Attack of the Monster Musical: A Cultural History of Little Shop of Horrors

by Adam Abraham

How many hit musicals are based on films that were shot in two days at a budget of $30,000? The answer is one: Little Shop of Horrors. Roger Corman's monster movie opened in 1960, played the midnight circuit, and then disappeared from view. Two decades later, Little Shop of Horrors opened Off-Broadway and became a surprise success.

Attack of the Monster Musical: A Cultural History of Little Shop of Horrors chronicles this unlikely phenomenon. The Faustian tale of Seymour and his man-eating plant transcended its humble origins to become a global phenomenon, launching a popular film adaptation and productions all around the world. This timely and authoritative book looks at the creation of the musical and its place in the contemporary musical theatre canon. Examining its afterlives and wider cultural context, the book asks the question why this unlikely combination of blood, annihilation, and catchy tunes has resonated with audiences from the 1980s to the present.

At the core of this in-depth study is the collaboration between the show's creators, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Told through archival research and eyewitness accounts, this is the first book to make extensive use of Ashman's personal papers, offering a unique and inspiring study of one of musical theatre's greatest talents.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2022

Reviews

[Ric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Shop of Horrors is a delight and if you’ve never seen it please go see the off-Broadway production as soon as possible. This book is super insightful and I loved reading about the musical as well as the cult classic movie. A must read for people that love Broadway.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A treasure trove for super fans! Only docking a star for giving the final quote to Cam Mackintosh

[lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So thorough, so well-researched, so fascinating. This is a musical that simply should not work. But it does! Here are some facts that I learned:

- The original production at the WPA closed on my birthday <3
- Nathan Lane was in the running to play the original Seymour (!!!)
- Howard Ashman wrote the lyrics and the book AND directed the original production
- Ellen Greene wore her original Audrey costume for the concert she performed in alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015
- The original puppets were made using toxic paint
- The original puppet designer, Martin Robinson, worked on Sesame Street

Also…it is a genuine MIRACLE that musicals and movies and TV shows, etc. even get made — especially ones like this. Based on a film from the 1960s that was shot in two days on a $30,000 budget?? That is beyond wild.

Anyway, feeling nostalgic for theatre. Goodbye.

[John Kenrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

Incredibly well researched and a pleasure to read, this is a must-read for Little Shop of Horrors fans. Highly recommended!

[Reed Grubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book when I was doing research for my history paper, I knew I had to read it. Little Shop is my favorite musical of all-time so I knew I would enjoy it and I did. I loved every single moment of it.

The only part that I found hard was it felt like a book report at times. The author would ramble at times about subject matter that didn’t seem relevant. Or it was relevant but they just took a long time to get to what they were trying to say. They should have just cut straight to the point. I also feel like while the last chapter was very sweet, it wasn’t necessary. At least a short epilogue.

Other than that, this book made my heart very happy. I enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to any fan of the musical :)

[Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, albeit short and sometimes surface-level, exploration of the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ journey from screen to stage (and from screen to stage again!) The story of the creation of the film/show itself could be it’s very own movie/musical.

I’ve always loved the ‘Little Shop’ musical film from the 80s, but having never seen the stage adaptation (nor the original movie), I was intrigued to find out more about it.

The book covers the life of ‘Little Shop’ from the original 1960 film, up to its current Off-Broadway revival, and features some really interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes. I was absolutely LIVING for Ellen Greene’s diva behaviour. What an icon.

Can’t wait to see the show in NYC this Summer!

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really nice read for a Little Shop of Horrors fan! I wasn't drawn in by the first chapter too much (it focuses largely on the original, non-musical film), but the rest of the book kept me hooked. It's primarily focused on the first production and its stars, though it touches on the current off-Broadway production up to Conrad Ricamora's run, with occasional glimpses into international productions and other domestic ones. There's a chapter on the film that's pretty interesting, particularly when it touches on the original ending, which I remember being shocked watching. I'll hang onto this one.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Little Shop of Horrors and worked on it high school, saw it in NYC, Seattle, the film, etc. If you are a fan of Little Shop this is a great book and very interesting to read. The beginning about the process of it coming together was a cool perspective. A lot of it is regarding casting and crew like who worked on each variation of the show and it felt a little list-y. Still worth reading if you like the show for sure.

[Brandise Grimes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't typically write reviews, but I feel compelled to do so for this book to explain my rating. I love the subject matter and there were some fascinating facts presented in this book, but they were presented with absolutely no flash or flair whatsoever. Reading this book feels like reading a textbook. If you love "Little Shop of Horrors" you should absolutely read this book, but you should be prepared for what you're getting.

[Geoffrey Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look behind the curtain at the origin, development, and legacy of Little Shop of Horrors. I would reccomend this to any fan of the stage and/or movie musical (and who isn't), especially those interested in genre mashups and reinterpretation.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would honestly not have believed you could fit SO MUCH information into basically 150 pages. I wish I could've seen Faith Prince as Audrey!

[Stuart James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully nostalgic and often insightful account of Little Shop’s journey from film, to theatre, to film, to theatre 🌱

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

if howard ashman described his vision of the show as “the dark side of grease” to terry hands, little shop of horrors would be set in 1200 BCE

[Brendon Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkably in depth and thorough look at the entire history of Little Shop of Horrors. Learned so much new stuff I never knew and shines the musical in a new light!

[Andy Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Shop of Horrors is probably my favorite musical; I’ve worked on several productions, and I’d happily work on many more. I’ve collected bits of trivia about the show over the years, and consider myself fairly well-versed in its history, but I was eager to see what more I would learn from Abraham’s book. The answer is both “plenty,” and “not quite enough.” Abraham has clearly done the research—his extensive list of sources includes not just Howard Ashman’s archived notes and other primary sources, but also lots of interviews with the surviving collaborators and early casts of the show. It’s easy to imagine him amassing hundreds of pages of notes in the research phase. The narrative that he weaves together from all this data is well-assembled, and does shed some light on parts of Little Shop history I was pretty unfamiliar with (the history of the WPA theater, the show’s first reading at the BMI workshop, some romantic entanglements among the cast and crew). But Abraham sometimes seems like he’s afraid of boring his readers or overstaying his welcome, whittling down his research to only the barest facts in order to keep things moving along. He’ll write about (for example) tensions between Howard Ashman and the show’s original director, or about the casting process that almost saw the Nathan Lane and Faith Prince as the first Seymour and Audrey, but without much in the way of anecdotal color to bring these stories to life, or letting us in on the texture and detail that must have emerged in his many interviews. This is the rare book that I think would have been better if it’d been another hundred pages longer. After all, who but a super-fan is likely to be reading this book in the first place? But there’s something to be said for economy of language, and the book is surprisingly readable, considering how densely packed it is. An effective and interesting primer, that left me (like Twoey) craving more. (Also, a side note: the book begins with a preface that’s stilted and awkward, and I worried I was in for a rough read. Then the book proper begins, and the writing is much better. Worry not.)

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, short, surprisingly short (almost half the pages are appendix/notes), and since the author writes well and I like the subject, I'd have enjoyed even more. Honest!

Certainly a lot of research has been done and primary sources interviewed and so forth, and it was always a compelling read.

(Note: I'm a writer myself, so suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. These aren't ratings of quality, just my subjective account of how much I liked them: 5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)