Little Shop of Horrors Delivers Camp Horror and Dark Comedy at Bingen Theater
Seymour Krelborn, played by Marcos A Galvez and Audrey, played by April Sampson, clean up the stage while Mr. Mushnik, played by David Dye exits the shop. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
Content Warnings: Horror, dark comedy, gun violence, and interpersonal violence.
By Cole Goodwin
What horrors would you commit in the face of promise for a better life?
That’s the question asked by this dark horror comedy musical directed by community theater legends Joe Garoutte and Dan Kenealy.
Columbia Gorge Orchestra Associations (CGOA) production of Little Shop of Horrors is a story about a boy with a penchant for strange and unusual plants, a girl with bad taste in men, a greedy shop owner, a ravenous extraterrestrial plant, and a sadistic dentist who's paths all crisscross in a florist shop on Skid Row. Set against the backdrop of a poor inner city neighborhood in early 1960s New York, the show explores the themes of interpersonal violence, love, greed, and the difficulties of eeking out an existence in a rundown and economically depressed area.
Marcos A Galvez and April Sampson during a promotional shoot for the show. None of the puppets for the show are fully pictured in this article in order to maintain the surprise and the suspense. Photo Credit: CGOA
Garoutte’s revival of the show stays true to its camp horror comedy roots, but ventures off on some of its own creative tangents as well. The result brings big laughs, and surprising antics while also reflecting the audience's fears and inner darkness, leaving much for contemplation on the car ride home.
As a result of its horror themes the show is at times deeply uncomfortable-as both the characters and the audience grapple with the moral complexity of this little shop of horrors. For at times the audience wants to cheer on their hero in accomplishing unspeakable acts and at others they sit silent and stunned, rooted in place.
“I think horror is a way to hold up a mirror to ourselves. It’s a way to process the profound through the absurd. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our darker nature and to look at a scenario in the extreme and measure ourselves against it,” said Kelly Mahon, who plays Orion, the sadistic dentist in the show.
In essence the show centers around Seymour Krelborn, a nerdy hobby botanist, who is convincingly played by Marcos A. Galvez. But Seymour’s seeming innocence is challenged when his love for Audrey leads him down a dark and twisted path.
Seymour shows Mr. Mushnik the mysterious plant. Photo Credit: CGOA
For at its heart Little Shop of Horrors is a cautionary tale, that falls somewhere between an allegory and a Greek tragedy. And it asks some very important questions of the audience about what we find horrifying, what we find funny, the consequences of compromising our morals, and the revenge of nature.
“Ultimately, the lesson in this show is that greed and selfishness can lead to a slippery slope of increasingly immoral decisions,” said Garoutte, “We live in a world where greed and money drives so much of everything and it affects all of us.”
Director Joe Garoutte on stage before the show. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
It also seems to beg the question, what makes someone a villain? Is it the person we dislike or is it the person who is ultimately responsible for causing the most harm?
Dark and delightful, with an ingenious set design, a talented stage crew, and a cast with pipes that turn every tune into a bop that will have fans humming the whole way home—it's sure to be a favorite amongst horror, comedy, and musical theater fans alike.
As Garoutte shared in an interview following the preview on Wednesday night, the show has pushed both him, the show’s actors, and their set designers to new heights.
Kelly Mahon, now in his second performance with CGOA and Big Britches, said that for him, embodying the role of a sadistic, nitrous oxide huffing dentist was challenging.
“It was a trip to play him and to try and get into that space as an actor...This is my first time doing horror and genuinely playing a bad character. The last time I played an antagonist was Rooster in Annie and that was back in high school.”
Orion puts Seymour in the dentist chair. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
Orin is a reflection of toxic masculinity and sadism run wild.
“He’s the caricature of what not to do and who not to be,” said Mahon.
The hardest part of the role for him to embody was his character’s lust for interpersonal violence.
“The domestic violence of this was a real challenge for me to play convincingly. That’s not a part of my life whatsoever. That’s not how I was raised and I don’t know men who treat women like that. So making it believable was a real challenge,” said Mahon.
