STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ
A man-eating monster is taking the valley by storm in Hailey.
A sold-out audience turned out Thursday night to watch The Liberty Theatre Company stage the cult classic “The Little Shop of Horrors.”
And it did not disappoint, roping the audience in with its wicked sense of humor overlaid by the universal tale of unrequited love and man’s aspiration to be more than he is.
Chris Carwithen was unrecognizable but endearing as Seymour Krelborn, the hapless but good-hearted floral shop employee who cuts a deal with an exotic but evil-minded blood thirsty plant to win fortune for his employer’s struggling floral shop and the woman he loves.
Annabelle Lewis, Seymour’s crush, is dizzying lovely as Audrey, a sweet young woman of low self-esteem who can’t see herself climbing out of the Skid Row life.
Andrew Alburger shines as the common-sense floral shop owner Mr. Mushnik, who has a keen eye for things amiss. Matt Musgrove is convincing in all his roles from a bum who crawls out from under a doorstep on skid row to the dastardly dentist whose focus is simply to abuse everything in his path.
And Rachel Aanestad, Eryn Alvey and Melodie Mauldin-Taylor tie the entire musical together with their be-bopping harmonies reminiscent of the 1950s and ‘60s.
Oh, and then there’s the star of the play—Audrey II—a carnivorous plant bent on world domination who grows larger and larger throughout the play. She is engineered by the magnificent work of Boisean puppeteer Chad Shohet, the only one not of the cast not living in the valley.
His portrayal of Audrey II is monstrous but fun. Trust me, you’ll never want to feed your plants again.
The musical has its roots in a B-movie by Roger Corman made in 1960. The late Howard Ashman saw it when he was 11 and couldn’t get it out of his mind. He talked Alan Menken into working it into a musical several years later.
Feeding off of audience applause—not drops of blood--it went on to win several awards, including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. It is now the third longest running and highest grossing musical in off-Broadway history.
The music is directed by R.L. Rowsey with live music provided by keyboard player Dorinda Rendahl, drummer Max Stimac and bass player David Janeski.
If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s still time. Catch a 2 p.m. matinee today—Sunday, Oct. 13. Or spring for a 7 p.m. show Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 16-19.
Tickets can be purchased at https://www.libertytheatrecompany.org/ticketing.