STAGE REVIEW : ‘Horrors’!--’Little Shop’ by Moonlight : Theater: Irreverent, zany rock ‘n’ roll spoof is deftly handled by a theater more identified with ‘family’ shows.

Moonlight Amphitheatre’s reputation as a family

-oriented musical theater troupe may be in serious jeopardy. The company--known primarily for presenting life-affirming, G-rated plays such as “Oliver!,” “Oklahoma!” and “Hello, Dolly!”--is developing a knack for staging irreverent, sardonic, adult productions.

During the 1990 summer season, Moonlight presented an acclaimed production of the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical “Into the Woods,” a sophisticated, wry story dealing with the reality that evolves out of fairy tale endings. On Thursday, the troupe continued to push its artistic envelope with a plucky, infectious and thoroughly engaging production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Splendid performances are at the heart of this production. Bets Malone’s squealing, squalid Audrey and Duane Daniels’ demented dentist Orin are wildly comic characters who create nonstop laughs throughout “Little Shop.” Further, the entire cast possesses powerful, energetic singing voices and helps make this lurid black comedy a romping, rock ‘n’ roll success.

“Little Shop of Horrors,” written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, is based on Roger Corman’s 1960 science-fiction cult film of the same name. The Ashman-Menken rock musical earned the New York Drama Critic’s Best Musical award in 1983 and was later made into a major motion picture starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene.

This production marks the beginning of Moonlight’s third indoor season at the 175-seat Moonlight Indoor Playhouse, near the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista’s Brengle Terrace Park.

The story takes place in and around a financially troubled skid row flower shop. Shop owner Mushnik (Doug Davis) is just about to close the doors for good when desperate employees Seymour (Randall S. Hickman) and Audrey devise a marketing scheme. Seymour and Audrey place a bizarre-looking plant in the store window to attract customers. Their plan works, the store is saved and the plant, named Audrey II, becomes a huge attraction.

There’s a twist, of course. Audrey II is no ordinary hibiscus or bougainvillea; this Venus flytrap-like plant talks, moves and possesses an insatiable appetite for human blood. Seymour must keep feeding Audrey II to keep the plant alive, but providing the plant sustenance becomes an increasingly difficult task.

A love triangle prompts the story along. Seymour loves Audrey but can’t find the nerve to ask her out. Audrey loves Seymour but she is trapped in a destructive relationship with Orin, a sadistic dentist. Both Audrey and Seymour would like to get rid of Orin, but how?

The dark-humored solution--feeding Orin to the plant--is both obvious and hilarious. Eventually, Audrey II devours most of the cast during the 100-minute play.

Director-choreographer Ray Limon manipulated the comic episodes with a deft hand. The deadpan one-liners are subtle yet pointed; the broad slapstick routines are extravagantly hilarious; and the black comedy bits are presented without the slightest hint of apology or hesitation.

Dressed in Lynda Blais’ intentionally garish costumes, Malone shimmies around the stage and delivers punch line after punch line. At one point, after a date with her sadistic boyfriend, Audrey arrives late for work and someone asks: “Why were you late? Were you tied up?”

“Handcuffed, actually,” Malone quips. Exchanges like this fill the evening with laughter.

Daniels, who plays a variety of roles throughout the show, crafted a wonderfully demented villain as the motorcycle-riding, leather-wearing, pain-inflicting Orin. In particular, Daniels reveled in his death scene, during which he overdoses on laughing gas and giggles himself to the hereafter.

Because all of the best lines are written for Orin and Audrey, the rest of the cast must settle for playing support roles. Hickman’s geeky Seymour is solid, but the actor occasionally tries too hard to generate laughs. Davis creates a believable, penny-pinching boss in Mushnik, and the three-woman chorus of Theresa Layne, Suzanne Wagner and Definique Juniel provide clever transitions between scenes.

Some of the best material originates in the musical numbers. Malone’s “Somewhere That’s Green” sends up the smarmy, wishful-thinking ballads that populate most traditional musicals. “Git It!” (sung by Audrey II’s “voice,” Keith Jefferson), is a thumping, visceral rocker, and Daniels’ “Dentist” is a comic paean to torture, pulled off successfully behind a maniacal smile.