CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : ‘Little Shop’ Stocked With Bite in Brea

Oh, those kids. Murder, mayhem, larceny . . . what they won’t do for a little fun.

With tongues firmly planted in cheeks, the Brea Young Actors’ Theatre has ushered in the howling season with the musical spoof “Little Shop of Horrors.” Despite a tendency to take its silliness a tad too seriously, this staging offers a fine rush for kids who’ve outgrown the trick-or-treating route. Presented by Stagelight Family Productions with a mostly teen-age cast of local actors, “Little Shop” continues through Sunday at the Curtis Theatre.

Inspired by a 1960 sci-fi movie and featuring a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken (the team that created the songs for Disney’s “Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast,”), “Little Shop,” the musical, premiered in 1982 and was later made into a movie of its own.

The story is set in a skid-row flower shop on the verge of bankruptcy and offers many fiendishly clever moments, especially the musical ones.

Director Gary Krinke has brought together some strong high-school and college-age actors to carry them, particularly Justin Gehrls as Seymour, the downtrodden florist’s assistant who cultivates an exotic, flesh-eating plant and a hunger for celebrity at any cost. Add to this some well-crafted and outlandish visual effects, and you have the makings for a spicy seasonal brew.

The problems are relatively few, but at last Friday’s opening they were enough to take some of the tang out of the mix.

Krinke and producer Janice Kraus have extended to six the number of street urchins who act as the story’s Greek chorus, musically setting up and recapping the grisly situations that result as Seymour tries to satisfy the outrageous appetite of Audrey II (named after his co-worker and heartthrob).

The larger female chorus, and the foibles of the theater sound system, made it difficult to decipher large chunks of the lyrics, which is a shame not only because they are so delicious, but because they keep viewers on track as the story careens toward its bizarre conclusion.

Muddying the waters further was the fact that although most members of the chorus were strong singers, they labored so much at projecting individual characters through posturing and wisecracks that they had difficulty working as a unit.

The moments between Seymour and the flesh-and-blood Audrey are the best in the show. A Cal State Fullerton freshman, Gehrls has a delightful artlessness about him that makes his character lovable even while he’s doing unspeakable things. Gehrls’ singing voice is equally unstrained, and he moves easily from the campy “Mushnik and Son” to the romance of “Suddenly Seymour.”

Sadly, the same can’t be said for Lauren Kling’s Audrey. Kling, a high-school junior, has demonstrated in other shows that she is a multitalented actress with a warm and powerful singing voice, but here her skills have been so crimped to fit the blonde-bombshell-with-lousy-self-image stereotype that they are mostly overshadowed by cartoonishness.

It’s not until her second act duet with Seymour that the Betty Boop bit is dropped enough to let some of those abilities shine through. Kling is a trouper, though, and manages to squeeze some of the show’s funniest moments from her shtick.

At the risk of sounding like a stick in the crud, it’s worth noting that while the few kids younger than 10 in Friday’s audience seemed to enjoy the up-tempo score and bright visuals, despite its originators, “Beauty and the Beast” this ain’t.

Although they are addressed with humor, there are some themes, such as sadism, that parents may find unsuitable for young children--witching season or not.

Mike Martin provides the speaking and singing voice of Audrey II (the costume is manipulated onstage by members of the technical crew) with plenty of venom, but Darrell Baker and Reed Grudin as Mushnik the florist and slime-ball dentist Orin Scrivello could be much darker, and in Scrivello’s case, less hysterical. Also distracting was Krinke’s use of Grudin in multiple supporting roles after his main character is snuffed.

* “Little Shop of Horrors,” Curtis Theatre, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea. Performances tonight at 8, Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. $8 for matinees, $10 for evening performances. Theater officials recommend that children under 5 do not attend. (714) 990-7722. Running time: 2 hours. Justin Gehrls: Seymour Lauren Kling: Audrey Darrell Baker: Mr. Mushnik Reed Grudin: Orin, Wino, Customer, Interviewer Mike Martin: Audrey II Natalie May Carter, Meloney Collins, Leslie Stirrat, Jannene Lowry, Lauren Spicer and Stacy Messengale Street Urchins

Presented by Stagelight Family Productions and the City of Brea. Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Based on a film by Roger Corman.