Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)

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Music reviews of Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)

Music Review: Very Nice, but Hold on to your Original Cast Recording
Rating: 4 Stars

1. 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.

Description of Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)

Broadway & Vocalists CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Soundtracks