About the work
Little Shop of Horrors is a musical by Alan Menken (music) and Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) after Roger Corman's 1960 horror film of the same name. It premiered on 6 May 1982 at the Off-Off-Broadway WPA Theatre in New York and moved off-Broadway to the Orpheum Theatre that July.
Plot
Shy flower-shop assistant Seymour raises a talking, carnivorous plant that brings him unexpected fame but demands ever more blood. To keep both his beloved Audrey and his new-found success, Seymour feeds the plant a growing number of people — until it finally devours almost the entire cast.
Cultural significance
With over 2,200 performances, the production became the highest-grossing off-Broadway show of its time and turned its doo-wop and rock'n'roll score into a trademark; Stephen Sondheim wrote Ashman an admiring letter about the piece. Its success brought Menken and Ashman the commission for Disney's “The Little Mermaid,” launching what became known as the Disney Renaissance.