Spring Musical: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ to take stage

Here’s a tip: Mark your calendar so you don’t miss this year’s Shelter Island High School spring musical comedy, “Little Shop of Horrors.” Four performances in the school auditorium begin on tonight, Thursday, April 23, with shows on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. The final show is Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. 

Shelter Island’s gifted student actors and singers shine in their various roles. There’s Seymour, a somewhat doofy clerk in Mushnik’s Florist Shop on Skid Row. His sweet co-worker, Audrey, dreams of someday living in a house in a development. Someplace nice, she says, but ”not fancy, like Levittown.” 

Mr. Mushnik, owner of a shop that gets no business, is ready to close his doors until “One strange and interesting plant,” sparks public and media interest.

The songs and dances of the sassy, streetwise stoop urchins are all show-stopping numbers — and the urchins are especially bodacious when they meet Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend, Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS, aka “The Leader of the Plaque.” 

You’ll nearly die laughing at the predicament in which this dentist finds himself. It’s a gas.

Expect cameos from an NBC rep, Life Magazine and a William Morris agent, all interested in capitalizing on Audrey II, the plant; one of the shining stars of this rollicking production, so named by the smitten Seymour. 

Audrey II takes on a life of its own, growing larger and more demanding, booming out commands in its quest to feed an insatiable appetite. 

Just a warning: Between now and the opening night of “Little Shop of Horrors,” it might be a good idea to do some research on how to live in a world where alien plants can only survive by eating people. 

Tickets are $15, $10 for students, available in the school lobby. You might want to get yours early for this one. 

And here’s another tip: Don’t feed the plants.