Boy they're having fun now!

Some people enjoy theater that makes them cry. Others go to think about important social issues. Still others just want to have fun.\nAnd fun is precisely what "Little Shop of Horrors" has to offer.\nThe popular musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, which opened off-Broadway in 1982 and was later adapted to film, opened Thursday in the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium.\nThe musical focuses on Seymour, an impoverished florist who finds an extra-terrestrial plant and makes a deadly deal with it in order to win the girl of his dreams. The plant lives only by drinking blood, so Seymour agrees to "prepare" its meals. In turn, the public's growing interest in the plant enables Seymour to become rich and famous, and as you can imagine, things become complicated.\nComplete with little Venus Fly Traps on the tables, the Waldron's small auditorium made for a uniquely intimate experience of this large-scale musical. While the set of a flower shop was simple and unchanged, it was nicely detailed and served its purpose well.\nOne might wonder how it is possible to have a large alien plant "perform" onstage. This performance utilized a series of foam puppets that were controlled by both cast members and, when it became larger, an operator (Andy Shoulders). Darrin Barton, using an off-stage microphone, provided the plant's voice. At every stage, the puppets were believable and really added to the atmosphere of the show.\nAs for the cast, performances in Friday's show were good, but some left more to be desired.\nDaniel O'Neill gave a touching performance as Seymour. Though he appeared a little closed and possibly nervous at the beginning of the show, he opened up later to finish with a strong performance both vocally and dramatically.\nCheryl Sweeney played Audrey, Seymour's love interest and co-worker. As with O'Neill, Sweeney's performance was slightly lackluster at the show's opening, but she was able to shine through for the majority of the musical. One of Sweeney's strongest moments was when she sang the last line of "Somewhere That's Green," in which the truly human side of her character is seen.\nThe most obvious problem with these two leading characters was their lack of microphones. Even in a small venue such as the Waldon's auditorium, it was very hard to make out O'Neill and Sweeney's parts above the rest of the cast when there were multiple parts being sung and the two were left to fend for themselves.\nAside from Seymour and Audrey, the real stars of Friday's performance were the three street urchins Crystal, Chiffon and Ronette. Played by Akaya Birdine, Stephanie Parker, and Kenye SamForay, respectively, these girls served as the show's narrators and back-up vocalists. Birdine, Parker, and SamForay made a great vocal team and gave a wonderfully soulful performance that was just fun to experience.\nAlso of note was Kevin Sweeney's performance as dentist Orin Scrivello. Sweeney provided many laughs in this role that some would argue was perfected by Steve Martin in the film version. Although I would have liked to have seen this role performed with a more villainous nature, Sweeney did a nice job of making the character comedic, and the audience responded well to his performance.\nOverall, this production was very enjoyable. The cast was very funny, and the music was performed well. With a plot focusing on a man-eating vegetable, "Little Shop of Horrors" is a musical that enables a cast to get crazy, have fun and provide a visual treat for audiences. I know I had a great time. And after all, why pay for a show if you're not going to have fun?\n"Little Shop of Horrors" will be performed 8 p.m. Feb. 21-23 in the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium.