The “Little Shop of Horrors” was first a film created by Roger Corman, which was distributed as a B-movie in 1960—back when Jack Nicholson was first starting to make a living as a working actor. It slowly gained recognition and fame throughout the years, until acquiring a cult status. The low-budget film from the 1960s came to earn popularity mostly because it was turned into a musical by Alan Menken (music) and Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) that was premiered off-off Broadway. It is also what Brandeis University’s theater club Tympanium Euphorium presented between Nov. 19th to the 22nd at the SCC Theater. Tympanium Euphorium’s production of “The Little Shop of Horrors” was gleeful and entertaining. The story centers a meek shop assistant …show more content…
named, Seymour. He brings to the shop an unusual plant, which he names Audrey II (taken from his love interest, named Audrey). All of a sudden, the plant grows as the clientele and the business does, which was a struggling business prior to Seymour bringing the plant. After Seymour feeds the carnivorous plant with Audrey’s boyfriend, Orin, he is gets into a problem that gets bigger and bigger—he has to come up with more bodies for the bloodthirsty vile plant. The cast made the production a delight from beginning to end. The characterizations by (in alphabetical order) Scarlett Huck (as Audrey), Nathan Schneider (as Seymour Krelborn), Gabriel Walker (as Mr. Mushnik), and Zain Walker (as Orin Scrivello) were patently sublime and a standout. Huck possesses an immaculate voice. The compassion that she brings to her character is incomparable. Every scene she is in is breathtaking. Schneider portrays Seymour with such humbleness and is also very capable to humanize the character even during his darkest moments. There was something especial in the physicality of Seymour. It could be either consciously or subconsciously, that Seymour (Schneider) tended to have a conspicuously tic with his hands that displays the character’s timidity, insecurity, and guiltiness. Gabriel Walker seems to be a character actor, who is a able to deliver all his lines in a comical way, in addition, his likeable accent made it memorable. Lastly, Zain Walker is able to go over the top without exaggerating.
The greatest thing about the theater is that actors are given more freedom to exaggerate and be flamboyant—it is not something that actors can often do on TV, to the exception of SNL. Walker has this theatrical rule in his mind and it favors him because in the end it undoubtedly makes him a scene stealer. In terms of production, the excellent lightning represented very well each theme of the play. There were a few mishaps during the performance. There was a moment in which the audience thought for a second that the sound had utterly failed However, the technical team behind it was efficient to be able to fix it in a matter of seconds. Also, not acknowledging whether it was intentional or not, but there was a particular moment in which loud music and lines being delivered overlapped, which only created a cacophony that did not seemed rehearsed to the public eye. Despite the compelling performances, the second act turned out to become highly disappointing and unnecessarily long. The pace for the second act felt quite tedium. In fact, there were a few parts that just felt as if they were filling holes. The play could perfectly have lasted between 86 to 100 minutes in lieu of two straight
hours. In addition, in order to trim the play it does not need a lot of thinking. The main problem, as stated before, is in act two. There were moments that became too melodramatic. The version that Tympanium Euphorium performed does sticks to the original Off-Broadway musical, so their production is not to blame. It is understandable that they are not allowed to make drastic changes of this work. Nevertheless, it must be addressed, spoiler alert, the part in which Audrey asks Seymour to fed her to the plant after she dies is in fact too sappy; too melodramatic. The only version of this play in which Audrey does not dies is the film version of 1986 and it seems to work, since the has ninety-percent on RottenTomatoes and was nominated for the AFI’s list of “100 Years of Musicals” and “100 Years of Songs.” Overall, though, what Tympanium Euphorium was able to put together proved to be entertaining and a showcase for the actors to show demonstrate range, personality, and, of course, talent.
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes and The Scarlet Letter. Both authors persuade the reader to feel pain of the stories subject. In Little Girls in Pretty Boxes the author used pathos and interviewing to share the stories of these overly dedicated youth. Joan Ryan wrote to show how these young, talented, sophisticated women can hide the harsh reality of the sport. In her biography she listed the physical problems that these young girls go through. They have eating disorders, stunted growth, weakened bones, depression, low self esteem, debilitating and fatal injuries, and many sacrifice dropping out of school. Whereas the Scarlet Letter is a fictional drama that uses persuasion and storytelling to involve the reader. Nathaniel Hawthorne discusses
The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.
In conclusion I think that the stage directions and dramatic irony are significant to the play, and without them there would be no need for a lot of the events that happen in the play.
