Carnivorous plant musical Little Shop of Horrors opens in Whanganui

Shaila Hawkins as Audrey and Chris Pedley as Seymour with carnivorous plant Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors.

Shaila Hawkins says she is pumped and ready for her role as Audrey in Amdram's production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Directed by Colin Hedivan and supported by a music direction team of Lynn Whiteside, Errol Christiansen and Abigail Livesay, the show kicked off with a gala opening on Friday night (Last night for cyber version).

Fans of the musical, which is based on a low-budget 1960 black comedy film - The Little Shop of Horrors - will know that Audrey II is a giant carnivorous plant.

"We have had to make four versions of Audrey II," says Shaila.

"It has been quite a challenge and so much work has gone into them.

"We will have to keep them in our wardrobe collection but they will take up a lot of space."

The smaller versions of the plant were made by Yvonne Jones with help from her husband Ian on the third one.

Chicken wire and mattress rubber were the main components for the largest, most fearsome Audrey II made by Kirk Nicholls, Terry Lobb, Ian Jones and Geoff Campbell with advice from costumer Lee Williams.

The music, composed by Alan Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, Skid Row (Downtown), Somewhere That's Green, and Suddenly, Seymour.

Tickets $25/$20 from the Royal Wanganui Opera House; some door sales available. For more information see Amdram website or Facebook page.

Add an Antipasto Platter for two for $20 (a selection of cheese, olives, charcuterie, dips and breads).