Suddenly, Skid Row has welcomed a new face to Little Shop of Horrors. Rob McClure wowing audiences is anything but surprising or sudden, but his appointment as Seymour may have come as a pleasant surprise. Beginning July 12th, Rob McClure will be taking over the role of Seymour from Skylar Astin, who departs for a new project.
Joining returning cast members Tammy Blanchard and Christian Borle, the Tony-nominated performer feeds new life into the production alongside Stuart Zagnit, Aaron Arnell Harrington, Khalifa White, Cristina Rae, Khadijah Sankoh, and more.
Read on for our Little Shop of Horrors musical review:
Suddenly, Seymour
I was fortunate enough to be able to see Skylar Astin and Rob McClure back to back. Both actors gave wonderful performances and it was interesting to experience all of the strengths that they possess.
The cast works wonderfully together. From the moment the “Urchins” arrive on stage, they shine so brightly that you know you are in for a treat. Listening to them harmonize while simultaneously providing comic relief and ushering the story along was one of my favorite parts.
Speaking of comedy, the comedic timing of the entire cast is something to behold. I was crying from laughter every time Christian Borle appeared and surprised the audience with his performance. Borle was able to multitask in a way that seems impossibly effortless. He is deserving of every bit of praise for everything he gave for his performance and it’s obvious his hard work is paying off. Also, is this a bad time to mention how we still miss Smash every day?
Tammy Blanchard as Audrey gives the performance the emotional punch it needs. Being as close as I was, I was able to watch actual tears fall during her powerful solos and it was a reminder of why we all fell in love with Audrey in the first place.
Feed Me
Speaking of Audrey, let’s talk about Audrey 2 and the amazing job production has done to showcase everyone’s favorite bloodthirsty plant. The effects and visuals on stage were so impressive and the vocals so magnificent, that you will find yourself raising your hand in the air like you are having a religious experience. We were very impressed with all of the set designers, puppeteers, and of course, Aaron Arnell Harrington for lending a very powerful and very hungry singing voice.
Rob McClure has proven time and again how hard he works on a stage. Following a run as Mrs. Doubtfire that was tragically cut short (no matter how loud we get that it was our favorite new show of the season), you would think he has earned himself a bit of a break after impressively performing in one of the most demanding roles we have seen in recent years.
While Doubtfire had McClure wearing many hats during the production, Little Shop of Horrors has him wearing only Seymour’s baseball hat. And that’s all he needs. While I knew Rob McClure was a master of comedy, improv, and performing on a stage, perhaps the most notable of his performance was how this role gave him the opportunity to really shine vocally.
Seymour is known for belting out some of the most familiar numbers from the musical (Thank you Howard Ashman and Alan Menken) and it was so wonderful to experience McClure in another role allowing him to showcase all he has to offer. He does a brilliant job of capturing and expressing the heart of Seymour in a quality performance certainly worthy of your time.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to make a trip to the Westside Theatre to catch Little Shop of Horrors. To purchase tickets to one of the best musical revivals in recent years, head over to the official website for Little Shop of Horrors.
For accessibility concerns, please contact the theatre directly. This performance is located upstairs on the second level.
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