Peer inside “Little Shop of Horrors,” the latest offering at Toby?s Dinner Theatre of Columbia, and you?ll find among the foliage a musical with two faces.
“This is a light-hearted, classic love story,” said David James, who portrays the nerdy junior botanist Seymour. “It is the journey of an insecure man who somehow manages to grow in confidence and get the girl in the end. You can?t help but root for him.”
Then there?s “Little Shop of Horrors”, the dark comedy set in a skid-row floral shop where an exotic plant lives, breathes and craves human blood. And, like the devil, this sassy piece of flora is not above an unscrupulous bit of temptation. The R&B-singing carnivore offers poor, pitiful Seymour fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its increasingly voracious appetite.
“It was tough getting used to [working with] the plant,” James said of the musical?s inanimate feature player, named Audrey II after the story?s ditzy shop assistant, Audrey. “There is no facial expression to work off of.”
Still, James says he is in awe of the puppeteers working Audrey II as well as the other “moving” plants, and he is especially awed by the voice of Audrey II, performed by actress Genevieve Williams.
Heather Marie Beck, as leading lady and fun-loving dumb blond Audrey, loves her role because it is such a theatrical stretch for her.
“It?s one of the most outlandish roles I?ve ever done,” she said, “more girlish and a lot sillier ? all the things I try to shy away from.”
She says she is thrilled with her vocal numbers, especially the duet with James? character called “Suddenly Seymour,” as well as the energetic dancing.
“I can do it all,” she said with a sigh. “And I?m perfectly happy!”
IF YOU GO
» What: Little Shop of Horrors
» Venue: Toby?s Dinner Theatre of Columbia
5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia
» When: Now through Aug. 19
» Tickets: $28.50 to $47
» Information: 410-995-1969
