Musical Theatre / The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Marty King. At the Gungahlin Theatre, until October 26. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

A musical about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a plant that becomes a man-eater, sounds like an unlikely choice for a musical, but this show has been an international success ever since opening off-Broadway in 1982.

Loosely based on a 1960 low-budget black comedy film, The Little Shop of Horrors, Alan Menken’s music in early ’60s rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop and early Motown style is matched with Howard Ashman’s clever book and lyrics to provide a show that satirises everything about that era.

This new production, directed by Marty King for Dramatic Productions, seems more interested in pushing the modern-day horror potential of the show rather than playing it for the satire inherent in the book, music and lyrics. It’s a dangerous step to take.

The prologue song that opens the show and sets the scene is sung by a girl trio, Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon. They become a type of Greek chorus throughout the show and should perform as a satire of doo-wop groups. In this show, the girls all sing well enough individually but there is no attempt to re-create that style.

The rest of the production plays out with no regard to the period it is supposed to be set in. It cannot be ignored as there are constant references in the lyrics about that period, amongst them Hedy Lamarr, Father Knows Best, Donna Reed, the Jack Paar Show and I Love Lucy.

Alexander Unikowski as Seymour Krelborn, the florist shop worker, sings well but gives his character of a nervous nerd a surface performance that needed more depth. Sarah Copley as Audrey, Seymour’s co-worker, fares better with her character and her song, Somewhere That’s Green, is nicely sung.

Samara Marinelli sang strongly and effectively as the voice of the plant, Audrey II. Tim Stiles, as Mr Mushnik the florist shop owner, gave a good performance of the song, Mushnik and Son.

The wobbly set, designed by John Nicholls, seemed to have problems on opening night and needed more creative interest. The choreography by Laurenzy Chapman showed little understanding of the type of show and the man-eating plant by puppet designer, Alex Rogers, looked fine but its operation was a bit clunky.

The sound was much too loud and unbalanced, making it difficult to understand the lyrics. The opening number of the second act, Call Back in the Morning, was particularly unintelligible. The music was well-played by the orchestra, directed by Kat Tang.

The director’s choice to ignore the satire in this show resulted in the cast playing too broadly to try and make the script funny. Little Shop of Horrors can be a delightfully funny show, but this production was a disappointment.