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Boston Globe

A truly sadistic dentist elevates Greater Boston Stage's ‘Little Shop of Horrors'

The over-the-top campiness of 'Little Shop' obscures the fact that this depiction of botanical Armageddon is a pretty dark story. Our recent experience with a global pandemic has given certain sci-fi tales an unsettling currency. They no longer seem quite so 'fi,' do they? 'The Last of Us,' indeed. Roger Corman's 1960 film became a cult classic, for all its clunkiness. Advertisement Then 'Little Shop' was adapted into a musical by the powerhouse team of Howard Ashman (lyrics and book) and Alan Menken (music) that premiered in 1982. A film version was released in 1986, with Advertisement Stephen Markarian plays Seymour, a nebbishy employee at a flower shop owned by the mean-spirited Mr. Mushnik (Bryan Miner). Seymour is hopelessly in love with fellow employee Audrey (Kayla Shimizu), but she's dating — and being abused by — a sadistic dentist named Orin, portrayed by Troilo. (Troilo also plays several other characters, and manages to make each of them distinctive, even the ones whose stage time can be measured in seconds.) When Seymour buys an ordinary-looking plant and brings it back to the shop, he names it Audrey 2 (built by Cameron McEachern, voiced with commanding authority by Anthony Pires Jr., and manipulated by Sydney T. Grant). Audrey 2 —green, mean, and amphibian-looking — proves to have an insatiable appetite for human blood. Thus are set in motion events that will ultimately tell Seymour something about himself and what he is capable of, none of it all that reassuring. Shimizu captures Audrey's lost-soul quality, and delivers a lovely rendition of the yearning 'Somewhere That's Green.' She and Markarian team up to poignant effect in 'Suddenly Seymour,' one of the great duets. Music director Bethany Aiken and her five-piece band, performing backstage, do solid work. The Doo-Wop girls who serve up narration and commentary in roughly equal measure throughout the show — Cortlandt Barrett as Chiffon, Pearl Scott as Ronnette, and Aimee Coleman as Crystal — are a delight. There was a touching scene during the curtain call at Wednesday's matinee. Coleman, an understudy to Becky Bass, was stepping into the role for the first time. She had a lot of friends and family in the audience, and she was given flowers, a thunderous ovation, and a memory to last a lifetime. Advertisement LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz. Music direction, Bethany Aiken. Choreography, Chris Shin. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham. Through June 29. Tickets $64 - $69. At 781-279-2200 or Don Aucoin can be reached at