‘Little Shop’ Flowers in Hollywood

The very idea of irrigating low-budget camp with big-budget production values might seem like a contradiction, but there’s no denying the rosy bloom of a well-crafted staging as “Little Shop of Horrors” at Hollywood’s Crossley Theatre entwines audiences in its tendril mercies.

A perennial favorite, this 1982 musical horror spoof by Alan Menken (music) and the late Howard Ashman (lyrics and book) has its roots in a notoriously bad Roger Corman flick about a nerdy boy and his man-eating extraterrestrial plant. For this Actors Co-op revival, director Cate Caplin nurtures the show’s goofy charms with smart casting, wisely resisting any conceptual updates that might threaten the innocence of “Little Shop’s” Garden of Eden.

Brian Habicht dons the squared-off spectacles of dim bulb Seymour, the downtrodden Skid Row Flower Shop flunky who reaps a bitter harvest from his bad seedling. Michelle Dunker is a real tomato as tawdry Audrey, Seymour’s co-worker and secret heartthrob, blossoming out of torn fishnet tackiness for a superb rendition of the show’s sweetly touching anthem, “Somewhere That’s Green.”

While Greg Baldwin fits the physical profile of their oppressive boss, Mushnik, some Borscht Belt histrionics could help pollinate his understated delivery. There’s no shortage of ripe energy in John Allsopp’s appearances in multiple roles (most memorably as Audrey’s sadistic dentist boyfriend).

In addition to the flailing hilarity of the enormous eggplant with an unquenchable appetite for blood (manned by Robin Knight and voiced by Rovin Jay), the show sports Robert Bingham’s detailed Skid Row set, which opens like the petals of a flower to reveal the shop’s interior. A succession of witty costumes by Shon LeBlanc garnishes the recurring trio of crooners (Diane Martinous, Naomi Chan, Andrea Kim Walker), while musical director Linda Kerns’ four-piece band rocks a full-volume call to arms against floral appeasement--in this jungle, it’s eat or be eaten.

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“Little Shop of Horrors,” Crossley Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Nov. 18. $24. (323) 462-8460. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.