A new culinary district is taking shape in the downtown Fort Myers River District, where the succulent aroma of grilled steak, seafood and barbecue perfumes the night air.
Inside Florida Repertory Theatre, there’s less appetizing fare on the menu.
“Feed me now.”
So said Florida Rep Producing Artistic Director Greg Longenhagen with a young version of the plant Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“This is Florida Rep’s rehearsal hall,” said Longenhagen. “We couldn’t fit the full-grown version of Audrey II into this space. It's not tall enough … and we can't get Audrey II through the door.”
In the musical, Audrey II arrives from outer space after a full eclipse of the sun. For the show, Props Master Laura Lupita reports that four different Audreys arrived at Florida Rep’s scene shop on Evans Avenue in a shipping pod from Denver.
“We had to unpack and then repair everything on them,” Lupita reported. “Each puppet operates completely differently, so I really had to teach myself how each one works.”
She’s been in constant contact with the puppeteer back in Denver.
“Also, this beast is taller than a moving pod, so we had to, like, sandwich it to get it out of the door …. I've worked with some crazy things, but this is definitely a Goliath.”
Noah Garcia supplies Audrey II’s life force.
“This is my first puppeteer gig,” he said.
He recalled his first meeting with his newfound alter ego.
“I was a little intimidated, to be honest, because I heard them talk, and they were like, it's as big as a car. And I was like, there's no way it's going to be that big. And then, lo and behold, I get to the shop and it's like, this thing is as big as a car. and … it gets bigger than this. It gets up to like, I think 10 feet.”
Or roughly the size of the cab on an 18-wheeler.
Garcia’s job is to make Audrey move.
It’s a whole-body workout. Not just arms and legs, he has to really put his back into it.
It’s hot work.
“Being inside is very, um, warm,” Garcia noted. “It's very moist as well. Um, that's why I have a little neck fan. It comes in handy a lot. I'm also getting a water pack, which will help tremendously, but it's very dark as well, so it's kind of tough to see sometimes.”
He definitely can’t see Chaz Rose, who supplies Audrey II’s voice.
That’s a challenge since Garcia has to match the movement of Audrey’s mouth and face to each syllable Rose utters.
For his part, Rose is not inside Audrey II.
He’s not even onstage.
“I will actually be backstage on the left-hand side,” said Rose. “I will be opposite the band because it is a live orchestra that is playing this whole show. I will actually have what we call an in-ear, so I will hear the music. I'll have a video screen, so I'll be able to see what's happening onstage.”
Thanks to numerous rehearsals and direction from Jason Parrish, Rose and Garcia are establishing the timing that induces the audience to believe a plant is actually talking to Seymour and his girlfriend, played by comedic ingenue Cassidy Stoner.
We were inside the scene shop when Stoner first met, and was eaten by, Audrey II.
She describes the experience.
“We have one of our stage hands pulling my ankles on the other end, which is helping a lot,” she said. “Um, yeah …. Bringing up a lot of inner child, I'm like, yeah, I'm at Chuck E Cheese again. Here we go.”
Despite Audrey II’s unsavory diet, Longenhagen hopes Florida Rep audiences will nonetheless dine out before or after the show.
“Unlike Audrey II, who subsists basically on human flesh and human blood, our patrons … can partake in all kinds of eateries here in downtown where they … serve … things like steak and pork, barbecue and fish and all kinds of delightful vegetarian dishes,” Longenhagen said. “So our big hope is that folks will avail themselves of hunger by taking in a meal at one of the excellent restaurants here in the new culinary district of downtown Fort Myers.”
“Little Shop of Horrors” is at Florida Rep through April 12th.
MORE INFORMATION:
Howard Ashman wrote the book and lyrics for “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The musical is based on the film by Roger Corman. Charles Griffith wrote the screenplay.
Michael Schweikardt designed the Audrey II puppets.
The show is a deviously delicious American cult classic! At Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists, down-on-his-luck Seymour pines for his beautiful co-worker, Audrey (who is trapped in an abusive relationship with a masochistic dentist). When Seymour stumbles across a strange and interesting new plant – with an unquenchable thirst for human blood – it looks like all his dreams may come true. Based on a 1960s B-Movie, “Little Shop” is packed with laughs, thrills, chills, and all the hit songs it made famous – “Skid Row,” “Feed Me,” “Suddenly Seymour,” and more.
“Virtually every song is catchy or memorable, and virtually every number is show-stopping,” said DC Theatre Arts.
