Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)
Free Music Review: Very Nice, but Hold on to your Original Cast Recording
Hit: 4 Stars
I am a HUGE fan of "Little Shop Of Horrors" in all its incarnations (show, films, cast recordings so on and so on) and have played Mr. Mushnik in several productions of the show. I like most costumers have yet to see this current revival and base my entire review on the cd its self... not on how good the actors were live. So I will do a play by play1. Prologue / Little Shop of Horrors- this is the first taste I got of the new 10 piece orchestra sound of the show. It's a nice sound but it can feel a little overblown here. The song features the addition of the bridge from the film (Oh Here It Comes Baby/Tell the Bums Baby), which is an excellent addition. The Trio sounds perfect.
2. Skid Row (Downtown)- It starts off a little rough, the powerful opening to the song falters here. Its usual tremendous finish seems hidden underneath the excess orchestrations. Hunter Foster does well; unfortunately our first taste of Kerry Butlers Audrey isn't her best. But everyone holds well and the songs comes out all right.
3. Da-Doo- The cute story of how Seymour came across his man-eating moneymaker is still strong. It features a little more of the scene before which is a nice little treat.
4. Grow for Me- Hunter Foster does incredibly well with this song. Beautiful orchestrations make the songs feel more like late 50's ballads its was intending to mock.
5. WSKID- a nice little track featuring the scene change music and the scene between Seymour and The Radio Announcer.
6. Ya Never Know- Finally we let the girls wail away... and they rock out. Some minor changes were made such as the song originally sung by Ronette is now sung by Chiffon, most likely to expand her role a little. Features the scene between Mr. Mushnik's verse and The Girls verses.
7. Somewhere That's Green- As many fans of the show know you can usually judge an Audrey by her somewhere that's green... if she breaks your hart she's got what it takes. Well Butler delivers... arguably the best-recorded Somewhere That's Green out there.
8. Closed for Renovation- New orchestrations and harmonies take the song to new heights.
9. Dentist!- Sills is overqualified for this role, his Dentist is more or an egotistical pretty boy than a legitimate thug. And it's absolutely phenomenal. He maintains his own without becoming Steve Martin.
10. Mushnik & Son- BLECH! Its nice to have a recording of the full Mushnik & Son, but the orchestration behind it on this is HORRIBLE! The pace is much to slow! Rob Bartlett and Hunter Foster do nicely vocally.
11. Feed Me (Git It)- Impressive... Michael-Leon Wooley gives a mega performance. You can hear his manipulation of Seymour in the way he sings this rockin song. The addition of more for the Trio here is nice
12. Now (It's Just the Gas)- Again Sills shines in this song.
13. Act 1 Finale- referred to in the score as the "Coda", its neat to have it here. The album would have been fine without it though.
14. Entr'acte- A brand New Entr'acte, the orchestra REALLY shines here.
15. Call Back in the Morning- I have always hated this song; it has no function in the show. Still it's nice to have it here at last.
16. Suddenly Seymour- The song everyone wants to know about. A truly definitive recording of one of the greatest songs in musical theatre history. Hunter is a gem he finally gets let out that voice that we loved so much in "Urinetown"; Kerry Butler really lets go here and seems at home wit song. Its one of those recordings that will make you believe Seymour and Audrey are going to be together forever and nothing could separate them.
17. Suppertime- Again Wooley blows this score up, features the dialogue too.
18. The Meek Shall Inherit- Can we just hand Douglas Sills a Tony now... His performances as the salespeople are fantastic. His Mrs. Luce will have you rolling on the floor. Again the harmonies are beefed up and sound seamless.
19. Sominex / Suppertime II - Now here is where the things go really wrong, usually a scene of foreboding and legitimate fear, is turned into a comical joke on B-Movies... which makes...
20. Somewhere That's Green (Reprise)- Audrey's death into a big joke. Usually a moving moment... when Audrey says her final goodbye to Seymour is now nothing but a desperate attempt at laughs. Also features the music to the choral piece "The Death Of Audrey"
21. Bigger Than Hula-Hoops- The scene that precedes Seymour's demise... a nice addition
22. Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed the Plants)- with INCREDIBLE new harmonies this song packs a brand new punch that will have you hitting the replay button.
