Director Kandace Crystal said new staging will reflect how times and San Diego's population have changed
The campy horror spoof “Little Shop of Horrors” may be best known for its man-eating plant and doo-wop score, but the director of San Diego Musical Theatre’s new production opening tonight hopes to bring something new to the story.
“Little Shop” was written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, the songwriting team behind’s Disney’s “Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Inspired by the sci-fi creature-features from the 1950s and ‘60s, it’s about a man-eating plant from Outer Space that enlists the help of Seymour, an unwitting skid-row flower shop clerk, in its deadly plans.
And while “Little Shop” is a comedy, there are some serious issues in the story. Audrey is abused by her sadistic dentist boyfriend, and the impoverished Seymour loses his moral compass when the plant, which he names Audrey II, brings him love and fame — but at a bloody cost. Choreographer Luke Harvey Jacobs, left, director Kandace Crystal and music director Richard Dueñez Morrison helm San Diego Musical Theatre’s “Little Shop of Horrors.”