Cast
- Seymour Krelborn: Noah Berry
- Audrey: Cassidy Stoner
- Mr. Mushnik: James Beamon
- Orin Scrivello: Atticus Shaindlin
- Chiffon: Kira Sarai Helper
- Ronnette: Sydney Jaye
- Crystal: Amirah Joy Lomax
- Audrey Puppeteer: Noah Garcia
- Audrey Voice: Chaz Rose
Creative Team
- Director: Jason Parrish
- Musical Director/pianist: Stephen Christopher Anthony
- Choreographer & AD: Kyle Brand
- Set Designer: Jordan Moore
- Costume Designer: Michael Ciaramitaro
- Stage Manager: Alicia DiGiorgi
- Fight Choreographer: Greg Longenhagen
Evolution of Audrey II
“Little Shop of Horrors” traces its origins to the 1960 black-and-white film featuring Jack Nicholson. At that time, the plant was called Audrey Jr. She was a cross between a Venus fly trap and a butterwort. That iteration was simply a jaw that opened and closed on a hinge while someone read its lines just off camera.
Audrey, and later, Audrey II, became a sci-fi sensation. She presaged her impending fame at the end of the movie, singing: “You can keep ‘The Thing’! Keep the ‘It‘! Keep the ‘creature,’ they don’t mean sh*t!”
The first “Little Shop” musical debuted in 1982. For the musical, lyricist, playwright and director Howard Ashman converted Audrey Jr. into a crocodilian-mouthed fly trap.
Four years later, the 1986 remake of “Little Shop” hit theaters. Starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia and Steve Martin, with cameos by Bill Murray and John Candy, it was based not on the 1960 film, but rather the 1982 musical. The remake went on to become a cult classic, with Audrey II now morphing into a mechanical monster. The ’86 “Little Shop of Horrors” not only displayed insanely impressive practical effects, but expanded on the comedy aspect of story.
In 1987, DC comics published a “Little Shop of Horrors” one-shot comic, adding comic books to Audrey II’s growing list of mediums.
In 2003, there was a Broadway revival that featured impressive Audrey II puppets that were almost as dynamic, gargantuan, and impressive as the ones in the film. The massive final incarnation of Audrey II actually stretched out over the first few rows of the audience for the last song.
Since then, a few shows have gone the realistic route and made Audrey II look like a giant Venus fly trap and pitcher plant hybrid, whereas other performances kept the more classic, crocodile-plant look. The Florida Rep production falls in the latter camp.
Audrey II life cycle over the course of the musical
Audrey II goes through six forms in the 1982 play and eight in the 1986 film. In the play:
- 1st Form (Pod 1) is a small, mute plant pod, with wilting leaves, but capable of opening its mouth and growing when given blood.
- 2nd Form (Pod 2) is now large enough to be held in Seymour's arms.
- 3rd Form (Pod 3) is roughly as tall as a grown man when looking up but needs to have its food chopped up to eat it. Now capable of speech, Audrey II also gains root appendages.
- 4th Form (Pod 4) is considerably bigger, now as tall as a grown man when looking ahead, and can now eat its food without it needing it to be chopped up.
- 5th Form (Pod 4) is the same size, but now has vines that span the entire florist shop. It also grows two root-like arms that it uses to grab Audrey.
- 6th Form (Pod 4) rises up to look even larger, but now Audrey II has crab-like arms that take up the entire stage and have flowers bearing the dead faces of Mushnik, Seymour, Orin and Audrey. More, Audrey II is now also capable of walking.
The Puppeteer
New to puppeteering, Garcia has discovered that there’s an opportunity to inject personality into the malevolent, manipulative, murderous plant he moves.
“You can see a little bit of yourself in all of the characters, especially Audrey,” said Garcia. “You know, there's always that dark part of you, that mean, not-so-nice part of you that kind of wants to show its face every once in a while and you just have to learn not to feed it.”
He’s also been astonished by the physicality of the role.
“It’s been interested waking up the next day and being like, Oh, I didn't know that I could be sore there.”
One area in which Garcia differs from Audrey II is how red meat should be prepared and served. Audrey II, of course, prefers its meat rare, or even tartar.
“I love a hamburger, especially Culver's? Oh my gosh. Their butter burgers, I'll probably eat one tonight, honestly, because that's just how much I love them. But I like them medium. Definitely not rare or even medium rare. Medium.”
The Voice
The voice is a street-smart, funky, conniving villain – a cross between Otis Redding, Barry White, and Wolfman Jack. In the Florida Rep production, the voice is that of Chaz Rose, who has mouthed Audrey II twice before, once in Portland, Oregon and then again in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Every time you do the show, it's a little bit different,” said Rose. “So, it's a lot of fun because we all think of the show as a campy kind of thing, but every time you do it, depending on the director, it can be a little different. So, if you think you know this show, come see this one. It's going to be a little different.”
Rose noted that people who’ve never seen the musical are sometimes surprised to learn that Audrey II’s voice is live and not pre-recorded.
