Theatre Calgary’s latest production highlights themes audiences may already be feeling while offering a whimsically weird escape from the real world. 

The cult-classic musical Little Shop of Horrors opens this Friday, Oct. 2, and runs until Oct. 25 at the Max Bell Theatre inside the Werklund Centre, offering audiences a taste of a story retold many times. 

Based on a low-budget film from the 1960s, the movie was later adapted into an off-Broadway musical and eventually remade in what is arguably its best-known form: the 1986 movie featuring actors Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, and Ellen Greene. 

No matter the medium, the story fits into multiple genres, including comedy, horror, and romance. It follows Seymour Krelborn, who works at a struggling flower shop on Skid Row, as he discovers a mysterious plant with a taste for blood. 

While the plot is already entertaining on paper, what really grips people is seeing themselves in the characters as they navigate determination, passion, and the sometimes unwanted side effects of dreams coming true, which is exactly why director Stafford Arima loves it. 

“Beneath the outrageous comedy, irresistible score, doo wop rhythms and, of course, one extremely hungry plant, there is a surprisingly human story about wanting more and family,” he said. 

“Little Shop of Horrors is hilarious, theatrical, and deliciously dark, but underneath all that fun is a cautionary tale about ambition, temptation, love, and the choices we make when opportunity suddenly knocks.”

Camp theatre at its finest, agree the leads

This will be a Theatre Calgary debut for actress Kate Blackburn, who plays the female lead, Audrey, and recently moved back from Toronto. She said that working for the company was a dream of hers, and that she’s excited to share the multifaceted show with audiences. 

“I think some of the set and prop works that have been done are truly amazing,” said Blackburn. 

“The talent on stage is incredible, as well as off, and I just hope that people, especially if you know the show, walk away going, ‘Oh, there’s a little bit more to that story than I think I realized.’”

She explained that the play is far more in-depth than the movies and that audiences might walk away relating to the show in ways they didn’t expect. Blackburn specifically named subjects like the cycle of poverty, abuse, and opening your heart to let love in. 

“It’s a silly, campy, fun story,” she said. 

“But there’s a lot of grit to it, and a lot of deeper meanings behind things that I think will make you think.”

Toronto-based actor Tenaj Williams, who plays the male lead, Seymour, agreed. He said theatre is inherently camp — something exaggerated, flamboyant, and ironically over the top — and that the show does this justice. 

“I think camp plays so well in musical theatre, because musical theatre is, at its nature, campy,” said Williams. 

“Because what do you mean you’re just bursting into song? It’s a crazy notion…who wouldn’t love a giant man-eating plant?”

He reiterated Blackburn’s point that people will likely see themselves in the show, but added that he hopes the play gives audiences a chance to leave the world behind for a moment and get caught up in its twists and turns. 

“I just think, in a world that is so crazy right now…there’s such power in coming to the theatre and being able to escape, and being able to put aside your life for a little bit and get lost in a ridiculous story,” said Williams. 

“I think that’s something that is so important. And if we can make people forget and just leave with a smile on their face, I think we’ve accomplished something very great.”

All evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets start at $30 for main floor seating and can be purchased online at theatrecalgary.com.