Off-Broadway Access Review -
Little Shop of Horrors

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ID: image of the Little Shop of Horrors Playbill in front of the stage with the text "Access Review" on top

 

General Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it. 

This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down. 

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful!

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

Also please note that I make these while seeing a show for the first time, so I may miss some cues or be slightly off as to their placement/cue line!

Off-Broadway Note

Most of my reviews are of Broadway shows & theaters. This is not one of them. 

The thing about off-Broadway is that the theaters tend to be smaller and tend to not necessarily have been originally built to be theaters. 

This means:

  • The same lighting & sound design as on Broadway will inherently seem brighter & louder

  • There will be more stairs and less of the retrofitted accessibility we see in  larger theaters

  • The budget is often smaller (i.e. retrofitting things for accessibility is way harder for these shows)

Please do not compare my reviews and conclude “Off Broadway is doing a worse job at this and we should focus on fixing that”. The industry is a problem as a whole, everyone needs to work on it, and Broadway often can afford to do this but won’t. Off-Broadway can also do better but the odds are against them. Let’s not forget that.

Theater

Westside Theatre/Upstairs

All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats on the far right of the second row. 

Bathrooms: 

  • divided into the binary, though there is a sign that says “Please use the restroom that best aligns with your gender identity or expression. Additional single-stall and gender neutral restrooms are located downstairs.”

  • located on the level the theater - women’s is on the side of the bar with the men’s on the opposite

Other theater accessibility:

  • the entrance to the theatre is up a flight of stairs (and there is another handful of stairs once you get your ticket scanned to get to the theater). There is no elevator. 

  • they have an induction loop assistive listening system and headsets that can be borrowed

Click here for more information on the physical accessibility of this theater.

Light/Sound/Scent

General:

  • I needed/used earplugs for this show

  • content warnings are on a separate slide, but I will also sprinkle in specific scenes of note in this breakdown

  • both acts begin music before the lights go down, it can be a bit of a jumpscare

  • the sensory accessibility of this show is similar to that of Sweeney Todd, Aladdin, and Water for Elephants. It’s very low on things in Act I, and then Act II has a lot of lighting cues (particularly strobey ones) as the story intensifies.

Act I:

  • Little Shop…– very small pulsing door lights, ~20 sec

  • after radio interview – 3 little camera flashes, never directly at the audience

  • Dentist – small flash just before he takes off his jacket, followed by a second one

  • CW - DV scene in the shop between Audrey and the dentist - only verbal violence, lasts maybe 3 minutes

  • Mushnik and Son – very very slow spinning textured downlights that aren’t super noticeable. After the dance break they become multicolored, move a tad faster, and cover the first row of the audience for ~30 sec

  • Feed Me - gets suddenly louder when he’s sitting on the counter

    • alternating blue/green downlights after James Dean line, ~5-10 sec

    • CW - very short DV scene, Audrey gets hit

    • alternating lights back ~10 sec, then flashy purple/green switches for the rest of the song

  • Dentist scene – there’s a gun. nothing happens with it. But the chair causes some accidental strobe, also there is a death by asphyxiation here

Act II:

  • Call Back…– some flashy alternating purple/green when Seymour’s at the left desk and Audrey’s at the right, followed by ~15 seconds of strobey on/off downlights

  • “I’ve noticed lately…” – ~3-5 sec white flashing downlight

  • The Meek Shall Inherit – after the lady in pink exits, some bills get thrown and may fall into the first row

    • at the end there’s big thunder and ~10 seconds of white strobing lightning

  • after Audrey’s exit there are some quick blackout transitions one after another for maybe a minute 

  • ~5 sec yellow strobe after Audrey goes to water Audrey II

  • after businessman and urchin exit there are 3 small gunshots. Emphasis on small.

  • Finale –

    • After the “New York” line, there is haze (and a sweet smoky smell) and green strobing for ~1 minute (it never strobes with a blackout between, so it’s not total) which stops when they step all the way forward

    • this is followed by alternating on/off downlights for a bit, and then full green strobes for the rest of the song

Content Warnings

There is some heavy content in this show, but it’s generally smoothed over by the sheer silly campy nature of it. That being said, some things may still be triggering, such as:

  • the dentist being addicted to nitrous oxide

  • Audrey’s violent relationship with the dentist (specific scenes of note are in the breakdown)

  • death by asphyxiation (which is done comically but still may be unsettling to some)

  • murder (though there is never any blood)