“I've done a show a few times and I get people, they walk up and they see me come out for bows and they go, what? What was he doing? And I say, ‘I was the plant.’ And they go, oh, you were moving the plant. I go, ‘No, no, no, I was the voice of the plant.’ They go, but I thought it was recorded. And I was like, no, no. So I take it as a compliment, you know, if somebody can think what I was doing was so good that it was something that we've been recording and perfected. It’s the ultimate compliment. But no, this is live theater. We gotta do it live, you know what I mean? All those things that you love from the movie, 99 percent of it is right here on the stage.”
While in town for rehearsals and performances, Rose has availed himself of the dining options in Fort Myers’ emerging culinary district.
“I've gotten to know a couple of the places here and there,” he said. “I've enjoyed some pepper burritos. I've gone to The Lodge for smoked barbecue. I’m still working my way down the street.”
Rose is making his Florida Rep debut. His off-Broadway credits include "Black Angels Over Tuskegee" and "She Like Girls" (GLAAD Award winner). He produced and appeared in the film "Writer’s Block," starring Bryan Cranston. Favorite credits include "Ragtime," "Little Shop of Horrors," "The Full Monty," "Topdog/Underdog," "Elf," "The Little Mermaid" and "Parade. "He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. He is thankful for the never-ending support he receives from his beautiful wife, son, family, and friends.
The namesake
Seymour names the carnivorous plant Audrey II in homage to the girl of his dreams, Audrey, played by Cassidy Stoner.
Stoner has been acting since she was 8.
“If you ask my parents, they would tell you I've acted a mess all my life,” Stoner quipped. “But I started performing, um, and getting into dance and ballet and singing and acting when I was 8 years old.”
Previous to Audrey, Stoner’s favorite role had been Cassie in “A Chorus Line” a couple summers ago.
“It was the hardest I think I've ever worked,” Stoner said. “So, it was incredibly fulfilling.”
Audrey is equally iconic, albeit for other reasons.
“Her brand of comedy by Ellen Greene, who originally played her, is very specific and very stylized. So getting the chance to step into those leopard print shoes has been incredibly impactful.”
Stoner came late to the production.
“They had someone else lined up to play Audrey,” Stoner divulged. “She is very talented and she booked a show on Broadway. Jason and I have a person in common. She's my acting teacher and she has worked with Jason before. So Jason reached out to my acting teacher and was like, we're looking for an honorary replacement. Who do you recommend? And she recommended me and I met Jason on Zoom, and me and Noah, who plays Seymour, had a chemistry reading over Zoom when we read some of the scenes, and I got a call a couple days later.”
She was not only delighted to get the part. She was thrilled to get out of New York, which was in the hold of polar cold snap that included not just record-breaking snowfalls but a blizzard that dumped 20 inches of snow.
“I'm going to start the new year with a dream role, and I'm going to get some sunshine,” she told herself after getting the call.
On the day she met Audrey II in the Florida Rep scene shop, a debate ensured over whether it would be better for Noah Berry, who plays Seymour, to put her into Audrey II’s mouth head or feet first.
“Dramaturgically and dramatically, I think going in feet first has a better cinematic effect, because the last thing Seymour sees is the love of his life reaching back for him,” Stoner opined. “I think that is the most impactful and heartbreaking picture, as opposed to my size nine shoes going back, because once Audrey dies, I mean, Seymour has nothing to left to live for. But it’s up to [Jason Parrish] to decide which way will have a bigger impact for Seymour and ultimately the audience.”
Originally from North Carolina, Stoner is a New York–based actress, pickleball enthusiast, and comedy writer. She is making her Florida Rep debut on Skid Row! She was most recently seen in the North American debut of the new musical “Mythic at Cincinnati Playhouse” under the direction of Tony Award winner, Kathleen Marshall. On Broadway and tour, she spent five years performing in Disney’s “Aladdin,” and Off-Broadway she appeared in the hit musical parody “Titanique,” covering the roles of Céline Dion, Rose, and Ruth. Regional highlights include Theatre by the Sea, North Carolina Theatre, Pioneer Theatre, and Casa Mañana.
The Prop Master
As Prop Master, Lupita has been the one to assemble Audrey II in all of its various forms. But Audrey II is only one of the hundreds of props that are used over the course of the show.
“Pretty much anything an actor touches or interacts with onstage, I have to source or build or pull from our warehouse of stock,” Lupita related. “So, anything food related or furniture, anything that anyone interacts with or anything that gets put on the walls to make a place look pretty and look like the environment that we're creating, I have source or build or pull from our warehouse.”
Such as all the floral arrangements and worktables in Mushnik’s Skid Row Floral Shop.
But those pale in comparison to the props needed for the scene that takes place in Orin Scrivello’s dental office.
