Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors is a musical with music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman that was based on the 1960 Roger Corman film " The Little Shop of Horrors " . The musical debuted Off - Broadway in 1982 ( with Martin P . Robinson designing and performing Audrey II , and Anthony Asbury as his understudy ) . In 1986 , the musical was turned into a film , directed by Frank Oz in his first non - Henson film ( but still utilizing puppetry ) . Plot . " Little Shop of Horrors " tells the story of a nerdy young florist ' s assistant named Seymour Krelborn , an employee of Mushnik ' s Skid Row Florist Shop . The incompetent Seymour is about to be fired by Mr . Mushnik when Audrey , another employee , urges him to bring out a mysterious new strain of plant that he ' s been tinkering with . Seymour , who has a secret crush on Audrey , names the mysterious plant after her . Mushnik gives Seymour one week to see if the " Audrey II " plant improves his lackluster business . Unfortunately , Seymour soon learns that Audrey II can talk and has a gruesome appetite for fresh human blood . He also discovers that the plant brings him success , money and fame - - as well as the romantic interest of Audrey . In order to continue his good fortune , Seymour decides to keep Audrey II alive by feeding it blood . . . with tragic results . Film . Directed by Frank Oz and shot in England , the film starred Rick Moranis as Seymour , Ellen Greene as Audrey , Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik , and Steve Martin in an acclaimed turn as sadistic dentist Dr . Orin Scrivello , D . D . S . Also in the cast were Levi Stubbs ( as the voice of Audrey II ) , John Candy ( as radio host Wink Winkenson ) , Miriam Margolyes ( as a dental nurse ) , Kerry Shale ( as a Life Magazine flunky ) , and Danny John - Jules ( as a doo - wop singer ) . The original ending featured Paul Dooley as sales entrepreneur Patrick Martin , but when the scene was reshot and recut for a more upbeat ending , his footage was dropped , and Jim Belushi replaced him . Oz ' s own comments on the film tended to focus less on the puppetry effects and more on the difficulties of adaptation in general : The movie utilized multiple animatronic versions of the plant Audrey II , ranging from a tiny bud to the enormous version for the climax ( with multiple buds built for the end , and a huge array of rampaging plants for the discarded " Don ' t Feed the Plants " finale ) . Though not an official Creature Shop production , many of the same performers , designers , and technicians worked with Oz on the film . As Jim Henson remarked in a 1987 interview , he didn ' t have a hand in the puppetry for " Little Shop " , but " I was very close to some of the people in that production . " These included offspring Heather Henson , in a bit part as a dental patient , and Brian Henson , who served as a principal puppeteer on Audrey II . The puppeteer crew also included , amongst others , Donald Austen , David Alan Barclay , Michael Bayliss , Marcus Clarke , Sue Dacre , Graham Fletcher , David Greenaway , Toby Philpott , Nigel Plaskitt , Mike Quinn , and Mak Wilson ( the latter appearing on camera as a doo - wop singer ) . Lyle Conway designed Audrey II for the film ( based on Marty Robinson ' s theatrical designs ) , with Sherry Amott as head of fabrication , and Neal Scanlan and Dave Elsey also contributed . 2003 Broadway Revival . The stage version was revived 2003 , making its Broadway debut on October 2 , and ran until August 22 , 2004 . Kerry Butler starred as Audrey . Once again , Martin P . Robinson supervised the puppet design , but this time , Audrey II was constructed in collaboration with the Jim Henson Company . Robinson was the primary plant puppeteer , with assistance from Anthony Asbury , Matt Vogel , and Bill Remington , all of whom doubled as singing Skid Row occupants / derelicts . The new Audrey II was considerably different from the original off - Broadway version , while still more stylized in contrast to the film ' s animatronic plant . As with the other productions , however , four versions were used , from a hand - puppet Audrey to a giant version which , at its full height , rose 22 feet into the air and hovered menacingly over the fifth row . A hydraulic lift , operated by joystick , is used to help this effect . The same puppet , weighted down further , was used in a national tour ; Paul McGinnis , Marc Petrosino , Michael Latini and Anthony Asbury all performed on this version with Matt Vogel filling in for vacationing puppeteers . Robinson and the Jim Henson Company received puppet design credit in all listings and reviews .