Dramaturgical Research for Little Shop of Horrors

Production History
Howard Ashman and Alan Menkens Little Shop of Horrors is a comedic musical first produced
in May of 1982 at the WPA Theatre . The production moved into the off-Broadway theatre the
Orpheum Theatre in June of that same year, closing five years later. When it closed, Little Shop
of Horrors was the third longest-running and highest grossing production in off-Broadway
-history. A film adaptation was made in 1986, featuring much of the original cast. In 2003, Little
Shop received its Broadway premiere at the Virginia Theatre, after a very unsuccessful preBroadway tryout in Coral Gables, Florida. Though the original production was ineligible for
Tony nominations, as it was produced off-Broadway, the 2003 Broadway production was
considered for the Best Revival of a Musical award, despite being the shows Broadway
premiere, due to the success of the original 1982 production.
Sources of Inspiration
The musical was based off of a 1960 film of the same name, though many changes were made,
including the omission of several subplots and characters. These include Seymours mother, Mrs.
Shiva (a character nodded to in the musical), and a patient of Orins (who appears in the 1986
film)
Ashman states in the Authors Note that Little Shop of Horrors satirizes many things: science
fiction, B movies, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend.
B Movies
B movies, strictly speaking, is the second film played during a double feature. Often called the
creature feature, these films were low-budget and usually a suspense, horror, science fiction,
wester, or gangster film. However, the term has evolved to include any low-budget film. These
originated in the Golden Age of Hollywood (1927-1963), but the tradition of the B movie
continues to this day, with many films recreating, imitating, or mocking this classic style of film.
Elements of Little Shop of Horrors that nod to the B movie style include the inclusion of a
large, anthropomorphized villain (Audrey II), the helpless damsel (Audrey)- including her
dramatic reactions to hazards- and the 60s style of music (the decade not too long before our
own).
The Faust Legend
The Faust legend is a classic literary tale in which a man sells his soul to the devil. The most
accessible and complete version of this tale is Christopher Marlowes The Tragicall History of
Doctor Faustus, a play written in the late sixteenth century. In it, Faustus is a genius who has
mastered all the earthly intellectual pursuits with ease, and is thus dissatisfied. He turns to the
one craft he has yet to master, magic. He conjures a demon, Mephistopheles, and agrees to trade
his soul to the devil in exchange for twenty four years of the demons servitude. Though he was
given many opportunities to repent, he did not until the moment of his imminent descent to hell.
Many parallels can be found between Doctor Faustus and Little Shop of Horrors. Audrey II
serves the same function of Mephistopheles. In Marlowes work, Faustus signs the contract
(which enlists the demon as his servant for a period of twenty four years) in his own blood, just
as Seymour continually commits to Audrey IIs deal with his own blood as well as the blood of

others. Though unlike Faustus, Seymours contract with Audrey II was presumably indefinite,
as Audrey II would continue to serve him as long as the plant was being fed. Seymour only
becomes explicitly aware of his deal with the devil when Audrey II begins to speak. During
Feed Me/Git It the plant even states Im your willing slave, which parallels
Mephistopheless servitude.
Before Faustus signs his damning contract, he inquires of Mephistopheles, How comes it, then,
that thou art out of hell? to which the demon replies, Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
Thinkst thou that I, that saw the face of God, And tasted the eternal joys of heaven, Am not
tormented with ten thousand hells, In being deprivd of everlasting bliss? (Act I, Scene 3). In
this quote, Marlowe describes hell as all places outside of heaven, an idea which is also present
in the musical. Skid Row is essentially the hell outside of hell Marlowe describes, and
somewhere thats green is representative of heaven. Faustus, like Seymour, is tempted to
repent multiple times. On one of these occasions, Mephistopheles showers Faustus in riches.
Likewise, Seymour is assured by Audrey II that he will have anything his heart desires, and
ultimately showers him in success, love, money, and fame.
In the play, Faustus is visited by an old man- a messenger from God- who begs Faustus to repent
his sins and ask for forgiveness. Mushnik, though not sent by God, provides this request for
repentance when he approaches Seymour about going to the police. In the final scene of Doctor
Faustus, the conjurer fervently attempts to repent as the gates of Hell open around him, but to no
avail as he is inevitably consumed by the Underworld. Seymours version of this occurs when he
sees his version of the gates of Hell, namely the prospect of clippings of Audrey II being sent
worldwide, and ultimately world conquest by the hungry plant and its offspring. He, too,
fervently tries to repent, but instead of praying to God and Lucifer for mercy, he attempts to kill
the plant, eventually being consumed by the carnivorous flora, and entering the Underworld.
Aristotelian Tragedy
Interestingly, this musical comedy is perhaps most similar to the construct of the classic Grecian
tragedies. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed his theory on the ultimate guide to
tragedy, outlined in The Poetics. He asserted that there are six essential elements of drama. In
order of importance, these are plot (or mythos), character (or ethos), thought (or dianoia), diction
(or lexis), song (or melos), and spectacle (or opsis). According to Aristotle, tragedies should
create catharsis, a feeling of tragic pleasure stemming from empathy for the protagonist.
Plot
The Poetics describes the ideal plot as one which follows a single story line, which in this case is
Seymours rise and fall. Aristotle claims that nothing should need to occur before the story
begins, and nothing should need to occur after the plays conclusion. Twists in the plot, if
included, should make sense in hindsight.
Character
A tragedy must include a tragic hero. The ideal tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is a man who
is heightened from the average (typically a king, as in Oedipus Rex) and has a single tragic flaw
(or fatal flaw) that leads to his inevitable demise. Seymour, for the most part, fits this mold. He is
not heightened from the average man, but he is male and has a single tragic flaw- his love for
Audrey.

Thought
Characters should do as they say they will; they should not say one thing and then do another.
Diction
Dialogue should be a mixture of colloquial, common language and heightened language. In
addition, each characters dialogue should reflect their personality. There is little to no
heightened language in Little Shop of Horrors, though lyrics of songs are typically more poetic
and slightly elevated from the dialogue in the show. Most noticeable instances of characters
individual diction occurs with the lines of Orin Shrivello and Mr. Mushnik. Orins choice of
words reflect this narcissism and sadism, while Mushniks reflect his cultural background and
attitudes toward Seymour and floristry.
Song
In Greek plays, this did not refer to literal music, but rather the presence of a chorus within the
show. Greek choruses often served as the ensemble and the narrators. They would clue the
audience in on certain information, and emphasize important plot points by repeating or
summarizing moments. In the musical, Crystal, Chiffon, and Ronnette serve this same purpose,
even being described as a Greek chorus in their character description. They comment on the
action through their backup, seem to have a we know something you dont air to them, and
frequently foreshadow the events to come.
Spectacle
The weakest and least important element of drama, according to Aristotle, was spectacle. In
Greek times, this often included a deus ex machina, or God machine, in which an actor
portraying a god would descend from the heavens and provide the key to the plays resolution.
Aristotle stated that a plays plot should not rely on spectacle, lest the quality of the story be
diminished. Though not a deus ex machina, the growing Audrey II (especially the final pod) is
without a doubt an element of great spectacle, as is the consumption of the Plants victims. A
small element of spectacle, not nearly as pivotal to the plot, is the magically moving clock.