‘Horrors’ is a hit in return to MVT

It’s been 24 years since Manoa Valley Theatre presented the Hawaii premiere production of "Little Shop of Horrors" in 1987, and in subsequent years, audiences have seen other versions of the dark musical comedy staged at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, Kaimuki High School and at least two or three other productions.

MVT’s new staging brings "Horrors" back to where it first appeared, for the most part in fine style. The strengths of director Scott Rogers’ cast and crew far surpass the weaknesses. The leads — Pedro Armando Haro (Seymour), Leiney Rigg (Audrey) and Larry Bialock (Mushnik) — live up to the expectations set by previous productions.

The musical combines the premise of a made-on-the-cheap 1960 Roger Corman comedy with a formulaic parody of early-’60s teen-oriented pop-rock. A much put-upon and geeky young man, slaving his life away in a skid row flower shop, discovers a mysterious plant that can make his hopes for a better life come true. In return the plant requires regular meals of human blood and body parts.

Some of the songs are trite knockoffs of the pop sound of the era. Others have more substance.

Haro reprises his winning performance as Seymour in the 2005 Ernst Lab Theatre production. He excels once again at appearing inept and geeky in the early scenes, utilizing his skill at broad physical comedy in key moments, and then becoming an improbable but engaging romantic lead.

Bialock revels in the character of the exploitative shop owner. Rigg makes all the right moves and hits all the right notes in her portrayal of an innocent young woman with low expectations and lower self-esteem. Her biggest vocal number, "Somewhere That’s Green," is the most demanding in the show. It must be simultaneously comic and poignant, holding Audrey’s dreams up for ridicule while she wins our sympathy. Rigg makes it all those things.

Miles M. McGee is a commanding presence as the voice of the voracious plant. Braddoc DeCaires and Jared Duldulao labor unseen in animating it, and DeCaires has a brief but notable scene out front as a skid-row wino.

Nicholas B. Gianforti, playing sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello, brings all the right ingredients to his portrayal of Audrey’s abusive boyfriend.

Gianforti also plays a parade of secondary characters, most of whom are defined by his skill with accents plus the eye-catching costumes created by Dusty Behner and comically bad wigs by MVT wig wrangler Greg Howell.

MVT’s "Little Shop" also benefits from Benjamin Mackrell’s elaborate skid row set (the flower shop is on a turntable), Stephen Clear’s dramatic lighting and Sara Ward’s numerous props, such as Gianforti’s dentist drill.

The major weaknesses are the girl-group chorus and the audio mix. The "girls" — Melody Davis (Ronnette), Cassie Favreau-Chung (Crystal) and Rachel Wong (Chiffon) — have good moments and show potential, but they were at least another week of rehearsals away from capturing the essence of the sassy, sensual, street-smart characters they’re playing.

As for the audio, sound is almost never a problem at MVT, but musical director Kenji Higashihama’s quintet overpowers the voices on several of the bigger numbers and sounds thin on others. With luck, the right balance will be found before many more performances go by.