bernie (05/18/83)
This may not be the right newsgroup for this, but since there is no net.theatre I'm putting it here... If you're in New York City, go see an off-broadway musical called "The Little Shop of Horrors"... it's great! If you're familiar with the film made by Roger Corman back in the early sixties, try picturing it done as a musical; even if you haven't seen the film, you'll almost certainly get a kick out of the stage version. The reason I'm putting this in net.sf-lovers is that "Little Shop" is the first *science-fiction* stage play I've ever seen (unless you count Rocky Horror, which started its life on the stage before making it on celluloid). --Bernie Roehl
malis@BBNCCS.ARPA (08/07/84)
From: Andrew Malis <malis@BBNCCS.ARPA> Play review: Little Shop of Horrors (**** of 5) Little Shop of Horrors is a wonderfully funny musical comedy based upon Roger Corman's low-budget 1960 "classic" film of the same name. It tells the story of Seymour, a nebbish who works in Mushnik's Florist Shop on Skid Row, which is about to go out of business. He saves the shop, and gets the girl (a clerk in the shop), by discovering a small unique plant he calls the Audrey II (after the girl). Of course, it takes him a little while to realize what makes Audrey II grow, but once he gets it going, it takes on a life and personality all of its own ... The music is great and the lyrics are funny (the plot is occasionally pushed along by a "greek chorus" of three ghetto girls). What really (literally) stands out, however, is Audrey II. There are actually five or six different Audrey II's during the play, all designed and built by Martin P. Robinson, who is curently with the Muppets and plays Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street. They are manipulated by William Szymanski, and Michael Leslie provides a very appropriate voice. They are marvels of puppet technology. I saw the national touring company in Boston, where it will be playing for another month, and I believe the original off-Broadway production is still going in New York (and it may still be playing in London as well). In Boston, it was directed by Howard Ashman, who also wrote the book and lyrics and directed the New York and London productions (and is working on the screen adaptation of the show). All three companies have gotten very good reviews, and the night I saw it the (large) house was packed and everyone loved it. FEED ME!!! Andy
Margolin@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA (08/08/84)
From: Barry Margolin <Margolin@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA>
The "Little Shop of Horrors" musical has been running in New York City
for around a year already, and has won a number of awards. I think that
it was playing Off-Broadway, and won the Best Musical Obie (the Obie is
the Off-Broadway equivalent to the Tony). It is now on the road, and
only in Boston for the month of August. I have read that the people who
made the musical are planning to make a movie out of it.
Why do you refer to "Little Shop" as SF? It certainly is horror, but I
don't remember any science in the Corman movie, and I doubt that there
is any in the musical.
While we're talking about the movie, Off the Wall in Cambridge is going
to be showing it starting August 31, running for about a week or two I
think.
barmar