Following a tour which has taken them to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to date – the Australian cast of Little Shop of Horrors have recently begun a short season at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Playhouse.
Those who have been following my interview posts this evening will already know I have spoken to both Brett Hill (Seymour) and Esther Hannaford (Audrey). I also had the pleasure of speaking with Liza McLean from Tinderbox Productions, who has served as one of the producers on Little Shop of Horrors.
Providing some interesting insight, you can read the transcript of the interview below:
First of all, what do you think makes this show one worth seeing?
There are so many things which make this version of Little Shop of Horrors to be worth seeing. We have what I think to be one of the best creative teams in this country, led by our director Dean Bryant and our choreographer Andrew Hallsworth. They work with Tim Chappel whose a Oscar-award winning costume designer, Owen Phillips who is a fantastic set designer, we’ve got a great lighting designer in Ross Grey and we are working with some of the best musical theatre stars in this country – with Brent Hill and Esther Hannaford, and a fantastic ensemble including Tyler Coppin, Scott Johnson and our three urchins Angelique Cassimatis, Josie Lane and Chloe Zeul.
Little Shop of Horrors was introduced to the world in the 1960s, and later saw the stage musical adaptation and musical film come to light, why do you think this show has managed to stay alive so long?
I think in a way this is the show which put Howard Ashman and Alan Menken on the map. They went on to create Little Mermaid, Aladdin and all sorts of things after they did Little Shop of Horrors. I think the Rick Moranis film really got a fantastic cult following, the songs in this musical are so fun – the R&B Doo-wop soul music with that sort of concept of the backup singers is a joy to be a part of. The audience really loved the music, its not a traditional musical theatre score as such, its much more like a rock score. So I think there’s an appeal to that.
And I just think its not light and fluffy, this is a faustian tale that is dark and deep, much more theatrical than straight musical, where it really challenges your beliefs of what’s right and wrong, and what happens when opportunity puts itself infront of you and to what lengths somebody is willing to go when that opportunity comes up. So its this crazy tale of a down and out florist who all of a sudden finds this plant that’s part of his passion, but then all of a sudden starts offering him all these great opportunities, at a cost. And that cost is, becoming a murderer in a way. To be able to deliver that with a sense of comedy attached to it, and still really delving into the dark side, I think is really appealing to audiences and stands the test of time.
Because we just came from Camberra, and doing this in Canberra was hilarious because this is political – this show is based on what politics could do to people. Its the same sort of thing. So I think that’s also why its lasted as long as it has.
and especially for Canberra, what a great time to hold it during the lead-up to an election.
Exactly, and what lengths people will go to, to convince people of their worth and all sorts of things.
Have there been any new twists added to this Australian production?
Yeah, absolutely. The twist of having the role of Seymour also voice the plant has never been done before. In the world, and this musical has been going around for a long long time, nobody has ever come up with that premise – that the leading role should also play the leading role in the plant and voice the two. And I guess that brings about what does that mean in regards to – is that another part of Seymour’s personality, is that what the plant is representing, this inner-satan maybe. Is it the dark side of Seymour’s light, is that represented by Audry?
I know a journalist who interviewed Alan Menkin, one of the original writers of the production, questioned him about the fact that we were doing this, and he was like [My god, do they know that they do a song together? How are they going to do that? Its impossible.]”. So that’s probably the biggest difference to what we’re presenting.
I think also the fact that in this production, quite unique to this production, is that Act 1 is all presented in black and white, and that the only colour that appears in Act 1 is the plant. And then in Act 2 we move into full technicolour. So Act 1 is playing homage to that original 1960s film – the first film for Jack Nicholson and then we pay homage to the Rick Moranis film by bringing in technicolour into Act 2 – and when the plants taking over, everything’s bright and light with the effects of technicolour. SoI think they’re the most unique parts to this show.
Having toured with this show for a while now, have there been any particularly memorable moments you have had?
I have to say that I have been producing theatre for a long time now, nearly 20 years, and the opening night performance of this show in Melbourne will probably go down in history as my most exciting opening night that I’ve ever had. I don’t know what happens sometimes, incredible magic happens onstage, everything comes together all at once, and we had that in Melbourne on our opening night. Its my home town, it was incredibly dynamic, the cast were in absolute top form – not that their not always – but there was this sort of electrifying presence in the house. So I guess that for all of us was a real sort of milestone for this – a really memorable moment for all of us. We did that, we created this great really exciting piece of musical theatre. And then the fact that we do that every night.
I’ve sat through this show more than any show I’ve ever produced, and I’m never sick of it. I still sit there and watch Brent voicing the cast going “I know he’s doing that”, and I’m still amazed by the fact he is doing that.
And do you have any particularly favourite scenes in the show?
I do. When Esther sings ‘Somewhere That’s Green’, it breaks my heart every night, I cry everytime she sings it. I think its so beautiful.
And there’s a moment where Act 1 where we have just been introduced to Audrey II, and that time Audrey has a black-eye and in a sadistic relationship with her boyfriend. Its up until that point, its quite a dark and little bit sad for understanding how depressing skid row is. And the plant comes in, and in its opening scene the plant already starts to make change for the better – for everyone involved. And Audrey picks up the plant, and the way that Esther holds the plant, its like she’s holding her newborn baby. And to me its just a moment that every night, I see it and the detail of performance in that moment is why we work in the Arts – when an actor brings something like that to a role. It makes everything we do worthwhile.
Given how long you have worked in theatre, what advise do you have for young people aspiring to enter theatre / musical theatre?
I would encourage anyone to be involved in the arts, in any capacity. Whether its in a producing capacity, a technical capacity or in a performance capacity. Because I think the arts are fantastic – we’re so lucky to be involved in this industry, that we get to do what we love every single day. I would say that its hard work, and we work incredibly hard to deliver what we do. I would say the most important thing to understand is that training is everything. So voice work, making sure that you know how to warm up properly, that you know how to treat your body, that you take care of yourself, that particularly as a performer that your voice is your art – and that looking after that instrument is incredibly important. That, and hard work, dedication, commitment and enjoyment. Life is short and we all need to appreciate everything we have – and doing this – you can appreciate what you have every day.
Thank you very much for your time, and all the best for this Brisbane season.
Tickets to see Little Shop of Horrors in the QPAC Playhouse are priced at $77.40 – $112.40 each, with the price dependent on session preference, seating preference and concession/student status. For more information and to book tickets, visit the QPAC websiteor contact their box office.
Little Shop of Horrors is being presented by Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions. Following the Brisbane season, it will be headed to the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney and His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth.
