TheatreWorks stages holiday ‘Horrors’

“Little Shop of Horrors” may be Theatreworks Silicon Valley’s show for the holidays, but the musical about a carnivorous plant isn’t necessarily a holiday show.

Director Jeffrey Lo moved the show from New York City to San Francisco’s Chinatown, and Mushnik’s Flower Shop now has Chinese characters on the window and up one wall, and Mushnik (a perpetually flustered Lawrence-Michael C. Arias) eats takeout Chinese food.

One thing that hasn’t changed – which is a good thing – is the doo-wop trio: Crystal (Naima Alakham), Chiffon (Alia Hodge) and Ronette (Lucca Troutman). When they sashay in to sing the title song and segue into “Skid Row (Downtown),” it’s clear that Lo made some fine casting choices.

Also at the top of this list is the elegant Sumi Yu as Audrey. Her solo, “Somewhere That’s Green,” is sung simply and with wholehearted sincerity.

And although musical director William Liberatore has a small orchestra of just two keyboards,  a guitar, a bass and drums, all that wonderful Howard Ashman/Alan Menken music comes through loud and clear.

“Little Shop” is based on the cult movie classic by Roger Corman and Charles Griffin. The musical theater version premiered in 1982 and ran off-Broadway for five years. Steve Martin and Rick Moranis starred in a film version four years later, classifying it as an “American horror comedy musical.” By that time, “Audrey II” had become a part of nearly everyone’s lexicon.

Kudos to Matthew Mcavene Creations, Inc for building an amazing series of Audrey II puppets that are used in productions across the country. Brandon Leland deserves credit as the Audrey II puppeteer; he’s always right on cue and makes that puppet one scary lady plant, helped by Katrina Lauren McGraw as Audrey II’s voice.

Audrey II starts out as a small, frumpy plant, rather like Seymour himself. Phil Wong, who has played the role before, has just the right amount of Sad Sack in his character to make the audience cheer for his Seymour to succeed.

Then there’s the over-the-top Orin, Audrey’s sadistic boyfriend, played by Nick Nakashima. Whether nasty or deliriously happy, Nakashima gives this role his all – and it’s more than enough. He’s simply mesmerizing.

Though it’s difficult to find fault with the brilliant score (with songs including “Dentist,” “Feed Me (Git It)” and “Suppertime”) as well as Fumiko Bielefeldt’s spot-on costumes and a fine cast, the show seems a tad rushed.

Overall, “Little Shop” makes for a strange holiday show. What’s more, maybe moving it to Chinatown led the charming musical to lose a bit of its soul.

“Little Shop of Horrors” runs Tuesdays-Saturdays through Dec. 24 at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $35-$90 at 877-662-8978 or www.theatreworks.org.