It’s mean, it’s green, and it … sings?
There’s a new exotic species growing on stage at Marathon Community Theatre. But forget sunlight, Miracle-Gro and water; in “Little Shop of Horrors,” opening this weekend, a massive alien plant is pulling the puppet strings to inspire carnivorous chaos.
When downtrodden flower shop worker Seymour Krelborn (Anthony Kehn) finds himself suddenly famous for his fast-growing oddity, his boss Mr. Mushnik (Jerry Nussenblatt) sees an opportunity to secure himself a cushy retirement.
There’s just one dilemma: While the plant’s leafy tendrils are starting to help Seymour earn the attention of his coworker and secret crush, Audrey (Stephanie Zajac), its bloody cravings are starting to outgrow the occasional prick of Seymour’s finger. And with freshly-killed body parts a bit hard to come by, Audrey’s woman-beating, motorcycle-riding dentist boyfriend Orin (Mary Stella) starts to look like a special on the menu.
It’s a show full of conflicting realities for every character, from a loveable underdog turned murderer in Seymour to strength underneath a ditzy exterior in Audrey. And a dentist getting high as a kite while threatening his patient with a rusty drill is no laughing matter – but somehow, that’s exactly what you’ll do anyway.
“Seymour starts out as a good guy, and you really get to see his descent into evil, but he’s also very sympathetic,” said Kehn, fresh off appearances as “Rocky Horror Show” centerpiece Frank-N-Furter and flying monkey Nikko in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Orin is such a despicable human being, so it’s finding a balance between making the audience hate you while they also laugh at what you do,” added Stella.
The show takes audiences back to early-1960s Skid Row in New York City – easily imagined by Nussenblatt, who grew up on the doorstep of the poverty-stricken neighborhood in the 1950s and ’60s.
“This character is almost me – the only difference is I’m adding the accent,” he said, giving a nod to his Orthodox Jewish education along with Mushnik’s Yiddish vernacular sprinkled throughout the show.
Voiced by Jesus Ruiz, the four iterations of the “Audrey II” – the last of which is about the size of a car – undoubtedly steal the show. But rather than rent pre-made versions of the carnivorous terror, the crew chose to build each one from scratch, led by puppeteers Destiny Lee and Sam Merrell.
Lee said she leaned on her degree in puppetry from Bowling Green State University in building and animating each plant, pulling multiple all-nighters in the process to arrive at the final versions.
“I would say it’s at least 500 hours of work for all four,” she estimated.
Stepping from the stage to the other side of the curtain is MCT mainstay John Schaefer, who directed “Little Shop” after 22 years under the lights. Though his cast universally praised their leading man, he told the Weekly the experience was more of an education than he’d planned for – and one that quickly filled the hours of his recent retirement from the post office.
“I thought I knew what it took to be a director,” he laughed. “I learned a lot about what I didn’t know.”
“I’m most proud of getting through it and making this thing happen,” he added. “I want people to know that this cast has worked damn hard, and I think they’re putting on a good show that even non-musical people will enjoy.”
“Little Shop” runs from Feb. 26 to March 21, with 8 p.m. shows on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays plus 3 p.m. matinees on March 8 and 15. Tickets are $38, available at marathontheater.org or by calling 305-743-0994.
