Book by Howard Ashman Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Based on the film by Roger Corman, screenplay by Charles Griffithoans
Director - Michael V. Hartsfield Musical Director - Billy George Producer - Maureen Rogers
Laurel Mill Playhouse announces auditions for Little Shop of Horrors which will take place on Tuesday, February 17 at 7pm, Thursday, February 19 at 7pm and Sunday, February 22 at 7pm. 8 men and 6 women plus ensemble are needed. Actors may audition bringing sheet music for the accompanist that will be provided or a CD. Sixteen bars of a Broadway style song that showcases vocal range will be requested. Little Shop of Horrors will open on April 24 and run through Sunday, May 17. Performances will run on Friday andSaturday evenings with two selected Sunday matinees.
Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy horror rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, Skid Row (Downtown), Somewhere That's Green, and Suddenly, Seymour.
SEYMOUR (playing age of mid 20s) Our insecure, naïve, put-upon, florists’ clerk hero. Above all, he’s a sweet and well-meaning little man. He is not a silly, prat-falling nerd, and therefore should not be played as the hero of a Jerry Lewis film. Strong acting and singing.
AUDREY (similar playing age to Seymour) The bleached-blond, Billie-Dawn-like secret love of his life. If you took Judy Holiday, Carol Channing, Marilyn Monroe, and Goldie Hawn, removed their education and feelings of self-worth, dresses them in spiked heels and a low-cut black dress, and then shook them up in a test tube to extract what’s sweetest and most vulnerable – that’d be Audrey. Strong acting/comedy and singing.
MR MUSHNIK (middle aged? Old enough to ‘adopt’ Seymour as his son) Their boss. A failure of an East Side florist. His accent, if he has one, is more that of middle class. New York than of Eastern Europe. He seldom smiles but often sweats. Strong character actor (some singing)
ORIN (late 20s-early 40s?) A tall, dark, handsome dentist with a black leather jacket and sadistic tendencies. He is not, however, a leftover from the movie version of Grease. Think instead of an egotistical pretty-boy – all got up like a greaser but thinking alike and insurance salesman and talking like a radio announcer. Makes a couple of brief, but high impact, appearances. Strong character actor and singer.
The supporting roles of;
CUSTOMER, RADIO ANNOUNCER, MR BERNSETIN, MRS LUCE, SKIP SNIP and PATRICK MARTIN are usually all played by the actor playing ORIN but it is possible we may allocate some of these roles to the ensemble.
THE PLANT (AUDREY II) An anthropomorphic cross between a giant Venus flytrap and an avocado. It has a huge, nasty-looking pod which gains a shark-like aspect when openand snapping at food. The creature is played by a series of four increasing large puppets, manipulated by one non-speaking Puppeteer hidden invisibly inside. The plant grows from a few inches tall, to almost filling the stage. The role requires someone with physical acting skills to portray character and emotion purely through movement, and stamina to operate the large, heavy puppet.
VOICE OF THE PLANT – Provided by an actor on an offstage microphone, lip-syncing to the movements of the puppets. His voice is a cross between Otis Redding, Barry White, and Wolfman Jack. Think of the voice as that of a street-smart, funky, conniving villain – Rhythm and Blues’ answer to Richard the Third. Strong character singer.
CRYSTAL, RONNETTE and CHIFFON – (playing age of late teens to 20s) Three female ‘street urchins’ who function as participants in the action (when they have dialogue) and a Greek Chorus commenting and narrating the action (when they sing together in close harmony). They’re young, hip, smart, and the only people in the whole cast who really know what’s going on . In their “Greek Chorus” capacity, they
occasionally sing to the audience directly. And when they do, it’s often with a “secret-smile” that says: “ we know something you don’t know.” Strong harmony singers with good movement skills to perform tightly drilled choreographed movement. Significant presence in the show with 5-6 songs.
ENSEMBLE – we will be looking for a small ensemble of strong singers/actors to appear in 2 (or perhaps) 3 numbers in the show to boost the vocal and visual impact of the production. The minor roles of CUSTOMER, RADIO ANNOUNCER, MR BERNSETIN, MRS LUCE, SKIP SNIP and PATRICK MARTIN are usually all played by the actor playing ORIN but it is possible we may allocate some of these roles to the ensemble.
