Howard Ashman: "Little Shop of Horrors"

For "Little Shop" Fanatics:

*One thing I particularly like is Howard Ashman's way of inhabiting a character. Seemingly "throwaway* lyrics turn out to be revealing.

Audrey II wants to tempt Seymour to complete a killing: "I swear on all my spores! When he's gone....the world will be yours...." (We catch our breath. Yes, the plant from outer space has SPORES!)

"A little nookie gonna clean up your zits," says Audrey II, and we pause and consider the fact that, yes, Seymour--surely not in great health, and not familiar with the basics of self-care--might have less-than-Brad-Pitt-esque skin. (I wish that the off-Broadway director had been brave enough to give Jonathan Groff fake zits.)

*The thrill of this current production is seeing three stars having fun. The stand-out, of course, is Christian Borle. It's hard to put into words what he is doing. He seems to have a zany "interior life": Even when a character of his is very still, you detect a great deal happening behind the eyes. Borle's use of pacing, intonation, and silence is continuously surprising, and it continuously seems to be drawn from life. In other words, you're constantly thinking, YES, I'VE SEEN THAT IN ACTUAL LIFE, AND OTHER ACTORS HAVEN'T CAPTURED THAT BEFORE! Not to overstate the achievement. But it's dizzying to watch Borle at work.

*Ashman was thirty-two when "Little Shop" was happening, and I think there was a cynicism at play, and I think that cynicism would mellow in later years. (Ashman died at forty.)

I don't love when Ashman seems to make fun of his characters. He has Audrey I daydream about "a fence of real chain-link." Not particularly funny or clever--but remember the writer was young and probably angry, and still figuring things out. (Lastly, notice, as others have noticed, Ashman couldn't stop writing about food. Though he himself seems not to have eaten very much. "Feed Me." "Poissons." "Be Our Guest." He had a passion.....)

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