Geva's Little Shop of Horrors

I have a vague recollection of seeing Little Shop of Horrors 30+ years ago off-Broadway, with Faith Prince and Brad Moranz in the leading roles. Slightly more memorable to me is the brilliant Steve Martin as the dentist in the movie version. But I remember loving this campy musical, and “Somewhere that's Green” is recognizable even if you never saw the show on stage or film. I was eager to see it again, especially since it was being directed by Sean Daniels, who has a way with comedy (and sadly for Rochester, his talent has been recognized outside of our city; he will be leaving us at the end of the season to become the Artistic Director of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre outside Boston).

Puppeteer Raymond Carr demonstrating
Audrey II at the Open House

I'd been to Geva's Open House, so I was already impressed with the set and Audrey II puppets. And I'd been recommending the show, sight unseen, to friends (those who've seen it already reported back their enjoyment, although one friend was dismayed at the ending – she didn't realize the movie version, in typical movie fashion, was given a happy ending that wasn't in the original musical!). Little Shop has been a near sellout so far, so there was a great vibe in the audience the night I went. It is well cast – Will Blum reminded me of Josh Gad (and it turns out they both played the same role in Book of Mormon), and John Gregorio, who recently took the Geva stage in The 39 Steps, was a natural at portraying not just the dentist, but various minor characters requiring speedy costume changes. It was a delightful production, from start to finish.

Geva has used this musical as an educational opportunity, in its Stage Door Project, to partner with the theatre department of Rush-Henrietta High School. They are mounting their own production of Little Shop, on Geva's stage, and they have had the guidance of the entire cast and crew at Geva. This is the reason there is no show listed for Tuesday, February 10 on the website – that's the night of the high school production! The show only runs two more weeks, so you still have a chance to see it if you haven't yet. Then it has to close to make room for Sean's final production (until he visits us as a guest director...), Women in Jeopardy! This will also be a must-see (I attended the reading of this play last year, and it was absolutely hysterical).

For more information on the professional production of Little Shop, visit Geva's website: http://www.gevatheatre.org

For information on the Stage Door Project: http://www.gevatheatre.org/training-for-artists/