Green and Wickedness? | "Little Shop of Horrors" @ 5-Star

The musical Wicked ask the question: Why did the Wicked Witch of the West turn wicked? It also provides an explanation of why the Wicked Witch of the West was green. But I’d like to ask a different question? Why do we associate green with evil and wickedness? After all, one would think red would be the wicked color. After all, it is the color of the Devil, of danger, and of the Republican Party and Trump’s campaign sign. Arguably, red should be the color of wickedness. But no, Elphaba is green. So is Audrey II. Both are wicked, but it is only the latter we’re talking about today, as we saw Little Shop of Horrors, presented by 5-Star Theatricals, today.

Seeing Little Shop raises the question of why we are excited about seeing some shows over and over again, and some shows not. This 5-Star season was a good example of that. The first show, Million Dollar Quartet, we didn’t really care about seeing again. That is the type of show where once was enough: it was a jukebox show, and there was really no new nuances to be discovered in it. Great execution, but we weren’t excited to go. Their second show, The Sound of Music, had a different reason for our being less interested in a repeat performance: it’s been done to death. If I’m going to see Sound of Music, I’d like to see some revision that finds some new depth in the familiar story. I don’t think this has been done in any of the remountings. 5-Star’s production was excellent and great to see for the performances, but the presentation didn’t do something new. Another example of a show that’s really not worth seeing again is Book of Mormon.

A third category of show, for which there wasn’t an example in this season of 5-Star, is one that hasn’t been mounted in a long time, or is making a regional debut. Frozen, which was leaked as the Summer 2025 5-Star production is an example of a new production at a regional level. A remounting of Once Upon a Mattress, as is being done at the Ahmanson, is an example of something not seen in a long long time.

So where does Little Shop fit into all of this? Little Shop is in that rare fifth categories: Shows that are so good, or so entertaining, that  you want to see them again. Hamilton, which we just saw, is one of those. The aforementioned Wicked is another. Little Shop is a third. There’s not a bad song in the show; it is very funny; and it can be very entertaining. It, after all, was the show that brought Ashman and Menken to the attention of many, long before the were found by the Disney set. This is why, today, we were at the Kavli thoroughly enjoying ourselves at Little Shop of Horrors.

I’m not longer writing synopsis of well-known shows, unless there’s something significant. You can find the summary here. Note that the movie has a different ending; it appears movie audiences weren’t mature enough to handle the real ending. Don’t feed the plants.

This production of Little Shop was top-notch. The casting was excellent. The execution of the puppetry was perfect. The choreography was fun. We just really  enjoyed the entire package.

But here are a few standouts. First, the interplay between Orin (Tyler Matthew Burk) and Seymour (Jared Goldsmith) reminded me of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman: it was comic excellence. Emily Goglia, as Audrey, knocked it out of the park on “Somewhere’s That’s Green”. The three Ronnettes not only had great vocal harmony, but wonderful facial and body expressions. I also appreciated the work of Goldsmith in “Don’t It Go To Show You Never Know” with the puppetry.

If you haven’t seen Little Shop, this production is well worth seeing. Even if you have seen Little Shop, this production is well worth seeing.

Little Shop of Horrors runs at 5-Star/Kavli Theater for one more weekend, until October 20. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

———

Little Shop of Horrors. Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffith. Directed by Brian Kite. Choreography by Dana Solimando.

Cast: (^ӕ denotes Actors Equity): Jared Goldsmith^ӕ Seymour; Emily Goglia^ӕ Audrey; Tyler Matthew Burk^ӕ Orin & others; Jay Brian Winnick^ӕ Mushnik; Mitchell Johnson Audrey II – Voice; Luz Rodriguez Ronnette; Reiza Landers Crystal; Naya Ramsey-Clarke Chiffon; Christian Anderson Audrey II – Puppeteer [at our performance; normally Geneviève Flati]. Understudies: Corinne Miller Audrey u/s; Sammy Linkowski Seymour, Orin u/s; Steve Greene Mushnik u/s.

Music Department: Ryan O’Connell Music Director and Conductor; Darryl Tanikawa Orchestra Contractor; Ryan O’Connell Keyboard Synthesizer I; Chris Kimbler Keyboard Synthesizer II; Charlie Ferguson Acoustic & Electric Guitars; Cody Cadena Guitars; Shane Harry Electric Bass; Alan Peck Set Drums; Robert Billig Original Vocal Arrangements; Robby Merkin Original Orchestrations.

Production and Creatives: The Music and Theatre Company Scenic Elements; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Luis Martinez Hair and Makeup Design; Alex Choate Prop Design; Chris Steele & Gail Garon Costume Coordinators; E.K. Dagenfield Production Manager; Cameron J. Turner^ӕ Production Stage Manager; Ruthie Geronimo^ӕ Asst. Stage Manager; Jack Allaway Technical Director; David Elzer/Demand PR Press Representative; Fresh Interactive Marketing Agency; Michael Donovan CSA and Richie Ferris CSA Casting.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

• October: ♦ Kimberly Akimbo at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages.


• November: ♦ American Idiot  at CTG/Taper; ♦ Back to the Future: The Musical at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; possibly ♦ Fiddler on the Roof ⊕ at La Mirada PAC; ♦ La Cage Aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse; possibly Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ⊕ at Maverick Theatre


• December: ♦ Wicked at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ Once Upon a Mattress at CTG/Ahmanson;

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Bruce Kimmel will be bringing the rarely done Drat! The Cat! to Lonny Chapman’s Group Rep in March 2025.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Green and Wickedness? | "Little Shop of Horrors" @ 5-Star by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.