OSBORNE TO DO LITTLE SHOP

In 1960, a peculiar minor film (featuring a minor appearance by an up-and-coming Jack Nicholson) was released to no particular fanfare with good reason: It was pretty awful. Especially poor was an ending that was probably supposed to be creepy but instead just seemed lame. Fortunately for us, playwright and lyricist Howard Ashman saw potential in it and, collaborating with musician Alan Menkin, turned it into a marvelous 1982 Off-Broadway musical.  It features numerous terrific songs that are sing-along favorites, including “Suddenly Seymour,” “Somewhere That’s Green,” and “Skid Row (Downtown).” The story was translated again into a film in 1986 film starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, with a third and very different ending.

In our story, Seymour (Thomas Fisk), a poor schlub with virtually no self-confidence, works in Mushnik’s Flower Shop down on Skid Row. He harbors a deep secret crush for Audrey (Gaby Ritter), the other employee at the show owned by Mr. Mushnik (Bobby Imperato). In an attempt to save the struggling store, Audrey suggests to Seymour that he put a bizarre little plant that he came across in the window to draw attention.  The plant begins to wither till Seymour accidentally pricks his finger and, upon tasting his blood, the plan starts to grow. The more blood it gets, the more it grows and the more attention it brings the shop, saving it. Sounds like a happy ending? Depends what you have to do to get that much blood… leading to great fun, drama, and songs.

Point Loma Playhouse is taking a big chance on not only staging their biggest musical to date but doing so at a brand new space in Hillcrest, with hopes that ticket sales and donations will make it possible for them to keep the space they’ve built the stage in specifically for this short-run show.

I had the chance to speak with PLP’s new artistic director, Jailyn Osborne, about the show and her vision for PLP’s future – at this new space or otherwise:

What made Point Loma Playhouse decide to do a show outside your usual home theatre?

Our home at the Point Loma Assembly has served us beautifully for years, but it’s a smaller space, and some of the key dates we needed weren’t available. And with over 400 talented people coming in from all over Southern California to audition, giving us the ability to cast this incredibly talented group of people, I knew the show deserved a bigger, bolder setting, so we took it as a chance to grow. Rather than cancel or scale back the vision, we decided to take the leap and literally build a theatre from scratch to prove what community theatre can do with enough heart, talent, and determination. It’s been a wild, inspiring adventure.

Why Hillcrest?  And why this space?

We’ll be right on the edge of Hillcrest and Bankers Hill, two amazing neighborhoods that really need a theatre. I also own property in Hillcrest and care deeply about this community, so when the opportunity came up, it felt personal. I knew Hillcrest needed this – something creative, inclusive, and accessible. The space is right next door to Jimmy Carter’s Mexican Café, and when we secured it, Jimmy had just passed away. He was somebody close to my family. I truly believe he had a hand in helping us find this location. If we stay, we plan to host his Celebration of Life here in November. It’s been a beautiful full-circle moment for the neighborhood and for us.

I remember Jimmy well and agree. What’s been the biggest challenge in creating a whole new theatre space from scratch?

Our board is small, just five people, and during this process, three were largely unavailable due to personal circumstances. That left a lot on the shoulders of myself, my producer and fellow board member Kara Tuckfield, and my husband Thomas Kramer, who has essentially built the theatre by hand.

We got the keys on September 26, and just days later, it was tech week and opening night. We were hanging lights as walls were going up, and running numbers and scene changes as the paint was literally drying. Then it rained – and we discovered the roof leaked, like raining inside level of leaking. We had to fix that immediately while still preparing for shows. But our team rose to the occasion.

Some of the cast grumbled but eventually learned to work around construction; volunteers pushed themselves to the limit. It was exhausting, but it showed the heart and grit behind community theatre. And the accomplishment of building this theatre in less than 2 weeks is overwhelmingly gratifying. I keep saying, if we did this in 2 weeks, imagine what we can do in 2 years.

Is this your new home theatre? Or a one-off?

For now, it’s a pop-up. But we’d love to make it a permanent second home for the playhouse. If this location continues to fit the community the way we hope, we get to stay! And in that case, we’ll absolutely make it available for other artists and organizations. Both Hillcrest and Bankers Hill deserve a home for theatre, and we’d love to help make that happen.

Back to the show itself, without giving anything away, for those only familiar with the movie, how is the stage version different from the movie?

The stage version is more theatrical and it leans into the 1960s musical style with that doo-wop energy, a live band and live vocals, and a darker sense of humor. It also stays truer to the show’s original message about ambition, morality, and the cost of “getting everything you’ve ever wanted.” The characters feel more human here, you see their hearts and flaws more clearly. And the ending… let’s just say it’s not the Hollywood ending you might remember. It’s darker and somehow even more fitting.