The acting in the play was superb. Honestly everyone did an excellent job. Kody Grassett’s ability to act feminine like Mother Superior was amusing and realistic. Brianna Joseph’s dancing had myself laughing hysterically. Alexandra Voelmle’s portrayal of Agnes and her ability to switch from an innocent personality to her later sinful personality was impressive. The individual performances really showcased each actor’s strong suit which kept the audience intrigued the entire time. I can relate to all the characters as each one is struggling to showcase exactly how they want to be known to the
Our second to last day in New York started like all the others. Breakfast. Shopping. Sites. Back to the hotel. However, upon returning to our rooms, my stepmother (who was escorting us on this journey) handed me three tickets. Across the top of them, it read: The Nederlander Theatre presents Jonathan Larson’s RENT. I was completely stunned and my ey...
I feel the University of Illinois Department of Theatre choose this play because it was a great play to surprise you on how much you may like theatre. Personally, I really enjoyed the play because all of the assignments I have completed I saw put into work. It made me think about things I could’ve done to be more creative with my treatments, which made me appreciative of the play. For example, the thunderstorm added sound effects, a background, and water dropping to enhanced the experience of the audience. Another example would be how all the actor were on point at all points of the play. I thought to myself if you are not one of the main people talking at the moment, you would be talking about random things or doing nothing, but this was not the case. I looked around at all the actors and they all played their roles and took even their smaller roles
...ical aspects of the show to be in perfect synchronization with each other for the full duration. This production excelled in all of these aspects, managing to keep the audience enthralled during even the most long-winded exposition. The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre is well-known for the incredible quality of their shows, and this was no exception.
Overall this production was very interesting and well performed. It was somewhat enjoyable to the audience, there were times of boringness but the comedy kept the play interesting. The director did a great job of putting everything together and as a result everything was on point. The only thing to say that would better the play is to make the play more interesting to the audience so that the audience does not get tired of watching.
The costumes were easily identifiable and suitable for the characters. From the background characters to the main crew, you knew who they were playing and how their gestures and movements incorporated with their costumes. As of the tech on stage, the lighting, scenic design, and sound effects fitted the scenes well as the musical progressed. Instead of switching an empty stage to suit where the characters were, the screen switched to a colorful background to show where characters are, and the back screen was one of my favorite parts of the musical for how detailed yet simple it was to show a character's location. Whenever lighting was directed towards one person to show them singing or no lights at all to show a dramatic scene, the sounds also synced up along with the lights, which emphasized the mood and really drove me, as a viewer, into believing into these scenes. Overall, the technological enhancements made the musical lively. They were able to set the mood differently between acts, like when Dorothy got cast away into Oz or when she and the gang were stuck in the forest. All these small elements made every single scene more enjoyable, and I actually preferred the look of the musical more than the actual story and music
In the production of Little Shop Of Horrors, the musical, the synopsis follows a young florist (Seymour Krelborn) as he struggles to make ends meet on Skid Row. The other lead role, the love interest, is Audrey. Audrey happens to be striving for the same aspiration. Both lead roles work at a florist shop called Mushnik's Skid Row Florist. All of a sudden their dreams do not seem to be fairytales anymore after a mysterious and interesting plant appears from a total solar eclipse. Soon after, business begins to thrive and things start to look up, however, the plant turns out to be a carnivorous man eating plant that is fueled by human blood and flesh. Ultimately, Seymour goes through multiple gruesome tasks to make sure this alien plant, known
In this magical experience, the volunteers that put on the enactment were extremely resourceful. The sets were a little intricate to acquire, especially when the donations, and fundraising, were few. The cast and volunteers were impressive on their improvisation for sets they couldn’t buy, like using a projector to set the atmosphere. However, some sets weren’t so great. They could have improved on some sets and the complications like the microphones being sometimes on and off. Overall, the sets were improvised skillfully, and the show was exceptionally concluded.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A.
the play was good. The first act was a little slow and tedious but the
For this assignment I chose the show Penny Dreadful which is an American-British drama series. I chose this show because it involves many aspects that intrigue me on another level besides just entertainment. Penny Dreadful entails historical and biblical references; each questionable reference to these attributes of the show always leads me to think deeper and to do my own research about the statements. This habit to double check facts in a fictional show is something I think others find odd, but it is a habit that I just fell into, I do it with fictional books as well. There are other attributes of the show that remind me of things about my family and that also go against my beliefs, that also make me second guess whether or not I should be
According to Marvin Speavock and other critics on Shakespeare, the play presents a “two-peak action”, meaning that the play is divided in two different parts: the first three acts on one side, and the last two on the others. This division makes sense, specially when considering how the tragedy unfolds.