BONUS TRACKS- The addition of these tracks is nice... every Little Shop Fan has hunted down recording of these songs. Well at least I have... its a shame that Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon another cut song didn't make the cut.
All in all the recording is very nice, most theatre trying to put on production of Little Shop will want to use it as a reference piece but I still recommend everyone get the original Broadway cast or even the film version first. Powerful performances by all the leads and yet at some point during the recording you will find yourself wishing, you were listening to Lee Wilkof and Ellen Greene again.
Free Music Review: A good review from a harsh critic
Hit: 4 Stars
Whenever I see that one of my all time favorite pieces of theatre is being revived and released on CD, I am always optimistic that any changes that have been made will make the piece sharper, more focused, and allow the artists to re-create their roles with fresh interpretations. Happily, this is the case with much of the new recording of Little Shop of Horrors.First, what hasn't changed; not much has been added to the score itself. A few bits which were in the Original Broadway Production but not on it's CD have been added. ("Call Back in the Morning" as well as an expanded "Mushnik and Son".) The bridge to the title song (used in the film) has been added to this Broadway score, which I like. Most of the organ has been replaced with brass, which I am not sure if I like, but it adds a bit of pop to things.
The portrayal of Seymour varies little from that which is heard on the Original Broadway Cast Recording. Hunter Foster does, as the New York reviews said, have a very nice voice indeed, and his characterization is nice... it's just the same.
For the new things: Kerry Butler gives a surprisingly good performance as Audrey here. Much more grounded in reality than Ellen Greene, while still maintaining that SCI-FI fairy tale feel. She makes Audrey more of a real person rather than just capitalizing on a unique character voice... and what a voice!! A remarkable mix of sweetness and power that make her tracks a joy.
I like the Doo-Wop girls a lot here, and I think they were sleighed by their recording technicians. The opening recording sounds very sparse and flat compared to the previous recording, but it is definitely not their voices. I think the recording is to blame, as well as a bit of monkeying around with the arrangement of the harmonies. A bit of work could have made them sound as full as I am sure they do in real life. The rest of their songs, including "Ya Never Know" and "The Meek Shall Inherit" are done well, and are very cool.
Mushnik and the Dentist give excellent performances here as well. Mushnik's voice is strong and clear without that false "Mushnik" character voice that is so commonly heard in the role. Orin (the Dentist) is very good here too, meeting the challenge of doing the role justice without imitating Steve Martin.
The demo tracks here are a great treasure to find, including Alan Menkin performing "A Little Dental Music", a song Seymour sings with the "Muzak" playing in the dentist's waiting room. Such a beautiful melody.
There are parts of this recording that I wish had more "kick". Sharper percussion, maybe, or just slightly more focused timing. Overall, there are tracks here that are not as good as the versions on other recordings, but, and this is my big but, there are tracks that are better, and will stand (for a while anyway)as definitive. Well done.
Free Music Review: From listening to acting
Hit: 4 Stars
I first bought this CD after I learned my high school choir would be performing 'Little Shop of Horrors' for our spring musical. I was trying out for the role of Seymour (which I later won), so I would only listen to the songs he was in. However, after hearing the overture, I simply couldn't skip over one song just because my character wasn't in it. LSOH is a great alternative to the typical happy ending glossy musical that Broadway is over-croweded with. This new, updated version of LSOH has a modern feel, while still managing to stick to the roots Alan Menken intended for it to have. It's packed with comedy that, some of which, is likely to go over most peoples' heads, but it always comes back to tell the story of what Seymour must do in order to reach fame.
