Croswell Opera House presents two-weekend run of 'Little Shop of Horrors'

ADRIAN — A floral shop employee with a particularly interesting plant gets a whole lot more than he bargained for in the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” live onstage at the Croswell Opera House this weekend and next.

The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 16; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 17; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, and Friday, July 22; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23; and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 24. The later start time for the July 24 performance is to accommodate traffic for the Lenawee County Fair parade.

Tickets are $20-$40 for adults and $15-$25 for students, and may be ordered online at croswell.org or by calling 517-264-7469.

“Little Shop of Horrors” began its journey to cult-classic status with a 1960 Roger Corman-directed movie that Alan Menken and Howard Ashman — who would go on to team up on a number of Disney films — turned into a stage musical in 1982. That, in turn, became a 1986 movie starring Rick Moranis as the hapless floral shop clerk, Seymour.

The Croswell’s production stars Mikey Del Vecchio as Seymour, Jamie Lynn Buechele as Seymour’s co-worker (and crush) Audrey, and Rob Roy and Adam Baker as the operator and voice, respectively, of the plant with an insatiable appetite for blood, which Seymour names Audrey II. John Bacarella plays Mr. Mushnik, who owns the flower shop, and Jarrod Alexander plays Dr. Orin Scrivello, the sadistic dentist who’s Audrey’s boyfriend.

The Ronettes, three singers who narrate the show, are played by Sabriyah Davis, Keshia Oliver, and CaSaundra Taulton.

Megan Beckett, Julia Hoffert, John Lamb, Henry Seifried and Joel Twitchell make up the ensemble.

Jared Hoffert, who has been on the Croswell stage in shows including “Ragtime” and “Matilda,” directs, while Jessica Briggs is the choreographer and Jonathan Sills is the music director.

While the show is not Hoffert’s first time as a director, it’s his first time directing a Croswell show. When the season was first announced, he looked over the list of upcoming shows and was excited to see this particular one on the schedule.

“It’s one of my favorites,” he said.

In fact, he’s been a part of three other productions of it: in high school, at Oakland Community College while he was a BFA student at the University of Michigan, and at the Ann Arbor Civic Theater.

Why does he like this show so much?

“It’s so much fun,” he said. “Just the absurdity of it.”

And even as a youngster, he was drawn to Audrey II as a favorite movie monster.

So when it became part of the Croswell’s 2022 schedule, for him the only question was did he want to be in it, or did he want to direct it? He chose the latter, talked with Jere Righter, the Croswell’s artistic director, and soon enough the job was his.

He brings a lengthy theatrical resume to the task. A Southfield native, he moved to New York after graduating from U-M, intending to pursue an acting career.

He stayed there for 17 years, had some “moderate success” as an actor, and met and married his wife, Julia, who’s a longtime performer as well. After the birth of their daughter, Sarah, the family moved to Ann Arbor and continued their theatrical involvement including in Croswell shows. Julia’s most recent appearance on the Croswell stage before “Little Shop of Horrors” was in “Company,” while Sarah has been in several shows including “Ragtime” alongside her father and for “Little Shop of Horrors” is working behind the scenes.

People who only know the 1986 movie version of the story will find that the stage version has several differences, including some new songs and, most importantly, a completely different ending from the theatrical cut. And if they’ve seen the stage production, but it’s been a while since they did, they’ll find that the version the Croswell is producing has a new orchestration that adds instruments, including giving a klezmer clarinet its moment in the spotlight, so to speak.

The added instruments add a texture to the score that it didn’t have before.

“There are so many layers to the music now,” Hoffert said.

He’s extremely pleased with what his cast, some of whom are brand-new to the Croswell, is bringing to the stage. “I love this group, and they work well together,” he said. “And the voices … oh, man.”

What’s more, he said, the cast is clearly having a lot of fun with what they’re doing, which he thinks is something audiences can pick up on and which adds to a viewer’s enjoyment of a show.

So why has “Little Shop of Horrors” been such a hit with audiences over the years? Hoffert thinks there are several reasons.

“It’s one of those absurd, campy, fun shows … and the songs are so great,” he said.

And to him, “this is one of those shows where, no matter what’s happening out there (in the world), just leave it at the door and enjoy the show. There’s nothing to have to think about. You can just laugh and be entertained.”

If you go 

WHAT: “Little Shop of Horrors” 

WHERE: Croswell Opera House, 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian 

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, and Saturday, July 16; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 17; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, and Friday, July 22; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23; 3 p.m. Sunday, July 24 

TICKETS: $20-$40 for adults, $15-$25 for students 

HOW TO ORDER: Online at croswell.org or by calling 517-264-7469 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Croswell Opera House presents 'Little Shop of Horrors'