By Mark Ramont

MR: Do you remember the first time you saw “Little Shop of Horrors”? If so, what were your impressions?

CM: I’ve never seen a stage production of Little Shop of Horrors. I remember seeing the movie when I was a teenager. I remember the score making quite a strong impression and sang the songs to myself, well … tried singing the songs to myself, for many weeks after.

MR: What will make this “Little Shop” different? What has been your approach to the world of the play and how has it manifested itself in the designs?

CM: I’ve had the great opportunity to be on the production team of a handful of revivals. The most successful of these revivals have always been when the team’s intention is to honor the original work and to pay it back with interest. Why bother if we are going to just remount a rehash of the original?

What can the particular DNA of the theatre we are in and the talents assembled bring to this material? I started thinking how best to bring more life to both the underbelly darkness and the beaming hope of this little gem of a musical; how best to live in the dark comedy of the material. I started thinking of our times and the economic hardships that have fallen on us Americans. There is a hopeless hope that is being asked of us. This is amplified for all of the characters in Little Shop who are struggling day to day in Skid Row—and how that, in spite of the darkness, there is always a drive to better oneself. I started to center the hope in the piece on Audrey and her ability to always see the love in everyone and everything.

Another way into this production was the idea that the Little Shop of Horrors was not only Mushnik’s flower shop in Skid Row, but Planet Earth as a whole. Skid Row is just the microcosm that represents the bigger picture. The Planet Earth is just this particular day’s supper for the alien and cosmic forces that befall the human race in Little Shop. We landed on a lyric of Seymour’s when he describes the circumstances when he first crosses paths with Audrey II. He sings, “There was this total eclipse of the sun.” We saw this from a larger point of view than Seymour can see from his vantage point—and when we zoomed out we saw that it wasn’t an eclipse of the sun but the Mother Ship of this alien force casting its shadow onto Skid Row and Seymour. This is manifested in the design and allowed for us to incorporate the band and visually include more of the ingredients that generate some of the most exciting moments in the score when Audrey II bares its teeth.

We also were very much inspired by the Pulp sci-fi magazines from the early 1960s, and this has very much influenced the design.

MR: How did you come to direct “Little Shop” for Ford’s? What was it about the piece that made you say, “Yes, I want to do this!”?

CM: I first worked with Ford’s Theatre when I recreated the Deaf West Theatre revival of Big River and then associate directed Shenandoah, both directed by Jeff Calhoun. When Paul Tetreault offered me the opportunity to direct Little Shop, I became very excited about leading the efforts to infuse some fun into Ford’s. Little Shop provides a great reminder that this is a working theatre that beautifully embraces both potent work that speaks to its deep American history and a beloved musical that entertains with dark humor and a large portion of silliness.

MR: What are the biggest differences between directing a play and directing a musical?

CM: Directing a musical is different than directing a play in that it’s a bigger machine with more moving parts. The artists often have more horsepower in a musical to tell the story. The starting place is very much the same for a play and a musical when first finding the truth in any particular scene or moment, but then you find the room to reach to melody. I truly relish the collaborative necessity in the theatre, and a musical gives even greater opportunity for this. Finding the tone and justifications for the story and characters to soar into song, to be lifted to musical heights, is the work of every team that mounts a musical.

MR: What is it that draws you to working at Ford’s? Why do you keep coming back?

CM: This is my third project at Ford’s. There is an undeniable vibration inside the walls at Ford’s Theatre—a vibration rooted in American history and drama that provides such a unique space to tell a story. Also, so many visitors to Ford’s Theatre are not usual theatregoers, but are there because of the history of the building. It’s exciting to have theopportunity to offer my work to many people who may never step inside another theatre. Taking part in the possibility of someone’s only professional theatrical experience is quite an opportunity, rare in my profession.

These unique aspects of Ford’s and Paul Tetreault’s artistic mission and its great staff are a few of the reasons it’s such a personal honor and joy to return to this theatre.