Personally I love this show because despite all the seriousness of it, it still manages to be funny. If very morbidly.
If I remember correctly, weren't Ashman and Menken kinda shocked that people gave enough of a shit about Audrey and Seymour that it necessitated changing the film's ending to a happy one? So the show's good, yeah, but not for the reasons they were aiming for. As Oz put it in his DVD commentary, they gave the show a bit more heart than they intended to.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
I think part of the reason at least partially that they changed the ending was because in a movie the story ends with everybody dead. In a play the actors still have to take they're bows, so the characters aren't completely dead.
I might have seen something about that somewhere. Anyway part of the reason I love the play is because it has a sense of humor that I like.
In the film version, Seymour is less complicit, and Mushnik openly bribes Seymour, making Seymour a more sympathetic character in the movie, and making his death lean more towards tragedy than karma.
Why did I choose my username as a number?Leave a Comment:
Humor-horror-tragedy-drama-musical-puppet show!
"For every laugh, there should be a tear." -Walt Disney
Seymour's life is shit. Seymour has a way to make his life NOT shit.
What could go wrong?
SPOILER: Everything.
I don't think I have to describe the plot. If you're reading this review, you are probably familiar with it. I think this show has a tear for every laugh, though while the laughs are spread out, the tears are mostly confined to one specific scene. That specific scene made me cry a river of tears, though.
There's also some scenes that qualify as either dark comedy, horror, or both, depending on who you are. Your Mileage May Vary indeed.
To quote Howard Ashman, this show makes fun of B-movies, mid-20th century culture, and even the Faustian legend itself. It doesn't satirize the Faustian legend to the point of not taking it seriously. It's more like The Incredibles, which spoofs the superhero genre but still takes it seriously enough to create a powerful story.
There's almost no other musical in the world like Little Shop of Horrors. I say almost because Doctor Horrible and Beauty And The Beast also fit the jack of all trades bill. The latter had LSOH playwright Howard Ashman on board as executive producer, which explains why it's so similar.
You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll tap your toes. And you'll shake with fear. All in the course of one 80 minute show.
Go see a production if you haven't already.
Taco Wiz. We're done here.