Little Shop of Horrors is a delightfully macabre musical, weaving humor and heart into a storyline steeped in horror and suspense. The show follows a meek florist as he discovers a carnivorous plant that feasts on humans and attempts to take over the world. Directed by Haley Stark ’25, Harvard’s production ran from April 25 to 28 in the Agassiz Theater, giving the audience an engaging mix of dark humor and thrilling suspense.
The show opens on a run-down flower shop in an urban “Skid Row,” where the awkward Seymour Krelborn (Conall McGinn ’25) works alongside the sweet-natured Audrey (Elizabeth Crawford ’26). As the shop owner, Mr. Mushnik (Ben Arthurs ’27), is preparing to close down the failing business, Seymour comes across an extremely peculiar, Venus flytrap-esque plant. Seymour names the plant Audrey II in honor of the human Audrey, and the plant immediately revitalizes the shop. But things take a turn for the sinister when Seymour discovers the plant requires human blood to survive. After Seymour pricks his fingers dry trying to satisfy the plant’s appetite, he realizes he must seek out alternative food sources. Coincidentally, Audrey’s physically abusive, sadistic boyfriend, dentist Orin Scrivello (Mike Peckham ’25), arrives on the scene, providing Seymour with a solution to his gruesome dilemma.
The show is narrated by three “street urchins”—Crystal (Gabrielle Greene ’27), Chiffon (Paulet Del Castillo ’27), and Ronette (Caron Kim ’24)—who brought vibrant personalities and incredible powerhouse vocals to their roles. While the iconic titular opening number was sung by just the urchins, choreographer Nene Zhvania ’26 included the full cast in the performance of the song, creating a sense of communal spirit and energy that carried throughout the show.
Stark’s excellent creative choices and innovative staging brought the world of Little Shop to life in a way that felt eerily authentic. Stark said she made directorial decisions that emphasized actors’ individual choices and character development over pure spectacle, such as in the showdown scene between Seymour and Orin, which she staged on a stripped set including only a dental chair. Other staging and lighting choices in the show, including the clever use of the curtain and spotlight during the prologue, added to the sense of anticipation and created a haunting yet lifelike atmosphere.
Stark said her approach to the story was rooted in the idea that “the characters should never know that they’re in a comedy, the idea being that the comedy in the show is purely circumstantial and that the characters themselves are sincere and authentic.” She noted that “it’s easy to lean into gimmicks and to lean into slapstick comedy, and I didn’t want to do that. I instead really felt like it was imperative to lean into the sincere parts of these characters and sincere parts of the set.”
This dedication to authenticity shone throughout the production. Crawford portrayed a wonderfully earnest Audrey, passionately expressing her desires for a future far from Skid Row and her abusive relationship in the poignant ballad, “Somewhere That’s Green.” The song was a touching highlight and a reprieve from the overarching darkness of the show.
Stark mentioned how the production’s small cast and its timing as the last performed show of the semester created a close, tight-knit community. She said that when preparing to direct the show and working with actors, “some of my visions were sort of up in the air,” while for “some of them, I’ve always envisioned this one moment and this one song to look this way. I had a team of actors that was so willing to take on all of these ideas and incorporate them into their own artistic visions.”
An area of the show rich with creativity was the portrayal and evolution of the plant, Audrey II. Even toward the beginning of the show, the small movements and comedic timing masterfully executed by the team of puppeteers captivated the audience. As the plant grew over the course of the show, it gained a booming voice (Jordan Woods ’24) and required more puppeteers to manage its increasingly large and complex movements, as it demanded Seymour procure more victims. Stark said the production team followed guidance from the show’s libretto on how to construct and operate the puppet, ensuring that the puppeteers could comfortably remain on stage for extended periods of time while effectively animating Audrey II.
A highlight of the performance was the number “Mushnik and Son,” a spirited duet between Seymour and Mr. Mushnik that included a passionate tango dance. Choreographed by assistant director Olivia Data ’26, the number brought the house down, leaving the audience roaring with laughter. Soon after in the plot, however, Mr. Mushnik grows suspicious of Seymour’s secretive behavior, and he quickly becomes the plant’s next victim. Realizing the gravity of what he’s done, Seymour attempts to destroy the plant, hoping to save Audrey and prevent further chaos before it’s too late, though his efforts ultimately fall short.
Dance enriched the portrayal of these characters throughout the show, ranging from the ensemble song “Skid Row” to the energetic number “You Never Know,” where brooms were creatively incorporated into the choreography. In her portrayal of Crystal, Greene reflected on the role of movement in expressing her character’s personality and emotions. “I feel like this show has helped me think about characterization through dance a lot more than I ever have before,” she said.
Greene echoed Stark’s appreciation for authenticity, emphasizing the importance of “balancing the heavier content with the comedy of the show” and “portraying real human beings with feelings and beliefs and struggles, even though the show is very comical and very fun.”
This production of Little Shop crafted a careful, seamless blend of humor and horror. It struck a delicate balance between the show’s upbeat doo-wop music and its “deeper and darker themes,” as noted by the production’s music director Ada Fong ’25 in the program. Throughout the show, I found myself beaming from ear to ear, thoroughly entertained, but left the theater with a playful yet ominous warning in the show’s final moments: “Don’t feed the plants.”
Lucas Cohen-d’Arbeloff ’27 (lcohendarbeloff@college.harvard.edu) played the voice of Audrey II, the plant, in a production of Little Shop of Horrors when he was eight years old.