Little Shop is a more complex show than a lot of your previous offerings. Why this show?

We wanted something that would challenge us in every way – musically, technically, and emotionally. Little Shop has heart, humor, and a strong moral backbone. I wanted to find the truth behind these characters, to make them real people instead of cartoonish versions. That authenticity makes their story so much more powerful and is relevant today in the current climate we are experiencing in America.

And for me, dance has always been a catapult for nonverbal communication – it can express what words can’t. This show gave us room to really lean into that. Little Shop is also one of my favorite musical scores to blast in the car when I’m having a hard day.

Mine, too! And I know that Little Shop progresses fast, with complicated songs and movement.  Talk about your work as a director and choreographer in conjunction with Leigh Scaritt as musical director.

Working with Leigh (or Miss Leigh as she’s known) has been incredible. She’s deeply respected in San Diego theatre, and her musical precision and warmth have elevated every element of this show. Leigh has this rare ability to connect deeply with the cast while holding them to the highest standard. There are no excuses with her. Take the note, be gracious, stay classy, and never lose your character – which, in her world, means don’t crack under pressure, remain calm, kind, and grounded, and stay focused on your job as a performer.

Leigh creates an environment where professionalism and authenticity go hand in hand. She is a master at arranging harmonies that bring out the best in each performer as well as are best for the show and has a knack for anticipating possible issues before they occur.

We have worked side by side to shape the storytelling through music and movement. Leigh’s attention to rhythm and phrasing blends seamlessly with my focus on emotional truth and physical storytelling. Every moment is intentional, and every beat connects to something real.

What’s your favorite number from this production?

“Skid Row” has my heart. It’s gritty, hopeful, and full of humanity. It captures the heartbeat of the entire story. Every voice and every movement builds into something electric. A close second is “The Meek Shall Inherit.” It’s so human, it’s about the moment success tempts you to lose yourself, and how easy that is to do. Musically, it’s stunning, and emotionally, it hits that “what if that were me?” note that makes the show timeless.

Your day job is making movies. Why take this detour in theatre?

It’s funny, people always call it a detour, but for me, theatre has never been a side road. It’s my first romance. About ten years ago, I owned a theatre in Orange County called 3Peace Studios, and those were some of the happiest years of my life. There’s something uniquely special about live theatre – the intimacy, the immediacy, the connection, and that shared heartbeat between just that audience and the performers that changes every night. No camera can capture something like this because it is an energy, a feeling shared with the performer and viewer.

My film and TV producing partner Gina Hudgens, affectionately known as “Mama G,” is also in Little Shop as a performer and she has the audience in stitches with her hilarious vignettes. It’s been incredible to have her along this journey with me and for me personally to witness her blossom as an actress. Mama G also happens to be the mother of actress Vanessa Hudgens, a proud San Diego native.

Funny enough, one of Vanessa’s very first professional jobs was right here in San Diego, she played Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas at The Old Globe, directed by Jack O’Brien. Leigh Scarritt, our musical director, was also in that same original cast as Grandma Who, and her daughter Tiffany shared the role of Cindy Lou Who. During that same time, I had just started working with Vanessa on acting and dance, so it feels like such a full-circle moment now, having all these creative connections intersect again in this production.

Mama G and I are currently in pre-production on a feature film that I wrote and am directing, while also developing a three-camera sitcom that’s in pre-production and putting the finishing touches on our animated series Koala City. Waiting in the wings is a full-length movie musical now in its final stages of development. So while film keeps us busy, theatre keeps us grounded – it reminds us why we tell stories in the first place.

With my cinematic background, I naturally bring that visual language into theatre. In film, I control the frame, I decide what the audience sees and how they feel about it. If there’s a single beautiful flower growing out of a sewer pipe in a cracked sidewalk, I can shift the frame so that all the audience sees is the beauty, the color, the feeling of being someplace exotic. On stage, I do the same thing, just with different tools. I use movement, lighting, and costume to direct the eye, to frame emotion, and to create those big, cinematic moments live and larger than life.

And honestly, doing Little Shop of Horrors has felt like coming home. Even my dog Mannix has been part of the process, he’s sat through rehearsals like the unofficial stage manager. Theatre is family to me -- real, unpredictable, messy, and magical. That’s why no matter where my film projects take me, I’ll always come back to the stage.

photos by Jailyn Osborne

Little Shop of Horrors
Point Loma Playhouse,
3148 Fifth Ave in San Diego
Fri at 7:30; Sat at 3 & 7:30; Sun at 3; Mon at 7:30 (Oct 20)
ends on Oct 26, 2025
for tickets, call 619.800.5497 or visit Point Loma Playhouse