(Above, left to right: Michael P. Watkins, Cody Mendonca, and Sabrina Gross play feature roles in The Very Little Theatre’s production of “Little Shop of Horrors;” photos by Richard Scheeland)

By Randi Bjornstad

Believe it or not, “Little Shop of Horrors” has been around for nearly 60 years, amusing most in its theater audiences and maybe even grossing out a few. After all, it’s about a flower-shop worker named Seymour who has a crush on his fellow worker named Audrey, and when he inexplicably comes across a mysterious plant of undetermined origin, names it after her.

Little does Seymour know at first, but Audrey II, the plant, has two fetishes — singing in the R&B musical style and sipping blood, which he finds out accidentally — and “she” promises that Seymour will find fame and fortune as long as he continues to provide her with her favorite libation.

That, of course, sets up the conflict that every musical must have: Can Seymour and Audrey-the-person  join forces to subdue the bloodthirsty shrub, or will Audrey II slurp up everyone in sight?

The plot is complicated at that point by both accidental and purposeful deaths by way of Audrey, complicated by Seymour’s conflicting thoughts about what is going on and how much responsibility he bears for the entire situation with the murderous, alien plant.

Longtime local actor and director Chris Pinto is directing The Very Little Theatre’s production, which he predicts will have the audience laughing, crying, and screaming “all at the same time.” After all, he said in introducing the VLT’s musical, the show is a “tongue-in-cheek comedy with elements of sci-fi and horror (all) blended together.”

Murder is afoot in “Little Shop of Horrors” when human Audrey’s abusive boyfriend, the dentist Orin Scravello, gets his comeuppance from Audrey II, the plant

Cody Mendonca and Sabrina Gross lead the cast as Seymour and Audrey, with Michael P. Watkins as Mushnik, Esack Grueskin as The Dentist (Audrey’s abusive boyfriend), and Scott Machado as the voice of Audrey II, The Plant.

The other actors in the show are Traci Knights, Laura Gage-Hunt, Cortney Grant, Damon Noyes, Matthew Arscott, Jim Arscott, Sofia Dumitru, Lily LaChapelle, Nicole Jacques, and Josef Potts.

The technical crew includes set design by Michael Walker, costumes by Judy Wenger, music direction by Jim Greenwood, choreography by Michael P. Watkins, and vocal direction by Gerald Walters.

In addition, local puppetmaker David Mort designed and built Audrey II, a project that has taken 130 hours to create the four sizes of the plant as it — she — grows during the play.

“Little Shop of Horrors” began as a low-budget movie in 1960, with music by Alan Menken that incorporated rock ‘n’ roll, early Motown sound and doo-wop. It first ran way-off Broadway in 1982 before moving to Off-Broadway and eventually to Broadway.

(By the way, the definition of off-off, off- and on Broadway is determined not by the address but by the number of seats in the theater.)

After all that, “Little Shop of Horrors” was made into a musical film in 1986, directed by Frank Oz. Since then, it’s been a favorite among community theaters because of its relatively small cast, straightforward music and funny-but-scary plot.

Little Shop of Horrors

When: 7:30 p.m. on June 1-2, 7-9, 14-16, and 21-23; 2 p.m. matinees on June 3, 10 and 17

Where: 2350 Hilyard St., Eugene

Admission: $23 for adults, $19 for senior citizens and students and all Thursday shows, available at the box office, 541-344-7751, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; or online at TheVLT.com

Details: Tickets to opening night on June 1 include an after-performance gala; 20 hearing-assisted devices available at all shows on a first-come basis