The interpersonal violence in the show is at points, the most horrifying thing about the show, for while an extraterrestrial plant sent to test humanity is horror veiled in fantasy, there is nothing fantastical about domestic violence.
“Domestic violence is never funny, there’s nothing comical about it, there’s nothing redeemable about it,” said Mahon.
However, other aspects of his character are outlandish enough to be funny, after all as Mahon puts it: we all know going to the dentist might hurt but…”you don’t expect the guy to enjoy it.”
Kelly Mahon and April Sampson during a promo shoot for the show. Photo Credit: CGOA
Mahon said that he hopes that by embodying the role he can elicit disgust in misogynistic behavior from the audience and help them think twice before dating someone who shows signs of being abusive.
April Sampson who plays Audrey, the self-effacing victim and damsel in distress with bad taste in men also speaks highly of Mahon’s work to embody the role.
Sampson said that under the direction of Garoutte, Mahon and her worked out strategies to support each other backstage while inhabiting the roles of abuser and victim on stage.
“We have this really nice moment backstage as that song starts when we turn to each other and pat each other and then give each other a hug and then take a deep breath and turn around and go,” said Sampson. “There have been moments of it being challenging, because if I’m not careful it does become a bit of a trigger but for the most part it's been fine.”
“Kelly has been fabulous, and we both just have this great connection, and we’re friends from past shows and the conversations between us have been really helpful,” said Sampson.
Indeed the trust between the actors is evident on stage and Sampson, who was widely referred to as “a professional” by her cast mates embodies her role well, and demonstrates an acting ability that would be at home on any Broadway stage
While the interpersonal violence depicted in the show may sit heavy in some audience members minds, plenty of fun musical numbers break up the darkness with some ridiculous lyrics which add fantastical levity.
For this reviewer, in particular the “three urchins” Ronnnette, Crystal, and Chiffon were a particularly bright spot in the show. These actors shine in their roles as comic relief, instigators, and chorus girls.
The greek chorus girls do a number with Orin Scrivello. Photo Credit: CGOA
At one point in particular, during Wednesday’s preview, lyrics belted by seasoned performer Anne Marie Vankart Wagar, debut performer Melissa Soto, and Hood River Valley High School Senior Bailey Fraiser, reached such peak vocalist levels that the whole front row’s jaws dropped before the crowds faces began breaking into wide smiles and wild cheers.
The performance was greatly supported by the use of rented Audrey II puppets and the set design by Douglas Hawksworth which rather creatively, behaves as a kind of plant seed pod, in and of itself, rotating on stage to “open” and “close” the shop.
However the detailed complexity of the set and props at times, comes with some difficulty as was witnessed on Wednesday night, when a mishap caused damage to one of the key props.
“Up until that point I was feeling pretty good and then I lost about ten years of my life watching that thing, going how bad is this going to be?” said Garoutte.
Luckily the damage was not too bad and the improperly oriented prop should be easily fixed before opening night.
“Some of these set pieces weigh 500 pounds,” explained Garoutte, “If they get rolling fast it takes a lot of effort to stop it on its mark.”
For their part the cast and crew abided by the rule that “the show must carry on” during the mishap to keep the audience immersed in the story .
Overall, Garoutte has once more led his team of actors, set designers, music producers, and stage crew to push the boundaries of what's possible for community theater, resulting in a show that showcases a range of local talent, and leaves the audience with a lot to contemplate on their drive home.
“I want to create art that makes people think,” said Garoutte.
Or as one audience member put it “This show belongs on Broadway!”
Much like Rent, this show is a work of art, and is sure to sell out within days if not hours. So, be sure to purchase your tickets NOW if you want any chance of seeing this show.
“Little Shop of Horrors”' rated PG opens Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Bingen Theatre.
Additional shows are April 29 and May 6, 11, 12, 13 at 7 p.m.
And April 30 and May 7 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $30 for adults ($20 for CGOA members), $10 for youth ages 10-17, and $5 for kids under 10. Tickets are available at gorgeorchestra.org.
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