple until 2003.
A curiosity: The 1960 Roger Corman movie that inspired the original play became the basis for a second version of the musical.
This rendition is two hours of bizarre, mirthful entertainment worth seeing.
“Little Shop of Horrors” continues through Aug. 2 at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through Aug. 2. Tickets are $30-$35 at masquers.org.
Contact Sherwood “Woody” Weingarten, a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, at voodee@sbcglobal.net or https://woodyweingarten.com and https://vitalitypress.com.
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