Little A2 community theater of horrors

By Jaimie Winkler

Daily Arts Writer

The music is inviting and fun, the dialogue and lyrics are funny, and the premise ... oh the premise: flesh-eating plant comes to take over the world and unites two kindred souls. How can anyone not like "Little Shop of Horrors"?

But fans of the popular movie musical version may be surprised to see how the conversion from stage to screen, cleaned up the plot.

This weekend the Ann Arbor Civic Theater puts on a show embodying the elements that make "Little Shop" such a success on stage and in film.

Enthusiastic and powerful voices give life to these characters in the Civic Theater's large converted roller-rink theater. The poppy doo-wop girls played by Stephanie Stephan, Tawna Dabney and Music junior Allison Soranno, bring to life the trio rich in harmony, laughs and traditional doo-wop dancing.

Audrey is a nice girl caught up with a bad guy, a dentist with a "talent for causing things pain." Played in town by the talented Michael LaFlamme.

Whimsically, Audrey dreams of a life in the suburbs with plastic covers to keep the furniture clean and simple home-cleaning machines. But, she doesn't have the guy to fit into the dream. Enter Seymour. With out a family, Seymour found a home on skid row and a job in Mr. Mushnik's Skidrow Flower Shop, where Audrey also works.

The Civic Theater's production has an interesting way of incorporating the plant into the action. Other productions have used puppets and voiceovers to animated it, but the Civic Theater takes a more live-action approach.