# audrey 2



## mcrockett (Jul 21, 2011)

I will be directing Little Shop of Horrors for our high school and am thinking of doing something other than the traditional plant. I was wondering if anyone has done or seen the show with audrey 2 performed by an actor or actors that we see and hear on stage, not the usual puppet with a voice coming over the sound system.


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## Footer (Jul 21, 2011)

Never seen that or heard of it done. Heres the thing... with this show, the plant IS the show. People come and see the show to see the plant. Therefore, if you aren't going to do the plant, you need to do something else all together. Are you looking at stylizing the production? If you are going to throw the plant out the window, you should probably throw everything else out as well. Switch gender rolls, set it in Soviet Russia, etc. It can't be just a typical show with someone in a green costume with vines yelling "feed me".


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## damjamkato (Jul 21, 2011)

Having done Little Shop about a year ago, I completely agree with Footer. The plant is the show. It's supposed to be from outer space, and therefore look like it. By simply using an actor/actors, the essential plot device is weakened. The plant is supposed to start out as a baby, and then grows throughout the show. 

In its traditional first and second size, it needs to be able to move, but is traditionally nowhere near big enough for an actor to physically be the plant. If you are sticking with the general sizes given by the script, the plant grows two more times, and obviously consumers people whole in the climax. The size of the final plant would probably be much larger than a single actor and therefore some sort of costume with multiple actors would need to be used. At this point, all you would really have is a very awkward puppet. 

The other thing would be maintaining some sort of recognizability between all of the sizes of the plant. That's easy with the smaller sizes, but the transition from the smaller sizes to the larger ones in terms of design of the plant/costume might be difficult. 

Honestly, I think this is one of the things that you just need to spend the money on to build/rent. Of course, if you are planning on doing the show in a very stylized manner, your idea may be a great one. My response was from the point of view of a traditional production.

(Then again, this is a response of a high school student, and therefore, take it with a grain of salt.)


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## derekleffew (Jul 21, 2011)

From Music Theatre International: Licensing Musical Theater Theatrical Performance Rights and Materials to Schools, Community and Professional Theatres since 1952 :

> During rehearsals, you might find that some changes are required to make the show work in your theatre. Whenever you feel the need to make a change, it is important that you contact MTI and make sure that you can get permission to make the change. When you are granted a performance license, by law the show you license must be performed "as is." You should not make any changes unless you have obtained prior written permission from us to do so. Otherwise, any changes violate the authors’ rights under federal copyright law.


I wonder if using a live actor instead of the puppet constitutes a "change" per the above? Or would that be an "artistic decision?"

If you don't want to have a plant, DON'T DO THE SHOW. Good diety; is NOTHING sacred? It's not like you're setting _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ in a circus or something.


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## aelfric5578 (Jul 22, 2011)

I did not see this production, but someone was telling me that a small theater that didn't have room on stage for the large plant used an actress. She played the part more sultry and seductive and killed her victims with some sort of kiss of death. It certainly sounded interesting when I heard about it.


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## Tex (Aug 7, 2011)

aelfric5578 said:


> I did not see this production, but someone was telling me that a small theater that didn't have room on stage for the large plant used an actress. She played the part more sultry and seductive and killed her victims with some sort of kiss of death. It certainly sounded interesting when I heard about it.


Wonder how she killed Audrey? Maybe Audrey 2 is bi...
I agree with others; the plant is the star. This is a well-known story. People come in with expectations.


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## MrsFooter (Aug 8, 2011)

Tex said:


> This is a well-known story. People come in with expectations.



It's sort of like trying to do Miss Saigon without doing the helicopter. I mean, sure, you _can_, but that's lame sauce and people will be disappointed. There are a bazillion shows out there that don't require a gigantic plant or a helicopter and are equally amazing. Don't set yourself up to fail.


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## mstaylor (Aug 11, 2011)

MrsFooter said:


> It's sort of like trying to do Miss Saigon without doing the helicopter. I mean, sure, you _can_, but that's lame sauce and people will be disappointed. There are a bazillion shows out there that don't require a gigantic plant or a helicopter and are equally amazing. Don't set yourself up to fail.


I was trying to figure how to say the same as nicely as you did.


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## gafftaper (Aug 12, 2011)

I Agree with the others. 

If you are worried about building the puppet, don't panic. Search the internet for past local productions of the show. If you are in a decent sized town, the odds are very good that there is at least one puppet sitting around and available to loan/rent it to you for a reasonable price. When we did it back in 2004 I got the puppet, the dentist chair, and the gas mask for $250 from a guy who keeps it in his garage and rents it out to local schools.


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## craftythecoyote87 (Nov 30, 2011)

Agreed all around, LSoH is already a fairly stylized show (though with different directions you can take it) so trying to stylize it in an entirely different way sounds like it would just be a big mess. And the best number of the show, Feed Me, is during the 3rd phase Audrey and I can't imagine how an actor could accomplish that. 


If it's about budget, there are ways to get an Audrey on the cheap. Contact local schools, colleges, any community theatre. Making Audrey 2 is a lucrative enterprise so college theatre departments often have one done as a senior project that they rent. We did LSoH two years ago and were able to find a decent Audrey for free, all we had to do was pick it up from where it was and return it to the school that made it afterward.


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## Teber (Jan 5, 2012)

I have all the plants and the table for rent if anyone decides they need them -- they are kinda awesome looking


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## JChenault (Jan 6, 2012)

MrsFooter said:


> It's sort of like trying to do Miss Saigon without doing the helicopter. I mean, sure, you _can_, but that's lame sauce and people will be disappointed. There are a bazillion shows out there that don't require a gigantic plant or a helicopter and are equally amazing. Don't set yourself up to fail.


 
Sorry - I have to disagree with you here. Little Shop is about the plant. Avenue Q is about the puppets. But ( IMHO) Miss Saigon is NOT about the helicopter.


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## gafftaper (Jan 6, 2012)

JChenault said:


> Sorry - I have to disagree with you here. Little Shop is about the plant. Avenue Q is about the puppets. But ( IMHO) Miss Saigon is NOT about the helicopter.


 I think this could be a great discussion so I started a new thread on this topic located here. Let's leave this thread for Audrey2.


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