Little Shop of Horrors’ combination of horror, comedy, and musical elements is essential to its success; without one element it could quickly fizzle out and fizzle away altogether.
Seymour Krelborn, an unassuming floral assistant, discovers an irreverent carnivorous plant named Audrey II, which promises him fame and fortune if fed blood regularly. Seymour cannibalizes the foul-mouthed carnivorous plant for two weeks after she provides blood from him every week, promising him fame and fortune in exchange for providing it blood from Seymour himself.
Audrey II
Audrey II, an R&B singing carnivore featured in the Little Shop of Horrors musical, is a foul-mouthed carnivore with the power to persuade others and carries lethal poison that could kill with just one bite. Although Audrey may seem sweet at first, her heartless nature lies hidden. Although this plant appears charming initially, Audrey can use her persuasive powers to manipulate those around her for her ends – potentially using persuasion techniques or poison to control them.
In the film, Audrey II is depicted as a crossbreed between a Venus flytrap and butterwort with an affinity for blood. However, unlike its film counterpart, in reality, the original Broadway production used a hybrid between Venus flytraps and butterworts as its model, hence its new moniker, Audrey II.
At first, the plant was an inanimate pod unable to move or speak. With time, however, as it expanded, it gained the ability to open its mouth and sing; furthermore, it learned how to move around autonomously, eventually growing to be as large as a human.
Seymour suspects the plant arrived from outer space aboard an alien spaceship. Its arrival was announced by a mysterious eclipse of the sun, and no one knows how or why the plant became so massive and capable of devouring humans – Seymour devises ways to control it by wiring up an ampule to siphon out blood from humans for feeding purposes.
Although typically depicted as female, she is usually called ‘he’ since male actors voice it. Many fans believe that regardless of its gender, it has no sexual preferences but instead represents simply another alien who wants to take over our planet.
The original Broadway production of the show was an immense success, running for more than 30 years as one of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows ever and inspiring cult films such as the 1984 cult classic Little Shop of Horrors. A pre-Broadway revival production took place in Florida in 2003 under Martin P. Robinson’s puppet design and other Henson Company puppeteers to build and operate them – even housing someone inside one Audrey II puppet, controlling its mouth and branches!
Audrey Jr.
In the 1960s, The Little Shop of Horrors, an Audrey II plant terrorizes Orinoco, Louisiana. Fed on human blood, Audrey must feed on everyone around it if it wants to survive – meaning killing everyone it comes across along the way. This film mixes multiple comedy genres and features one of Jack Nicholson’s first performances as it remains considered a classic today.
The film centers on Seymour, a small shop worker responsible for caring for Gravis Mushnick’s flower shop on Central Avenue. Mushnick is an abusive alcoholic who mistreats his employees; Seymour develops an obsession with Audrey, who works there; both are unhappy in their relationships. Seymour notices during one date with Audrey that many plants around her are dead or dying, so he decides to bring Audrey II from a Japanese gardener on Central Avenue, which is an unusual cross between Venus fly-trap and butterwort plants – giving her hope against all odds.
At first, the Audrey II’s plant was utterly immobilized. However, it began to expand and move; over time, it also consumed more blood. When Seymour accidentally pricked his finger one night and dropped blood onto Audrey II, some of it ended up inside its mouth; eventually, it grew even more significant and swallowed Seymour whole.
Later, a Society of Silent Flower Observers representative visits Fink’s shop. At an evening budding celebration, four buds protrude from a flower and, when opened, reveal faces belonging to victims eaten by its plant. Fink and Stoolie realize Seymour is responsible; when angry, he angrily stabs it with a kitchen knife before crawling into its mouth for revenge.
Mushnick attempts to battle Audrey II but is overpowered by its strength; eventually, it grows larger still as more people feed it, eventually becoming an invasive species that threatens people in its vicinity. A character known as Larry from Total Drama appears to be an homage to Audrey II; similarly, pixelated plants can be found in the popular tower defense game Plants vs Zombies appear as tributes.
Twoey
Little Shop of Horrors has become one of the most beloved musicals and films ever produced, revered by audiences of all ages and beloved by critics alike. This cult classic’s blend of horror and humor has cemented its place as an all-time classic; fans from all generations love watching this timeless tale! Even its animated version is for children aged 2-6! So why did this man-eating plant achieve such popularity? Let’s look back at its history and that of its characters!
Twoey is an amusing play on words derived from “two of anything.” It can also refer to the number of leaves on a Venus flytrap; since then, it has referred to other plants or communities. With its fun-sounding name, it has come to be associated with many things, including movies and songs that bear its name.
Twoey first debuted in the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors, based on a stage musical of the same name. It became a hugely successful film that helped launch Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s careers; they went on to compose music for other Disney hits like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
A film adaptation was released 1986 that became an international success, expanding upon the story introducing Audrey II and altering its ending to be more violent; this alternate ending has since become canon.
Audrey II is a carnivorous plant that feeds on human blood for sustenance, but Seymour persuades Audrey to provide it by telling her it will make her beautiful. Soon after that, Audrey II began devouring entire cities and entire people worldwide.
In the film, this plant is known as Audrey II; however, Twoey was used in the musical production. Twoey can often be described as a cross between a Venus flytrap and butterwort; some fans claim she may even be female, but this has yet to be proven. In a cut scene where Twoey speaks in masculine pronouns while showing how it produces an infant plant pods, this could be seen as an allegory for giving birth.
The Plant
Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy that blends horror and comedy. It is inspired by the 1960 film initially known as The Passionate People Eater, which saw multiple comedy genres come together – including Jack Nicholson making his feature film debut! The plot revolves around struggling flower shop owner Gravis Mushnick and Seymour; Seymour discovers a man-eating plant named Audrey after an employee infatuated with him named Gravis Mushnick, which leads him down an unconventional route in finding love from Gravis Mushnick himself!
This film and musical have become cult classics, delighting viewers who love camp, horror, and catchy tunes. Additionally, its characters have been parodied on various television shows, including Family Guy and American Dad; furthermore, it inspired an animated Saturday morning show that ran for one season in 1991.
This film is an excellent example of how low-budget filmmaking can transform into an engaging musical. Directed by Roger Corman and available online free-to-watch for all time. Later, it was adapted as a stage musical with music composed by Alan Menken and lyrics written by Howard Ashman.
Menken and Ashman wrote the classic Disney films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, among many other hits. After their success with Little Shop of Horrors, they caught Disney’s eye and hired them as writers on future projects.
Puppetry is an exciting medium to work in because it enables the creators to do things that would otherwise be impossible in other media forms, like moving freely around and engaging with audiences differently from other states. Little Shop of Horrors features many great moments because of this; some are straightforward and comical, like Seymour standing in a puddle, while others can be more subtle like The Plant set design having an urban, gritty feel.
Little Shop of Horrors has become an acclaimed cult classic due to its blend of humor, gore, and horror. Its success spawned two sequels and an animated television show; numerous parodies were also created, and multiple stage musicals and movies were inspired by it.
