Little Shop of Horrors: Research

The whole idea of Little Shop of Horrors can be traced to 1960, when director, Roger Corman, set about producing an American style black comedy based on the writings of author Charles B Griffith. The original film has a similar plot to the 1986 remake as well as the stage musical. Where a man eating plant finds its way to earth and sets about world domination, with help from florist assistant, Seymour Krelborn. It is said, that the inspiration for the story line came from the 1932 film, "Green Thoughts" by John Collier, about a man eating plant. Although, there is also speculation that some inspiration came from Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Reluctant Orchid."

The original film was produced under the title of "The Passionate People Eater" on a budget of $30,000 and filmed in just two days. The original cast included Jonathan Haze as Seymour, Mel Welles as Gravis Mushnick (now Mr Mushnik) and Jackie Joseph as Audrey.

From Screen to Stage:

As the film became more and more popular during the 60's and 70's, it paved way to the creation of a musical. Composer Alan Menken, very famous for his work in Disney, and writer Howard Ashman were the brains behind the operation.  Menken composed music in the 60's style to fit the time era. The musical had its off Broadway première in 1982 and ran for 5 years, proving to be the highest grossing off Broadway show in history.

The Differences from Screen to Stage:

• The musical is based on the basic concept of the 1960 film, although it changes much of the story.
• Firstly, the setting is moved from Skid Row in LA to Skid Row in New York. 
• Seymour's Jewish mother is cut in the musical, with Seymour becoming an orphan in the care of Mr Mushnik.
• The characters of Mrs. Siddie Shiva and Burson Fouch are also omitted, although Mrs. Shiva is mentioned in the musical
•  The dental patient, originally played by Jack Nicholson is not in the musical but is in the 1986 film, played by Bill Murray.
• In the musical the dentist, Orin Scrivello, is killed by suffocation from his gas mask instead of being stabbed with a dental instrument in the film. 
• His abusive relationship with Audrey is added to the musical to give Seymour a motive to attempt to kill him, although does not. 
• In the film, Seymour murders several innocent bystanders, and Mushnik tricks a thief into looking for money inside the plant, which eats the thief. In the musical, Seymour tricks Mushnik in the same way when Mushnik plans to turn Seymour over to the police after discovering a dentists uniform in the bin.
• The two neighbourhood girls in the film are replaced in the musical by a chorus of three girls, Crystal, Chffon and Ronnette (Although we have a Ronn!), named after 1960s girl groups.
•  In the original film, the plant is called Audrey junior, in the musical it is called Audrey II.
• Perhaps the biggest difference is the ending. The musical ends with Orin, Mushnik, Audrey and Seymour all eaten by the plant, and the three girls report that Audrey II's progeny continues to consume people. In the 1960 film, Mushnik and Audrey survive, and the plant's flowers bloom with the faces of its victims, including Seymour. The musical references this ending in its finale, in which the Plant's four victims' faces are seen in its blooming flowers, which we have had to cut out, as we cannot think off a way to do this.

Little Shop of Horrors: 1986

In 1986, Director, Frank Oz recreated the musical into a film version. It starred Rick Moranis as Seymour, Vincent Gardenia as Mr Mushnik and Ellen Greene reprising her role from the Off Broadway show as Audrey. Steve Martin appeared as the Dentist with a cameo from Bill Murray and Levi Stubbs lending his voice to Audrey II. 

 The 1986 film follows the plot of the musical closely but cuts the songs "Ya Never Know", "Mushnik and Son", "Now (It's Just the Gas)", "Closed for Renovation" and "Call Back in the Morning"; the ending also cuts "Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed The Plants)". 

One main change is a  new ending, in which Seymour is able to save Audrey then, in typical Hollywood style, marry and move to the home of her dreams, but a small Audrey II-type bud is seen in their garden, which suggests a possible spread of the alien plants.

 An ending more loyal to the stage version was also filmed, in which the plant eats Audrey and Seymour and ,goes on a  rampage through New York. However, it was received poorly by test audiences, and the upbeat alternate ending was used for the theatrical cut.

Since the 1986 film, an animated series was produced in 1991, with a 2003 reintroduction of the musical on Broadway and a west end appearance of the show in 2006-2007.