Little Shop of Horrors Feels More Political in 2025 But Just as Much Fun

If you are looking for a fun escape from the current reality outside, or if you’re interested, for whatever reason, in seeing a show about the United States of America becoming infested with human-eating plants, Neptune Theatre has opened its production of Little Shop of Horrors, which plays at Fountain Hall until May 11th, 2025. 

Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy musical written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken in 1982, loosely based on the 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. It has an infectious 1960s rock and roll/doo-wop/Motown score. It tells the story of hapless Seymour Krelborn, a young man with no family who works at Mushnik’s Skid row flower shop, where he is an aspiring botanist. The store has very few customers, which gives him time to both care for the ‘strange and unusual’ flytrap plant he recently acquired, and to get to know his fellow sales associate, Audrey, who he falls in love with. Audrey, who is sweet but suffers from very low self esteem, is in a very unfortunate relationship with a sadistic dentist, who is taking out many of his violent fetishes on her. When Seymour discovers that his plant, the Audrey II, has an insatiable taste for human blood he soon encounters a conundrum. The larger the plant grows the more successful Seymour becomes, but at what cost to keep the Audrey II alive?

As I mentioned so much of the joy and fun in Little Shop is in its score (musical direction by Sarah Richardson), and it’s the three urchins, who act like the musical’s Greek Chorus, who really capture the musical spirit of the show from the very first note. Named after popular Black girl groups of the 1960s, Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon, played here by Kih Becke, Thaydra Gray, and Reeny, root us firmly in this specific time and place. Their powerful combined vocal prowess is the backbone of the score. Ryan Brown plays Orin Scrivello D.D.S, with maniacal, chaotic energy that oscillates between him being darkly misogynistic and dangerous to chirpy and deranged, with the help of his nitrous oxide inhaler. Audrey II, the plant, is brought to life by puppeteers Jeff Schwager and Stephane Gaudet with gorgeous smooth vocals from Owen Lee. Bill Carr plays Mr. Mushnik, a man who wants his flower shop to be successful above all else, but who also isn’t above selling his own “son” out, if it comes to that. 

Kirstin Howell plays Audrey as a very sweet, sad young woman, trying hard to meet her responsibilities while having her life ruled by a very controlling man. I found it very interesting that Howell sings most of “Somewhere That’s Green” in a lighter soprano head voice, and not in her chest voice. We often subconsciously associate the soprano ingenue in musical theatre with all the Princess stereotypes: innocent wide-eyed optimistic “perfection,” whereas the female characters who sing in their chest voices are often associated with being more worldly, or even from the wrong side of the tracks. Having Audrey sing “Somewhere That’s Green” this way suggests that Audrey hasn’t let her circumstances change her, that she is still dreaming of being the ingenue in her own story. 

Hugh Ritchie gives a star performance as Seymour, which is saying something since he often has to fight for focus against a gigantic flytrap puppet. Ritchie really captures Seymour’s awkward nerdiness and shyness around Audrey, his people pleasing nature, which we see with both how he allows Musknik to push him around, but also in the relationship that develops between him and Audrey II. Ritchie’s voice is beautifully suited to the way Seymour sings, especially in “Grow for Me” and “Feed Me (Git It,)” just as Lee’s voice is beautifully suited to Audrey II. Together “Feed Me” is an absolute feast for the senses.

Rachel Forbes’ set, with Mushnik’s flower shop existing on a revolve, is really neat because it allows us to simultaneously see the goings on inside the shop, and on the Skid Road street. Jess Lewis keeps the ambiance very dark and foggy to suggest both nefarious goings on, and also inner city smog. The Audrey II puppets are really well designed and enchanting to watch.

The musical is directed by Jeremy Webb, and choreographed by Liliona Quarmyne. I liked the way that the three urchins have almost a magical forcefield around them that, through dance, draws the bystanders and passersby into the world of the musical. This immediately suggests that there is some power they are also wielding in this play, that is connected in some way to the plant. 

Little Shop of Horrors is, at its essence, a comedy, but there are certainly moments that hit differently both in 2025 and in a province where domestic violence has been declared an epidemic. Audrey has a line where she says of Orin, who has beaten her up, “If this is how he treats me when he likes me, imagine what he’d do if he got mad,” and I found myself thinking about Lisa Banfield. There is no justice in this show for Audrey. I’m sure Jeremy Webb has had to work hard to find the balance between the dark that is funny, which is most of the show, and the dark that is true and is ever present in our lives. The comedy also comes in this, fictional, idea of vigilantism- the idea that Orin “gets what’s coming to him,” and then also the idea that vigilantism can very often spiral out of control and literally consume us all. 

Looking at things from a different perspective, at the end of the musical we hear about all these great American cities that have been consumed by Audrey II and her descendants, and it feels a little bit on the nose, the metaphor of something evil and insatiable attacking this country, feeding on people’s poverty, despair, and inability to escape their economic situation, no matter how hard they work, threatening then to destroy everything in its path.

 “Don’t feed the plants” indeed. 

Little Shop of Horrors, by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, directed by Jeremy Webb, with choreography by Liliona Quarmyne, and musical direction by Sarah Richardson, plays at Neptune Theatre (1593 Argyle Street, Halifax) until May 11, 2025.

Tickets range in price from $40.00-$100.00 depending on seating. They are available online here, or by calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or visit in person at 1593 Argyle Street.

Run time is approximately 2 hours, including a 20 minute intermission.
Please note, this show contains: Gunshots, intimate partner violence (implied and discussed), implied human dismemberment, implied asphyxiation, theatrical fog, haze, flashing lights, loud noises.
This show is recommended for ages 9+

Talkback
Thursday, March 20 – 7:30 PM

Masked Performance
Sunday, March 23 – 2:00 PM

Audio Described Performance
Sunday, May 4 – 2:00 PM

Neptune Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. Neptune offers hearing-assistance devices, along with their masked performance and audio described performance.  For more Accessibility Information Click Here.