Hunter Foster does a superb job as Seymour, the nerdy, down-on-his-luck Skid Row floral assistant who discovers the talking plant Audrey II. His tenor voice is a true gift to Broadway that definitely needs more recognition than he is given in today's theatre community. Kerry Butler, however, leaves more to be desired from the character of Audrey. A common mistake that many critics make is comparing her to the great Ellen Greene, who played Audrey in the very first off-Broadway production of LSOH. She doesn't quite deliver the heart and good nature that is Audrey and she is, unfortunately, aware of this problem. Trying to correct it, Butler makes many efforts to pull off something she is not. It takes a gifted actress to pull of the part of Audrey. However, what she lacks in acting skills, she pulls off in some of her songs. 'Somewhere That's Green' isn't her best, but she makes up for it in 'Suddenly Seymour.' Other cast members, such as Douglass Sills, who plays the sadistic dentist Orin, is absolutely hilarious in the song 'Now (It's the Gas)'.
And then there's Audrey II- the man-eating, trash-talking carnivorous plant ready to take over the world. Michael Leon-Wooley does an outstanding job playing the plant's voice. In the show-stopping song 'Feed Me', Wooley and Foster deliver a rock-esque performance that needs the push of the 'repeat' button on your stereo afer you hear it for the first time.
I'm not going to give away the ending, but be prepared, it's not what you would normally expect in a boy-meets-girl musical. The show's message is ultimately 'All that glitters is not gold.' Seymour and the rest of the victims on Skid Row must learn this the hard way, but not before some definite powerhouse performances knock you off your feet. It's sad that the most recent 2003 revival only lasted one year on Broadway. However, many high schools and theatres across America continue to perform it. This musical isn't likely to die anytime soon.
Free Music Review: Great and Wonderful! (For what it is)
Hit: 4 Stars
Well, I do have to say that I am thrilled that ALL of the songs made this recording. It's about time! Well, over all I enjoyed this recording. Here's what I liked and didn't like about it.Pros:
-New orchestrations on "Closed for Renovations" make the song NOT sound like creepy carnival music. (Sorry, I HATE the original ones).
-New vocal arrangements are nice.
-Call Back In The Morning. It's about time!
-Some of the new orchestrations are great.
Cons:
-The movie orchestrations were ultimate. They "should" have hired the same guy to orchestrate all the music for the play. Oh well.
-Kerry Butler. She sounds like Penny Pingleton playing Audrey at the high school in Hairspray.
-Songs weren't added. I can understand that "We'll Have Tomorrow" can be pretty depressing when the two are about to die. I really think "Meen Green Mother" had a place here, but I guess no one else did...
The demos are nice. Having heard professional recordings of "Bad", "A Little Dental Music", and "We'll Have Tomorrow", I'm spoiled, but the ones on here are nice. "The Worse He Treats Me" and "My Hobby"... Let's just say I'm glad they didn't stay in the show, hehehe. OH. I'm mad they didn't include "Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon". IMHO, one of the best cut songs from Little Shop (Was written to play over the credits of the movie).
Overall, I give this a 4!
P.S. Bad was written for the stage show... Not the movie...
Free Music Review: A very nice improvement
Hit: 4 Stars
It's very hard to improve on such a standard of theatre, but this new recording of the show definately does just that. It's all due to the efforts of Kerry Butler, the Doo Wop girls, and Mushnik. Kerry Butler is amazing, and I think she surpasses Ellen Greene. Greene was amazing in the original Off-Broadway cast recording, but she pushed herself too much in the movie and with the Hey, Mr. Producer! special. Kerry Butler's voice is perfect with incredible range. With new orchestrations, the Doo Wop girls far surpass any prior contenders. Mushnik is great too with just the right "over-the-topness" in Mushnik and Son.My two complaints with the CD is Hunter Foster and the voice of the plant. The Voice was adequate and really did not provide anything new to the character. Poor Hunter is barely going through the motions in this role. His voice is weak and character just plain dull. He is definitely not the same person we saw in Urinetown.
The bonus tracks are a nice surprise. It's easy to see why they were cut from the show with the exception of Bad, which was great and I would have loved to seen incorporated into the movie for which it was written.
This new cast recording is definitely one for the collection but as a companion to the original off-broadway cast not in place of it. They both are worth owning.