“We had to source a 1920s vintage dentist's chair,” Lupita observed. “The dentist unit has been one of the most unique things to source. It's also a Goliath. It's so heavy. The chair itself is almost four hundred pounds, and then there are units that are attached to it that are another few hundred.”
It’s up to Lupita to figure out how to make heavy items mobile, since they need to be moved on and off-stage during scene changes. But weight is a secondary consideration.
“We work to achieve what the designer and the director want,” said Lupita. “So, we get photos and images, and we have to make that dream come true, both financially and time wise. And for some of these projects, it's easier to find the real thing and spend a little more money. And some of them, it's easier to build from scratch.”
Sourcing is its own art form, and Lupita has made numerous contacts locally and beyond in her efforts to find just the right props.
Theme
For as entertaining as “Little Shop” is as a musical comedy, the show is actually a pretty damn good allegory. On a psychological plane, the musical can be viewed as a warning that when we give in to our baser instincts, dire consequences are likely to follow. Small or modest compromises of ethics and honesty lead invariably to larger, even wholesale ethical sacrifices until no moral code remains and life becomes totally transactional.
But “Little Shop” may be better understood in the best science fiction tradition as an examination of the threat posed to mankind’s survival by scientific discovery gone awry.
In a very real sense, Seymour represents the father of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer.
As he witnessed the blast that fateful morning, Oppenheimer mentally recited this line form the Bhagavad-Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
What Oppenheimer meant was that his duty to develop and create the bomb (Audrey II) pre-empted any concern for his creation’s ability to kill or even cause mankind’s complete and utter destruction.
Oppenheimer knew that his creation would be unleashed on Japanese citizens but justified their deaths by the American lives saved by the early end of the war in the Pacific Theater and obviating the necessity for a land invasion of Japan.
“If you wanna be profound/if you really gotta justify/ Take a breath and look around/ A lotta folks deserve to die!” sings Audrey II.
But even if that short-term trade off seemed right and proper at the time, the seeds of nuclear Armageddon had been planted. Just as Audrey II devours Seymour and all he loved in the end, nuclear fission has the power to annihilate the world and every living thing in it. And that makes the “Finale Ultimo (Don’t Feed the Plant)” all the more poignant and meaningful.
If the simile of atomic power and nuclear destruction seems forced because of a lack of profit motive, then perhaps fossil fuel and extinction of species due to melting icecaps and rising tides may be more appropriate. There is no dearth of other applicable examples. The point is that there’s nothing little in the message underlying all the fun, singing and dancing and lighthearted caricatures that Alan Menken and Howard Ashman have built into the storyline, characters, dialogue and lyrics of their timeless little musical.
Trivia
Audrey II's final song, "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" was nominated for the "Best Song" Award for movies. However, it is not included in the musical.
A not well-known nickname of Audrey II that Seymour uses is "Twoey", as spelled in the DVD subtitles.
Culinary District
Fort Myers approved a $14,500 plan to promote downtown Fort Myers as a culinary district on July 23, 2025. The initiative aims to attract more food lovers by showcasing the area's unique dining scene. The plan will roll out in phases and feature a new brand, logo, and social media campaign. Economic Development Director Steve Weathers presented the idea of creating a district at a City Council workshop April 1.
In so doing, Fort Myers joins San Diego, Oklahoma City, Harrisonburg, VA and other cities with culinary districts.
Chris Spiro of Spiro & Associates is developing a marketing plan to promote the district. The plan divides the target audience into three groups — local residents, seasonal residents and tourists or visitors.
Spiro’s team also observed the district’s activity throughout a typical day. The plan identifies five main dining windows: the lunch crowd from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., an afternoon mix of tourists and seasonal residents from 2 to 5 p.m., happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m., dinner from 7 to 9 p.m. and a late-night crowd of young adults from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Strengths include the historic downtown setting, walkability, waterfront, a dense dining cluster and established events. Weaknesses include casual-heavy dining options, limited parking on busy nights and lingering hurricane perceptions.
Social media plays a major role in the proposed marketing strategy. About 40% of posts would focus on food, 20% on people and restaurant stories, 20% on events and experiences and 10% each on place and community, Spiro said.
The proposed district boundaries would likely stretch from Swamp Cat Brewery on Fowler Street to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, and from Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard north to the river. Those limits could expand as new restaurants open and redevelopment projects, such as the former News-Press building and City of Palms Park, move forward.
Weathers noted in a recent telephone interview that in addition to the farmer’s market the city launched a few weeks ago, people can look forward to celebrity chefs, a chocolate weekend – including chocolate martinis at Brunos – and Taste of Fort Myers events with restaurants providing free samples at tables lined up along First Street.
So, get your taste buds ready.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
