Don't Feed the Plant (Puppet)

A lot of work goes into putting on a musical—casting, rehearsing and set construction to name just a few—but it’s not often that a theater has to track down a huge plant puppet.

But that rather strange task is part of the program when performing “Little Shop of Horrors,” the hit musical about a boy, a girl and a man-eating plant. It’s a crowd-pleasing favorite for community groups and is coming to in Hillsborough, for a run opening Sept. 16 and continuing through Oct. 8.

“Little Shop” started off as a 1960 B-movie directed by Roger Corman and featuring a young Jack Nicholson. In 1982, it was adapted into a musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, which in turn was made into a 1986 movie.

Bill Seesselberg, who’s directing the show at SVP, saw the original off-Broadway staging, but never saw the 1986 movie or the Broadway revival in 2003. That, he says, is helping him stick to the spirit of the original version.

“It actually started out as a really low-budget movie, then it became a small show, and that’s kind of what it is,” Seesselberg says. “And the revival and the movie made it so big. It kind of lost its cuteness, the soul.”

The story revolves around Seymour (played by John Watson), who grew up an orphan and lives on Skid Row. Seymour works at a flower shop and has long held a secret crush on his co-worker, Audrey (Jackie von den Steinen). When a strange plant comes into the flower shop, Seymour takes care of it, naming it Audrey II.  The plant needs human blood to live, which Seymour supplies, first just a few drops, but that soon won’t be enough.

This is one hungry plant.

Musical favorites from “Little Shop” include “Grow for Me,” “Dentist,” “Feed Me” and “Suddenly Seymour.” Other characters include Mushnik, who owns the flower shop, Audrey’s abusive dentist boyfriend and a chorus of three singers inspired by the girl groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

“It’s fun on a few levels,” Seesselberg says. “It’s kind of an homage to the old B-movies, space alien movies, the low-budget flicks, but it’s also got some really cute music to it.”

No staging of “Little Shop” is complete without a giant plant puppet. Seesselberg says the puppet for SVP’s show is from a company from New Jersey. The plants can be costly to rent, but SVP was able to acquire its puppet a month prior to opening night, allowing for plenty of time to figure out how to work the prop. Handling the puppet is Michelle Ciccottelli, a student at Hillsborough High School.

“She dove right into it and she’s really doing a great job, I’m so pleased with how she picked it up,” Seesselberg  says. “You’re actually looking at a plant with personality during the show.”

“Little Shop of Horrors” is being performed at Somerset Valley Players, 689 Amwell Road, Hillsborough, Sept. 18 through Oct. 3. Tickets cost $20, $18 seniors/students. For information, call 908-369-7469 or go to SVPtheatre.org.