Forty years after its 1982 Off-Broadway premiere, Little Shop of Horrors remains a global phenomenon, largely propelled by the success of the 1986 film directed by Frank Oz. The musical continues to thrive in its current Off-Broadway revival. Its triumph led producer David Geffen to introduce songwriting duo Howard Ashman and Alan Menken to Disney executives, paving the way for their pivotal role in the Disney Renaissance. Together, they shaped the sound of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, with Menken later scoring numerous Disney films. Their early musicals previewed the signature style that would define Disney storytelling.
From Audrey to Sebastian: Over-the-Top Inspiration
The characters in Little Shop of Horrors, as seen in the original production and film, exhibit playful, larger-than-life mannerisms and dialogue. Ellen Greene gave Audrey a Betty Boop-like voice, while Steve Martin played the Dentist with an over-the-top Elvis-inspired flair. The show also features a vividly designed, animated-looking plant, brought to life by a puppeteer while being voiced offstage. These vibrant characterizations highlight how Ashman and Menken were naturally suited for animation, as seen in Sebastian’s Jamaican accent in The Little Mermaid (Ashman’s idea) and Lumiere’s Maurice Chevalier-inspired persona in Beauty and the Beast.
Same Dream, Different Habitat: The Audrey & Ariel Connection
The most notable connection between Little Shop of Horrors and the Disney Renaissance is the similarity between Little Shop’s “Somewhere That’s Green” and The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World.” Both are classic “I Want” songs—ballads sung early in Act One to reveal a character’s deepest desires and set up their journey. Other examples include “Waitin’ for My Dearie” (Brigadoon), “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” (My Fair Lady), and “I’ll Know” (Guys and Dolls).
In “Somewhere That’s Green,” Audrey dreams of suburban bliss with the perfect home and partner, while in “Part of Your World,” Ariel longs to live on land and understand human life. Both songs end in a strikingly similar way, with the heroine singing two brief four-word phrases, each followed by an instrumental pause, before concluding with the song’s title: “Far from Skid Row, I’ll dream we’ll go… somewhere that’s green” and “Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world.”
Fun fact: Menken later revisited this theme with “A Place Called Home” in his adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and even parodied the “I Want” song trope with Vanellope von Schweetz’s comedic number, “A Place Called Slaughter Race,” in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
From Skid Row to Agrabah: Menken’s Musical Time Machine
Alan Menken has often credited Howard Ashman for teaching him the power of pastiche—imitating specific musical styles to shape a story’s world. Menken frequently uses this technique in opening numbers to establish a musical and narrative setting.
In Little Shop of Horrors, the title song and “Skid Row” set the tone with 1960s bubble-gum rock, immersing the audience in the gritty world of Skid Row. Similarly, Aladdin’s “Arabian Nights” pastiches Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade to evoke the heat and mystique of Agrabah. In Pocahontas, “The Virginia Company” and “Steady as the Beating Drum” contrast the European settlers’ sea shanty with Indigenous flutes and percussion, musically defining the story’s central conflict.
Fun fact: Ashman also wrote the lyrics for Oliver & Company’s “Once Upon a Time in New York City,” an opening number that, like “Skid Row,” captures the city’s harshness and longing for a better future.
Zero to Seymour: Little Shop Walked So Hercules Could Flex
Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronette serve as the powerhouse trio in Little Shop of Horrors, acting as a Greek Chorus that narrates the story and reinforces its themes. These Urchins foreshadow the role of the Muses in Hercules.
Notably, Little Shop’s “Ya Never Know” closely parallels Hercules’s “Zero to Hero,” both featuring their respective Greek Choruses celebrating an underdog’s rise to fame. The lyrics even share a striking similarity: “From zero to hero, a major hunk / Zero to hero, and who’d a thunk?” (Hercules) and “Seymour was in a funk / He was number zero / Who’d a thunk he’d become a hero?” (Little Shop).
Additionally, the Calypso-inspired groove of “Ya Never Know” offers an early glimpse of the musical style that would later define Sebastian’s numbers in The Little Mermaid, particularly “Kiss the Girl.”
Renovating Towns and Tunes: When Seymour Meets Belle
Seymour’s newfound success, thanks to Audrey II’s growth, leads to the upbeat number “Closed for Renovation.” Its lively sixteenth-note vamp, accompanied by a counter-melody, bears a striking resemblance to Beauty and the Beast’s “Belle/Little Town,” particularly the sections where Belle interacts with the Baker and the Bookkeeper.
Another connection is Little Shop’s Act Two opener, “Call Back in the Morning,” a rapid-fire patter song where Seymour and Audrey juggle calls from eager customers. This mirrors the bustling patter section in “Belle/Little Town,” where the townspeople chime in with quick, overlapping phrases like “Bonjour! Pardon! Good day! Mais oui! You call this bacon?!”
Klezmer, Deals, and Danger: When Mushnik and Ursula Play the Same Tune
In the original orchestration of Mushnik and Son, the song opens with a Kurt Weill-inspired, Klezmer-style minor key vamp. When slowed down, this vamp closely resembles the opening of The Little Mermaid’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” This connection is fitting, as both Mushnik and Ursula use a similarly sly, seductive melody to lure the protagonists—Seymour and Ariel—into striking a dubious deal.
Eerie Vamps and Heroic Anthems: Menken’s Magical Musical Recipe
Audrey II’s Act Two showstopper, “Suppertime,” pulses with Alan Menken’s signature rolling sixteenth-note vamp, creating an eerie, hypnotic drive. This same technique can be heard in some of Menken’s most iconic Disney scores—adding depth and momentum to “Part of Your World” (The Little Mermaid), the haunting “Prologue” from Beauty and the Beast, the ethereal Leaf Motif in Pocahontas, and the soaring anthem “Go the Distance” from Hercules.
Seymour Screams, Disney Belts: When Guilt Meets Anthemic Fury
At the height of his success—built on a trail of blood—Seymour begins to crack, grappling with his guilt: “No! No! There’s only so far you can bend! No! No! This nightmare must come to an end!” This powerful, rhythmic shouting-on-pitch technique would later resurface in Pocahontas’s explosive number “Savages”: “Savages! Savages! Barely even human! Savages! Savages! Drive them from our shore!”
Another striking Disney parallel appears in the musical interlude following Seymour’s anguished line, “Without my plant, she may not love me anymore,” which echoes the stirring introduction to Hercules’s “Go the Distance.”
These examples highlight how Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s groundbreaking work on Little Shop of Horrors helped redefine the animated musical genre. Their success with Disney sparked a dazzling new golden age of animation, setting the bar for every animated film that followed. None of this would have been possible without Little Shop laying the foundation and pushing the boundaries of what could be achieved in musical storytelling. And if you keep your mouse ears open, you’ll notice how Little Shop’s influence continues to echo through the magic of Disney’s animated classics.
Join us for an unforgettable production filled with laughter, love, and a little bit of mischief—LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, March 12 - April 6, 2025