Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast) | Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, ...

Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast) | Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, ... | Great Extras from a Great Musical

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	Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast) Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, ... Drg, 2003 average customer review:based on 66 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Does this score kick butt or what? While the staging of the 2003 Little Shop of Horrors revival is entertaining enough, the recording is even more rewarding. Since you're not distracted by the sight of a huge plant devouring one cast member after another, you can focus on Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's ace songs. No wonder the show is a high-school and summer-stock fave, packed as it is with appealing characters and catchy 1960s-flavored tunes. As Audrey, Kerry Butler won't make anybody forget Ellen Greene, but she certainly is lovely. Hunter Foster's Seymour strikes a perfect balance of sweetness and klutzy desperation as he delivers perfect interpretations of all his songs. Even better, this cast album is a complete rendition of the show, unlike the recording of the 1982 Off-Broadway production ("Call Back in the Morning" is now included for instance), and comes with a glossy booklet. Cherry on top: Five previously unreleased songs are included in demo versions performed by the show's authors. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

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A Spectacular Find!

I bought this CD on a whim. Previously, I had only heard three songs from the show (Grow For Me, Somewhere That's Green, and Suddenly Seymour) and I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. Usually I am sketchy about buying CDs I have never heard before, but based on the musicals popularity, I gave it a try.

And boy am I glad I did. I experienced instant gratification when I played this CD for the first time and immediately played through it a second time. I have always been a fan of Alan Menken's music and this is definately one of his best works. The music is very well written and the orchestrations are full and very satisfying. Micheal-Leon Wooley as Audrey II steals it for me.

As for all of you Original Off-Broadway Fans, I don't see any reason to bash this recording. True, I didnt grow up with the simplified version, nor have I even heard it, but being a huge fan of another very simple, Off-Broadway show (The Fantasticks) I can understand why you would be a "Little Shop" Purist and hate this "overblown" production. But in my mind, I see this as a show by itself, and not a re-due of the original. I was very pleased with this CD and I wonder why it took me so long to catch on.

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Great Extras from a Great Musical

This revival covers the distance made famous by the original and, later, movie version of LSoH. What makes the difference? The songs that didn't make it. "The worse he treats me" features Alan Menken, composer, singing as Audrey about her abusive dentist boyfriend. Seeing this and the other songs that were cut in their basic form makes one mourn all over again for Howard Ashman, the lyricist of LSoH.

I find this a more complete, satisfying meal than the movie soundtrack, which seems to me more like an hors d'oeurve platter

Let me start out by saying I too love the movie, as it was my first exposure to this show, it wasn't until years later I found out it was based on the Roger Corman movie. And I cannot argue that Ellen Greene OWNS the role of Audrey (as the originator of the role on Broadway, she just ran with it and made it her own), and Levi Stubbs as Audrey II is perfect as well. I was also pleasantly surprised that Rick Moranis held his own, I never would have thought of him as a singer.

That said, the movie and it's attendant soundtrack are not perfect. First and foremost, the lyrics are muddled throughout, to the point of incoherency in a number of spots. That's a shame, because Howard Ashman's playful lyrics and verbal gymnastics are, for me anyway, the star of the show. (I miss Howard terribly, and frequently wonder what other masterpieces he and Alan Menken would have created, after their stint at Disney. But I digress...) Also, there are some quite talky parts of the movie that seemed odd for a musical, although Mean Green Mother from Outer Space was written specifically for the movie, and is a worthy addition. Finally, I heard the ending had been changed, due to some bad test screenings. I know the original ending exists somewhere, and I would love to see it.

But all those problems are resolved with this magnificent CD. This is the complete show, with all the songs and the original ending, which is wonderfully dark. The lyrics are crystal clear, and there is far more dialogue from the show incorporated, instead of the truncated songs from the movie soundtrack. I especially like the counterpoint in Now (It's Just the Gas), where Seymour sings the exact same sentiments 2 different ways in consecutive stanzas, a fine example of Ashman's clever wordplay, on display throughout. Mushnik and Son is a twisted version of If I Were A Rich Man, from Fiddler On the Roof. There are a number of other short songs cut from the movie that just enrich the entire show, weaving as more complete story than the movie soundtrack.

While the music and lyrics are perfect, and I agree that Micheal Leon Wooley's Audrey II does not hold a candle to Levi Stubbs, I think it's time to lay off Kerry Butler as Audrey. No, she is not Ellen Greene, but who else is? It must be daunting, to have to live up to that original performance, as ingrained as it obviously is in these reviewer's minds. In all honesty, I prefer her more focused and human Audrey to Ms. Greene's cartoony Betty Boop voice frequently over-the-top and mannered phrasing, especially in Somewhere That's Green. I found Ms. Butler's performance to be much more down-to-Earth and heart-rending, instead of making it a big "Look at me, I'm on Broadway" number. But that is one man's opinion. Also, she gets to sing the tragic Reprise of that song, cut from the movie, in favor of the new ending.

Look at this show as the director's cut of your favorite movie, remixed to sparkling clear stereo with added scenes that fully flesh out the story (the songs cut from the movie), and even deleted scenes (the demos, all of which would have been fine additions to the show, with We'll Have Tomorrow being my personal favorite). I find this to be a more complete, satisfying meal than the movie soundtrack, which seems to me more like an over-stuffed hors d'oeurve platter. And if you still miss the movie, do what I do: Play Mean Green Mother from Outer Space either before Sominex / Suppertime II (so as not to destroy the flow between that song and the Somewhere That's Green Reprise) or after (where it seems to logically fit).

But no matter how you play it, this is a worthy successor (and is in some ways superior) to an obviously much-revered soundtrack.

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My favorite rendition of Little Shop of Horrors.