Little Shop of Horrors

It's suddenly spooky at the Gallery Players, just in time for Halloween, and this intimate production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's campy sci-fi classic is certain to charm trick-or-treaters and partygoers alike. Director Joe Barros stages this well-known musical adaptation of Roger Corman's 1961 film faithfully, and a crafty design team and talented cast round out a hauntingly good evening.

Harlan D. Penn's intricate set welcomes the audience to Mushnik's Skid Row Florist, where orphan Seymour Krelborn gains renown and notoriety for his experimental botany with flesh-eating flower Audrey II. To maximize a small stage, Penn sets up the shop on a rotating platform, and the store window also allows creepy shadow projections of Audrey II chomping on limbs. (Dan Jobbins' lighting effects are quite frightening, but I scare easily.) Designers Fergus J. Walsh and Michael Bush excel at the daunting task of freshly creating the plant puppets, which have been staged in many forms. Walsh and Bush's Audrey II sports a large, Cyclops-like head attached to a long, coiled stem, which chokes her victims before she devours them like a snake. The rotating platform turns to shield the victims' final moments from view.

Thomas Bradfield manipulates the puppet impressively and executes every step of Barros' tight choreography. Barros makes the interesting directorial decision to have a female voice for the plant, and Babs Rubenstein's sultry vocals lend a seductive quality that is appropriate for the material.

Vasthy Mompoint, Tamala Baldwin, and Debra Thais Evans play the Skid Row miscreants Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronnette well, and their doo-wop sensibility enhances the always-endearing irony in Menken's music. Ryan Hilliard is the perfect Mr. Mushnik, giving the florist's erratic outbursts and short temper a fresh comic quality. As the geeky, fame-hungry Seymour, Philip Jackson Smith is effectively nerdy, aided by Ryan Moller's adorable costumes. Emily McNamara channels a battered 1960's housewife as Audrey, and her cute voice's nasal quality blooms in a charming rendition of "Suddenly Seymour." Paul Sadlik portrays a number of smaller roles, but his Orin Scrivello is the one worth noting, as he infuses a Dracula sensibility into the sadomasochistic dentist.

Lilli Wosk's upbeat musical direction keeps the company on key, but the band drowns out the performers at times. However, with an offering this delicious, you'll definitely want to take a bite.

Presented by Regina Gatti/The Gallery Players at the Gallery Players at the Gallery Players, 199 14th St., NYC. Oct. 22–Nov. 13. Thu.–Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m. (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.galleryplayers.com. Casting by Daryl Eisenberg/Daryl Eisenberg Casting.