Little Shop of Horrors (partially found unused and unreleased production material of horror comedy film; 1981-2003)

This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its unfinished sections.

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Poster for the 1986 film adaptation.

Status: Partially Found

Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy rock musical, by writer Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, about Seymour Krelborn, a hapless florist shop worker, who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. Based on the low-budget 1960 Roger Corman film The Little Shop of Horrors, the off-Broadway musical was adapted into a 1986 film, directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis and original lead actress Ellen Greene.

Between both the original stage production and film adaptation, a plethora of material was written, conceived, and written for the musical that was later scrapped.

Original off-Broadway Production (1982)

Premiering off-off-Broadway on May 6, 1982 at the Workshop of the Players' Art (WPA) Theatre under the direction of Ashman, the show soon transferred off-Broadway, opening at the Orpheum Theatre in Manhattan's East Village on July 27, 1982. Running for 5 years, Little Shop closed on November 1, 1987, after 2,209 performances. Major productions were also mounted in Los Angeles (starring members of the original cast), Chicago, Boston, London, and Paris, in addition to a national tour.

Unused Score

Composer Alan Menken talking about the original score. Theater Talk. 2011.

When Ashman and Menken began work on Little Shop sometime around 1981, the score was much closer to the tone of the original Corman film.

Only two snippets of this original score have been released, a song likely sung by Seymour as well as a song for Audrey Two, via various performances by Alan Menken. Notably, the song likely song by Seymour (informally called "When It's Time to Pick a Pet Flower") hints at closer similarities to the original film's story, as Seymour's mother was cut from the final musical.

Though some material was written for this version of the score, it was abandoned very early on. According to Sarah Gillespie, Ashman's sister, "I think [Howard and Alan] only worked on some song sketches," and no libretto for this version of this show exists.

In a 2011 interview with Theater Talk, Menken stated that once they began playing pieces of the score for people, "They looked at us like we had ten heads." This version was soon abandoned in favor of the score we know today, which Menken refers to as "the dark side of Grease."

It's not publically known quite how much of this original score was written, or if any demo recordings of it were made.

Cut songs

Various songs were written for Little Shop that would end up being cut, either due to story, quality, or pacing reasons. These songs include:

• "On the Day That it Started": Likely a cut opening, later replaced by the show's title's song. The song was first publically heard during the June 27, 2016 Little Shop of Horrors Reunion: Off-Broadway, Broadway, and Beyond! concert held at Feinstein's/54 Below during Menken's cut song medley. A copy of the full set of lyrics is likely a part of the Howard Ashman Papers at the Library of Congress.
• "The Worse He Treats Me": An early attempt at a song for Audrey, in which she tries to explain her fondness for Orin. According to Gillespie, it was "the only time I ever said [to Howard] I didn't like something" as he was working on the show. After singing it during his Little Shop of Horrors Reunion, performance, Menken joked, "I know; questionable taste. That's why we cut it."
• "I Found a Hobby": An early attempt at a song for Orin, where he explains where he got his fondness for pain. This song was later cut in favor of "Dentist!"
• "A Little Dental Music": Set between "Feed Me (Get It)" and "Now (It's Just the Gas)." Sung by the Urchins (Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon) as Seymour is sitting in Orin's waiting room, waiting to see the sadistic dentist.
• "Somewhere That's Green (Duet verison)": Originally written as a duet between Seymour and Audrey, "Somewhere That's Green" would later be repurposed as Audrey's I-want song with a slightly different structure.
• "We'll Have Tomorrow": Set between "The Meek Shall Inherit" and "Sominex / Suppertime II." Sung by Seymour, joined later on by Audrey, he assures her that everything will turn out okay "if we just make it through tonight." Loved by both Ashman and Menken, this would be cut during rehersals, as the show already had "Suddenly, Seymour" and Ashman believed the second act couldn't support two ballads.
• "The Meek Shall Inherit (Reprise)": Set immediately after "Somewhere That's Green (Reprise) and sung by Patrick Martin, presenting Seymour a contract to commercialize the deadly plant.

Though unused, recordings of the cut songs have been released to the public in one form or another, whether on an official release or in leaked demos. However, it is unknown if a demo was made for the original duet version of "Somewhere That's Green" or if Menken had a chance to write music for it, though a copy of the lyric sheet is a part of the Howard Ashman Papers and was released by Playbill in June 2015.

For the original off-Broadway production's first anniversary, Ashman and Menken wrote and recorded "The Audrey II Song" as a present for the cast and crew. A parody/reworking of "When It's Time to Pick a Pet Flower," according to Gillespie, "It basically lists all the cast and crew members, in clever couplets, of course." This recording has not been released publically.

Film Adaptation (1986)

With the massive success of the stage production, a film adaptation was soon in development, with David Geffen, a producer of the original production, set to produce. Geffen soon enlisted Steven Spielberg to produce the film and Martin Scorses to direct the film on a modest budget. After Scorses left the production, John Landis was attached to direct (and even began scouting locations for filming) before he too dropped out. For a time, Barbra Streisand may have also been in talks to direct and co-produce the film. Eventually, Spielberg would also end up dropping out of the production.

Released on December 19, 1986, Little Shop of Horrors was directed by Frank Oz with a screenplay by Ashman. Ashman and Menken also contributed two new songs for the film: "Some Fun Now" (a reworking of the musical's "Ya Never Know") and "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space."

Screenplay (February 14, 1986 Revision)

In a draft of the screenplay, dated February 14, 1985, and likely before Oz signed on to direct, Ashman's initial vision for the film can be seen. A bit darker in tone, the screenplay features alternate lyrics, two deleted songs, and an ending that veers away from both the original musical and the final release of the film. Once hired, Oz revised the script, making it a bit lighter and to better align it to the musical.

Shooting for the film began on October 21, 1985.