![\"Jared](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/LITTLE-SHOP-OF-HORRORS-5-STAR-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Jared Goldsmith and Emily Goglia. Photo by Veronica Slavin, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n
The musical is based on the cult classic black-and-white low-budget 1960 indy film, (with the same title,)\u00a0and was originally produced off-Broadway in 1982. The story\u2019s basics are a crumbling florist business on skid row, a budding love story between the two employees, and a crazy plant. That\u2019s all you need to know going in, but if you feel you need more, just look it up. If you\u2019ve never seen the show, I advise you to just go with the flow and not know anything in advance. That\u2019s how my friend Laura did it the other day, and she was enthralled by it all.<\/p>\n
This<\/em> presentation features a talented cast led by Jared Goldsmith as Seymour and Emily Goglia as Audrey, both of whose voices are beautiful. I could have just listened to them duet on their song I adore, Suddenly, Seymour<\/em>, for the entire two hours!<\/p>\n I had actually seen Jared before, six years ago in Dear Evan Hansen<\/em> at the Ahmanson, and in my review I wrote, \u201cThe stand-out for me is Jared Goldsmith who plays \u201cfamily friend\u201d Jared Kleinman. He nails every nuance of [the role].\u201d I\u2019m glad that my opinion of him back then still holds up today.<\/p>\n Tyler Matthew Burk, the actor who plays the lunatic dentist, (and about a half dozen other entertaining characters,) gave my favorite performance, curiously, (since it\u2019s a musical,) not with his singing<\/em> but rather with his overall comedic ability. Man, does he give each character his all! He makes each persona soooo funny without overdoing them.<\/p>\n (L-R) Luz Rodr\u00edguez, Naya Ramsey-Clarke, Rezia Landers, and Tyler Matthew Burk. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n My fave voice belongs to Rezia Landers who plays Crystal, one of a trio of girl singers who act as a sort-of Greek chorus to help move the plot along. I predict that she will star in the show about Tina Turner one day soon. (Or some other musical in that vein.)<\/p>\n The first-rate cast is rounded-out by the other two singers in the \u201cgirl group,\u201d Luz Rodr\u00edguez as Ronette and Naya Ramsey-Clarke as Chiffon, (all three characters are cleverly-monikered with names of famous girl groups of the \u201960s); Jay Brian Winnick as the florist; and Mitchell Gerrard Johnson as the wonderfully-booming voice of Audrey II, the ever-growing flytrap plant. And the plant puppeteer we saw, Christian Anderson, is fabulous, as well. [Note: A different artist is listed in the program, so I don\u2019t know who future audiences will see, but I imagine they\u2019ll all be equally wonderful.]<\/p>\n Jared Goldsmith and Jay Brian Winnick. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n I rarely ever mention a show\u2019s director, but when I read that Brian Kite is also a professor of directing at, and the Dean of, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and\u00a0Television, (where I first laid eyes on Mr. X, who was starring in a play there, and as he rightly claims, thought to myself, \u201cHow soon can I get that head on my wall?,\u201d) I had to laud the job Brian\u2019s done with this production. As interesting as it implicitly is, the script has the high potential to go south if not done just right.<\/p>\n As to the music itself, the score features some songs with a doo-wop or Motown feel, while there are even a couple with a bit of a Fiddler on the Roof<\/em> influence. The lyrics are all worthwhile, so I\u2019m glad we can understand every word from these vocalists. Interestingly, there did not seem to be a \u201cpit\u201d under this smaller stage, so the musicians were off to the side of the audience, mostly hidden by screens. Very clever. (I discovered them during Act I because I could see the conductor\u2019s baton leading them from where I was seated across the audience, but we could never tell their different-from-the-norm location because of the high-quality sound system.)<\/p>\n Luz Rodr\u00edguez, Rezia Landers, Jared Goldsmith, and Naya Ramsey-Clarke. Photo by Veronica Slavin.<\/p><\/div>\n Laura and I got a fun surprise when we arrived at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center; we discovered that Little Shop of<\/em> Horrors<\/em> was in a different, smaller theatre in that complex that the bigger Kavli that we\u2019re used to for 5-Star Theatricals\u2019 productions. We had never seen the Scherr Forum Theatre before; neither of us even knew it was there! Its more intimate seating is perfect for this show. When the team who created the off-Broadway musical was offered to take it to Broadway back then, they declined, citing that it belongs in the smaller space. So I applaud 5-Star for keeping that feeling. And I believe that every<\/em> seat in the Scherr has an excellent sightline.<\/p>\n Little Shop of Horrors\u00a0<\/em>running through October 20, 2024<\/strong> LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS I perennially love 5-Star Theatricals, whose production this is. And this famous and fun Broadway musical from them continued their tradition of excellence. Little Shop of Horrors\u00a0is the perfect entertainment for this Halloween month! I\u2019m not a fan of dark-ish comedies, but this one is always a hoot. This was actually<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Bank of America Performing Arts Center\u2013Scherr Forum Theatre<\/strong>
\n 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Thousand Oaks<\/strong>
\n 805-449-2787\u00a0 www.5startheatricals.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"