LITTLE SHOP - Strange Plants Are My Hobby

In 2003 I got in touch with Little Shop of Horrors puppeteer David Showler and purchased his collection of memorabilia from the film. These include his satin crew jacket, a cassette of the half-speed "Mean Green Mother" for lip-synch, some photocopied storyboards, and several pieces of the Audrey II puppets. After the jump, see my little pieces of film history!






Here's an unpainted latex skin for the "Grow For Me" pod. It's cast around a hollow resin shell, and measures about 4" long and 3" wide with some lovely sculpted veins and textures. Click on the photos for a large-sized image.







Latex leaves, 3" to 5" long, that were wrapped around the vines. There is a thin metal wire supporting the central vein (it's poking out of the one on the left.)



An unpainted foam leaf, about 13" long.



A molar from the "Mean Green Mother" puppet. It's about 6" wide and 4" tall. The clear, iridescent glitter would have made it glisten wetly in the shadowed recesses of the mouth. I think, based on the shape and the glitter placement, that this was in the left side of Audrey II's mouth (screen right).

Here's the cap from the radiator smashed during "Mean Green Mother." It's hollow resin, about 3" tall.



Here's Dave's crew jacket - it's rayon or similar "satin" material from a company called "The Cloth Tattoo" and the embroidery is hand-made. It features the Off-Broadway logo and plant.





STORYBOARDS

These "mean Green Mother" storyboards, by Marvel Comics artist Mike Ploog, have never, to my knowlege, been reproduced anywhere. One hopes that a Special Edition DVD, if it ever materializes, would include a slideshow of the full set of these. Click the images for a large-sized version.