the mommy avenger

For as long as I can remember, I have loved Little Shop of Horrors. But I’ve never once had the opportunity to see it performed live on stage, it’s never been anywhere near where I was. So you can imagine how excited I was to get the opportunity to see it in New York City this past week.

I’ve heard lots of great things about this revival when Jeremy Jordan was the lead, but Corbin Bleu (of High School Musical fame) recently took over the role of Seymour and I was excited to see it for myself.

Little Shop of Horrors is currently playing at the Westside Theater in New York City, an itty bitty theater that was once the home of a German Baptist Church in 1889. This off-Broadway theater seats a little more than 200, so it is intimate. There is literally not a bad seat in the house. No matter where you sit, you are up close and personal.

We seated ourselves for the night, the curtain rose and immediately we were transported to Skid Row. Melodious harmonies from the street urchins filled the theater and I couldn’t help but smile. I could tell already this was going to be a wonderful show.

We are introduced to Seymour (Corbin Bleu), a lowly, down on his luck florist shop worker who finds his days monotonous and uninspiring as he pines for his coworker Audrey (Constance Wu of Crazy Rich Asians fame). One day he finds an odd plant he names Audrey II and we, as the audience, get to see how his world is turned upside down as it grows. Both Seymour and Audrey’s characters are completely charming and their chemistry onstage is fantastic.

I have seen hundreds of musicals and plays, easily, and not all are created equal. Certainly not all live up to the hype they receive. By the end of the show, Little Shop of Horrors was quickly catapulted up towards the top of my list of favorite musicals I have seen performed live.

Everything about the show was better than I would have hoped it could be. The acting was wonderful. The voices were beyond powerful. The set was fun. The puppetry of Audrey II was so impressive. The music is so great, too, it was hard to not sing along. There were many comedic parts and the timing of those were always perfect. Every aspect of the production was spot on and the energy in the theater was buzzing. We took our whole family with us to see the show and every one absolutely loved it.

People ask me all the time about my recommendations for shows to see in New York City and my answer right now, unequivocally, is Little Shop of Horrors. You will not want to miss out on the best revival I’ve ever seen live on stage.

To learn more about the show and grab your own tickets while you still can (Corbin Bleu and Constance Wu are only performing for a limited engagement until January 28, 2024) visit them online at littleshopnyc.com.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}