The Pittsburgh Tatler: There’s no way Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski could possibly have predicted that the impeachment trial would coincide with the Pittsburgh Public Theater run of Little Shop of Horrors. But holey moley! I can’t think of a more apropos commentary on the really big shop of horrors that is the GOP-controlled Senate than this horror-comedy rock musical about a hapless schmuck who nurtures and accommodates an evil, carnivorous plant until it becomes too powerful to contain.
4 comments:
Though I have not seen Pittsburgh Public Theater's Little Shop of Horrors yet, though I have seen a production of it at the Kennedy Center a year ago. I love the musical, not just because of the bopping music and amazing props, but because of how satirical it is. This article connects the recent impeachment hearings to Seymour and his relationship with Audrey II, the vicious man-eating plant. Though I hadn't thought about it that way, after reading this article I can't ignore how closely related the two are. It makes me laugh, picturing the Senate suddenly start belting out rock music and dancing with a man-eating plant. But then again, it is hard not to picture. The costumes that Susan produced look absolutely fantastic from the pictures in this article. The show I saw at the Kennedy Center was a short 3 day run, with only about a month of preparation, so the costumes were not as spectacular as Susan's. Just the detail on the dentists leather jacket is a sign of how much attention and forethought Susan put into this project. I also really want to see the media design of this show, as it can have so much potential in the hands of a great designer.
I had the fortune of getting to see this show and I was really impressed. The article gave it really good reviews and I agree with the positive light. It did not specifically mention the incredibly impressive puppets, but all four editions of audrey two were beautifully constructed, well controlled, and had a great voice. All of the actors did a great job, and I especially like the physicality of Patrick Cannon and think he did such a great job of bringing his cartoonish characters to life. I was curious about the choice of the pixelated cityscape backdrop, but I am told there were supposed to be projections that we were not operational the night we saw it. I had never seen the play before, and I really enjoyed the comedic timing and satirical view on life. The article mentions Susan’s costumes and I will say I thought they were beautiful in addition to having impressive quick changes.
It is interesting to read an article about a show after watching it. For example, the article opens up with commentary on how this musical was opening right at the same time as the impeachment trial is going on. Throughout my experience as an audience member in this show, never once did I relate it to anything in modern life or even politics. When watching the show (and this was the first time I watched Little Shop of Horrors) I didn't realize how comical the show was and how all the characters are so stereotyped. The design elements were great to watch in the show, especially seeing Susan Tsu's designs in person for the first time. However, the night I went to see Little Shop, the projections were unresponsive and didn't work for the whole show. I understand that projections were a big part of the show and I am curious if the show with projections would have further contributed to the ideas relating to politics in this article.
I have not yet seen the Pittsburgh Public’s rendition of “Little Shop” yet (though I do plan to, trust me) but I think that Wendy’s commentary on the show is very interesting. I have always enjoyed the productions I have seen of the show but had never thought of it in any terms of socio political relevancy; instead merely thinking of it as a funny, more escapist-type show. The design of this production specifically looks really amazing - I am especially impressed by the media design because I think that it is one of the harder elements of a production to make look wonderful and seamless, but it seems to mesh perfectly with all of the other elements. Additionally, from speaking to Susan, the projections “have become their own character” which is an interesting concept to come at a design from; using your design to not only form the characters on stage but to form a character itself.
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