The Cast Photo by Justin Barbin

Feed me, Seymour! Feed me all night long!

So let's do this review just like the musical. We'll start with a bouncy, high-energy intro. Then we'll have a little fun, showcase some fine performances, and see where the twists and turns take us. The end might be a little dark and strange, but it'll be worth it. Now, as Audrey II, the show's wickedly bloodthirsty killer plant from outer space would say, let's Git it!.

The Marriott Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors is a darkly funny, sweetly sentimental, visually stunning, musically infectious, unnervingly urgent, stellar production of a strangely wonderful little musical. And it's just right for right now.

"You better
Tellin' you, you better Tell your mama somethin's gonna
Get her
She better. Ev'rybody better
Beware!
Come-a, come-a, come-a!"

When it comes to Little Shop's history, it's actually kind of amazing that the show exists. First produced in 1982 at the WPA Theatre Off-Broadway, Howard Ashman (lyrics and book) and Alan Menken's (music) career-launching super hit was a long shot, to say the least. The story goes that when Ashman pitched his idea for a horror comedy-rock musical based on a campy, ultra-low-budget, fun but forgettable 1960 movie about a giant plant from space that eats people, Ashman's sister Sarah, along with the rest of his family, tried to talk him out of it.

But the bet paid off, the weird-looking plant and forty-four years and a string of Disney megahits–Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, to name a few– later, Ashman and Menken had cemented their place on the stage and screen with some of the most memorable musical scores of this or any era.

Still, there's something about Little Shop of Horrors that will always feel like a long shot, a little crazy, a little brave. The show's a bit like Seymour, an underdog you can't help but root for. There's something about it that always resonates. Maybe it's that no matter how far we think we've come, there's something about the far-fetched show that seems a little too real.

Enter the rendition of Audrey II that landed at the Marriott Theatre to open the 2026 season.

Set in Mr. Mushnik's failing flower shop on Skid Row, the heart of the story beats in Seymour Krelborn, whose sweetly nerdy, stuck-in-the-muck, sort of sad life is forever changed after a sudden total eclipse of the sun delivers a mysterious Venus flytrap-like plant he names Audrey II. The plant's namesake is Seymour's co-worker and love interest.

Audrey, too, is an underdog story. She has a great big wonderful heart and a fantastic style all her own, but she's plagued by self-consciousness and a dentist boyfriend who is a sadistic jerk.

Jackson Evans brings nuance, skill, and a sneaky-strong voice to the role of Seymour. He is joined by Mark David Kaplan, who delivers an entertainingly surly, altogether wonderful portrayal of the grumpy shop owner, Mr. Mushnik. Maya Rowe perfectly captures the dreamy, vulnerable Audrey with a performance that balances her rare sort of beauty and gentle, sweet nature.

Adding a layer of menace, Andrew Mueller utterly unnerves as the cruel dentist Orin Scrivello, and shines in a series of key supporting roles throughout the show.

The love story gives Little Shop its warmth, but the music sets it on fire. The Motown-inspired "Urchins" played by Lydia Burke (Crystal), Daryn Whitney Harrell (Ronnette), and Miciah Lathan (Chiffon) light the match, fan the flames, and pour gasoline on the blaze. Acting as a high-octane "Greek Chorus," the trio provides the backbone of the show as they sing us through the action with a vocal power as poppin' as The Pips, as marvelous as The Marvelettes, and as supreme as The Supremes. The "Urchins" are backed by a mighty, compact orchestra under the direction of Mason Moss, who injects the rock-and-doo-wop score with infectious energy.

Sweet, nerdy Seymour may be the heart of the show, but the blood-gulping puppet showstopper Audrey II is the soul. Designed by Jesse Mooney-Bullock, the four evolutions of the plant grow from an unassuming sprout into a jaw-dropping, man-eating marvel. The illusion is flawlessly delivered by puppeteers Jordan Anthony Arredondo, Ed Kross, and Garrett Lutz, whose seamless coordination allows them to both enhance and disappear into the monstrous creation. And as the ravenously hungry Audrey II grows to fill the stage, calling "Feed me, Seymour!," Lorenzo Rush Jr.'s booming, velvety, soulful voice owns the theater.

Little Shop of Horrors is a perfect fit for the Marriott. Squeezing every drop of life out of the theatre-in-the-round set, director and choreographer Tommy Rapley synthesizes the story with the space to keep the action clear and engrossing from every seat.

Amanda Vander Byl's imaginative costumes shine throughout the show–including her ingenious puppeteer disguises–alongside the crisp, immersive lighting and sound designs by Jesse Klug and John Johnson. Together, the performances and production elements build as Audrey II grows more menacing, until, without realizing it, it feels as though the plant is all around us.

So, there you have it. Little Shop of Horrors is the right show in the right place, but why is it the right time?

It could be Seymour's story. Who doesn't love a humble everyman, always a little down on his luck, who takes a chance for love and makes a Faustian deal?

Yeah, that might be part of it.

But I think it's the plant.

It might seem crazy, but there's something familiar about the story of a stranger who appears in our city promising wealth and happiness, a mysterious force, a malevolent pitchman cloaked in green and orange who tells us we can have everything we want. All we need to do is go along, give him a little blood, feed him the people we don't want. We know it's wrong, but we keep going back. We keep feeding the nefarious monster, and he grows and grows, and soon he's eating the guilty and the innocent alike, and it might be too late to stop him...

Like I said:

Right show. Right place. Right time.

Little Shop of Horrors runs through March 15, 2026, at The Marriott Theatre, Ten Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire IL. For tickets and information, please visit www.marriotttheatre.com.