The Pierrettes Sing Their Way Through Skid Row

I could not stop laughing when I went to see the Pierrette’s version of Little Shop of Horrors. It was fantastic.

Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy horror rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman. It follows Seymour (Senior Miracle Thompson), a downtrodden Skid Row florist whose love life and job are not looking good. Things turn around for him when he finds a mysterious plant that no one has ever seen before; a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.

Seymour uses the plant, named Audrey II, to help the shop he works get more attention and thus, help the girl of his dreams, Audrey (Junior Sarah Wilson). The first victim was Audrey’s abusive boyfriend, Orin Scrivelo (Senior Elise O’Neil). The plant goes on to take several other victims, including Seymour himself.

The plant grew over the course of the play, changing from a little hand puppet to a puppet that held an entire body inside. I was incredibly impressed by the cast’s ability to maneuver the puppets as if they were alive. For example, when Thomas was holding the plant in a planter while dancing and singing, she made the plant’s movements seem lifelike and real. It took me awhile to even figure out that it was a puppet and that Thomas was controlling it.

In addition, I was particularly impressed by the fact that they were able to change the plants and the sets so seamlessly. The Pierrette’s production of Little Shop of Horror impressed me, and I feel lucky that I was able to see such a wonderful performance.

My favorite part was when O’Neil’s character dies from taking too much nitrous oxide. She was able to show that she was afraid of dying while being high on the gas. Her laugh was pretty impressive as well, better than I would ever have been able to do. Both O’Neil and Thomas acted and sang wonderfully in it.

By Em Ramser