REVIEWS

"The ending of this version of Little Shop made me think of the ending of another piece of narrative art currently gaining buzz, Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite. In it, a poor Korean family depends on a rich Korean family for jobs and stability, with chaotic results. It is equal parts funny and unsettling, and when the dark ending came, it left me feeling knotted, much as I felt after seeing the Pasadena Little Shop. I could not judge this Seymour for giving Audrey II his blood. As in Parasite, in a time when upward mobility seems to be an ever-shrinking possibility, and the income gap between the rich and poor is widening, what can the desperate do but bleed themselves dry? In America, some poor people have resorted to selling their blood for just a little money." - American Theatre Magazine

“It should also be noted that Audrey II designer and director Sean Cawelti deserves much credit for the puppet’s formidable and nefarious appearance, as does puppet wrangler Sarah Kay Peters, and puppeteers Tyler Bremer, Kelsey Kato, Tim Kopacz, and Paul Turbiak for animating the out-of-this-world, reddish-purple plant.” - LA Excites

“But the darkness enables puppetry to bring Audrey II to life. The plant starts as a small shiny magenta branch with a few twigs and roots poking out of its pot and a flower head by which it ingests food. It’s rather cute, as unseen puppetry maneuvers it into winsome little poses. In subsequent scenes, its tendrils grow as tall as a person and wrap around victims, now visibly manipulated by onstage puppeteers.” - The Daily News

“Designed by Sean Cawelti, Audrey II here exists more as a mysterious boogie man, a hovering ghostly monster that basically hides in the shadows instead of being viewed as the enormous elephant in the room that you can't miss. The sole evidence of its existence---besides Riley's terrific voice---is its ivy-like tendrils extending out like the wild tentacles of a sentient horticultural octopus. By the end, when Audrey II's feeding frenzy becomes more pronounced, the form of giant petals synonymous with one's emblazoned image of Audrey II appears and it becomes easier to imagine the activity of this carnivorous plant.” - Broadway World

“The cute little robotic plant (designed by Sean Cawelti) known as Audrey II almost steals the show, dancing its heart out during “Ya Never Know” and stomping along the flower shop’s counters when hungry.” - Quaker Campus

“When an "alien" being is allowed to propagate:  the world .. as is shown  in the final shadow puppet play reveals... the world is devoured by evil.  Brrr.” - On Stage Los Angeles