Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors mixes B-movie horror, comedy and early rock and roll into one of the most loved small musicals ever written. It follows a meek flower-shop clerk, the girl he adores and the talking, man-eating plant that offers him everything he has ever wanted. Howard Ashman wrote the book and lyrics and Alan Menken wrote the music, long before the pair became famous for their film songs.

The current production is an Off-Broadway revival directed by Michael Mayer at the Westside Theatre on West 43rd Street. It began previews on September 17, 2019, opened on October 17, 2019, and was first announced as a limited run. It never stopped: by September 2026 it had played 2,226 performances, passing the 2,210 of the original 1982 production and becoming the longest-running staging in the show's history. As of October 2026 no closing date has been announced.

The setting is Skid Row, a run-down downtown neighborhood in the early 1960s. Seymour Krelborn is a timid orphan who works in Mr. Mushnik's failing flower shop, next to Audrey, a kind-hearted co-worker with a weakness for tacky clothes. Seymour is quietly in love with her. Audrey dreams of a modest life in the suburbs but is stuck with Orin Scrivello, a dentist who enjoys causing pain and treats her badly.

After a sudden eclipse, Seymour finds a strange plant that looks a little like a Venus flytrap. He names it Audrey II. It wilts until he discovers what it really eats: human blood. Once fed, it grows at an alarming speed, and the curious crowds it draws bring the shop money for the first time in years. Mushnik, keen to hold on to the profits, makes Seymour his adopted son and business partner.

Then the plant starts talking. It promises Seymour fame, money and Audrey, as long as he keeps feeding it, and it is no longer satisfied with a few drops from his fingers. By the end of the first act Seymour has let Orin die and given the plant its first real meal.

In the second act, Seymour and Audrey finally admit their feelings, offers and attention pour in, and Seymour is trapped by his own success. He knows the plant will kill again, and he is afraid that without it he will lose everything, Audrey included.

Watching all of this are three street urchins, Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon, named after 1960s girl groups. They comment on the action like a doo-wop Greek chorus.

Menken's score borrows the sound of early-1960s radio: girl-group harmonies, doo-wop, a bit of Motown soul and plenty of rock 'n' roll. Its authors have called it a darker counterpart to Grease. The songs are short, catchy and often very funny, which makes the story's turns land even harder.

Numbers to listen for include the opening "Skid Row (Downtown)," Audrey's wistful "Somewhere That's Green," the gleefully nasty "Dentist!," the plant's demand "Feed Me (Git It)," the love duet "Suddenly, Seymour" and the creeping "Suppertime."

Audrey II is the star of any staging. Over the evening the plant is brought to life by several puppets, each bigger than the last: a small potted plant Seymour handles himself at first, and finally a huge plant big enough to swallow actors. In this production one performer is billed as The Voice of Audrey II and sings the role, while separate puppeteers work the plant.

The revival has become known for its long line of replacement stars. Past Audreys include Tammy Blanchard, Lena Hall, Joy Woods and Jinkx Monsoon, and past Seymours include Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Corbin Bleu and Darren Criss. Monsoon made history as the first drag artist cast as Audrey in a major staging. Joy Woods, the revival's first Chiffon, later came back as Audrey.

As of October 2026, Ethan Slater and Betsy Wolfe play their last performances as Seymour and Audrey on October 25, 2026, and T.R. Knight and Hannah Cruz take over the roles on October 27.

The musical grew out of a 1960 low-budget black comedy film by Roger Corman, written by Charles B. Griffith, in which a florist's helper raises a plant that drinks blood. Ashman, who co-founded the off-off-Broadway WPA Theatre and ran it as artistic director, conceived, wrote and directed the stage version. It premiered at the WPA on May 6, 1982, and on July 27 of that year transferred to the Orpheum, an Off-Broadway house in the East Village.

There was talk of a Broadway transfer, but Ashman wanted to keep the show in an intimate theater, and it stayed put. The run ended on November 1, 1987, after 2,210 performances. By then it ranked third among the longest-running Off-Broadway musicals, and no Off-Broadway production had ever grossed more. A London production opened in 1983, and Frank Oz directed the 1986 film with Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, which gave the story a happier ending. The show reached Broadway only in 2003, at the Virginia Theatre, for 372 performances.

The current revival was announced in July 2019 and paused in March 2020 for the pandemic shutdown. It resumed on September 21, 2021, with Jeremy Jordan as Seymour. In September 2026 the company marked its record run with a post-show singalong, a week of talkbacks and a collector's Playbill cover modeled on the original Orpheum program.