Production of 'Little Shop' falters in performances

This past weekend's production of "The Little Shop of Horrors" directed by LSA junior Mike Mosallam didn't perform up to the famous musical's potential.

Originally a black and white film from the '60s, directed by famed B-movie cult king Roger Corman, "The Little Shop of Horrors" eventually became a well-known musical on Broadway.

"Little Shop"'s music was written by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In both the black and white film version and the Broadway musical, the ending takes a drastically different turn.

In this particular student production, it is more similar to the film than it is to the musical. This rather dark comedy takes place on Skid Row, a very poverty-stricken neighborhood. The main character Seymour is just a youth working at a plant store. When Seymour finds himself catering to the carnivorous plant Audrey II and its blood-thirsty wishes, he realizes that something drastic must be done.

Knowing beforehand that "The Little Shop of Horrors" is ridden with slapstick humor and short cheesy songs still didn't change the fact that this production was annoyingly hard to sit though.

LSA junior Peter Katona, as Seymour, was the saving grace in Mosallam's show. As this weekend's performance was Katona's first on-stage appearance, he did a splendid job. His vocals and acting were both captivating. Audrey II, played by Rebecca Mall, also displayed her talents well. Mall controls a unigue, somewhat raspy voice, and using these tones, she played her part convincingly.

But the other vocalists in the production seemed to be lacking in some aspects. Often times, much of the singing sounded either flat or out of key, particularly when the three women sang together on stage.

The choreography in this "Little Shop" was created by Ariel Hurwitz. The various numbers moved very smoothly, providing a great asset to this production.

Along with lead actor Katona, "The Little Shop of Horrors," served as Mosallam's first time at both the director's chair and as the musical's producer. Mosallam made note that all of the members of the cast are not performance concentrators. With that in mind, the cast did do their best. But this producition of "The Little Shop of Horrors" was not enough to merit a spectacular performance.

Mosallam and the cast did attempt to create a somewhat unique version of "The Little Shop of Horrors." However, the production lacked cohesion and, most importantly, a certain fluidity in the performances.

11-01-99