Little Shop of Horrors Audition Requirements

Little Shop of Horrors is presented through special arrangement with Musical Theatre International (MTI). All Authorized Performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 

Little Shop of Horrors 2026 Audition Requirements and Production Information
Aloha and mahalo for your interest in our 2026 Fall Musical. This document provides information regarding audition requirements, production schedule, and other disclosures. Please come back to www.hilopalace.com Monday, June 15th for our official audition registration. For any questions or concerns, please email 2026fallmuscial@hilopalace.com. Mahalo!

*PLEASE NOTE: 

  • Auditions are closed to anyone not auditioning.
  • Due to the content, language, and subject matter of the story, the age requirement is 18 and above. 

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR:

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS satirizes many things: science fiction, ‘B’ movies, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend. There will, therefore, be a temptation to play it for camp and low-comedy. This is a great and potentially fatal mistake. The script keeps its tongue firmly in cheek, so the actors should not. Instead, they should play with simplicity, honesty, and sweetness – even when events are at their most outlandish. The show’s individual “style” will evolve naturally from the words themselves and an approach to acting and singing that is almost child-like in its sincerity and intensity. By way of example, AUDREY poses like Fay Wray from time to time. But she does this because she’s in genuine fear and happens to see the world as her private ‘B’ movie – not because she’s “commenting: to the audience on the silliness of her situation. Having directed the original New York production of LITTLE SHOP myself, and subsequently having seen it in many versions and even many languages, I can vouch for the fact that when LITTLE SHOP is at its most honest, it is also at its funniest and most enjoyable.

Howard Ashman

AUDITION DATES

Auditions will be in person on Sunday, July 12th and Monday, July 13th from 6pm-9pm.

The audition schedule is as follows:

  • 6:00pm – Ensemble 
  • 6:45pm – Urchins 
  • 7:30pm – Seymour / Audrey / Orin / Mr Mushnik 

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

  • All auditionees are required to prepare 32 bars (1 minute) of a song to sing at auditions. Please provide the song name and link (YouTube preferred) on your audition form.
    • If you are auditioning for Puppeteer, you will be asked to do a “lip-sync” to 32 bars (1 minute) and are also required to provide the name and link for your selected song.
  • If you are auditioning for a lead role, you are required to prepare a 1 minute monologue in addition to singing 32 bars. 
  • Prepare to learn and perform a segment of dance on the day of auditions. 
  • Please complete the digital registration form by EOD Friday, July 10th.

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS: are accepted for those who are unable to attend auditions in person. Please fill out the registration form with the “video” choice selected. Email your video submission to 2026fallmuscial@hilopalace.com, with the subject line “Little Shop Audition with your name.” Video auditions must be submitted by EOD Sunday July 10th. No exceptions. 

Please note that if you are auditioning for a lead role, callbacks on Wednesday, July 15th are mandatory. Please refer to “Audition Requirements”  in the above section to make sure your audition includes all that is required. 

CALLBACKS: 

All who audition for lead roles are asked to be available Wednesday, July 15, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm for possible call backs by the artistic team to audition further. Those who need to return for callbacks will be notified via email with specific details. 

If you do not receive an invitation to callbacks, it does not mean you are not cast in the show. Expect to see the full cast announcement by Thursday, July 16, via email.

CHARACTER LIST

ENSEMBLE / SINGER / DANCER (AGE 18+)
Ensemble members  may also be asked to take on technical backstage tasks when not on stage 

SEYMOUR:  Tenor (A2-G4)

Mid 20s to 35: and perhaps balding a little. Our insecure, naive, put-upon florist’s clerk hero. Above all he’s a sweet and well-meaning little man. He is not a silly, prat-falling nerd, and therefore should not be played as the hero of a Jerry Lewis film. 

AUDREY: Mezzo Soprano (G#3-D5)
Mid 20s to 35: bleached-blond, Billie-Dawn-like, secret love of his life. If you took Judy Holiday, Carol Channing, Marilyn Monroe, and Goldie Hawn, removed their education and feelings of self-worth, dressed them in spiked heels and a low-cut black dress, and then shook them up in a test tube to extract what’s sweetest and most vulnerable – that’d be Audrey.

MR. MUSHNIK: Baritone (G2- F4)
50 to 65: Their boss. A failure of an East Side florist. His accent, if he has one, is more that of middle class New York than of Eastern Europe. He seldom smiles but often sweats.

ORIN SCRIVELLO DDS: Baritone (G2-G4)

30 to 40: A tall, dark,handsome dentist with a black leather jacket and sadistic tendencies. He is not, however, a leftover from the movie version of Grease. Think instead of an egotistical pretty-boy – all got up like a greaser but thinking like an insurance salesman and talking like a radio announcer.

URCHINS: CHIFFON / RONETTE / CRYSTAL: Mezzo Soprano (Ab3- F5)
Late Teens-20s: Three female presenting POC street urchins who function as participants in the action and a Greek Chorus outside it. They’re young, hip, smart, and the only people in the whole cast who really know what’s going on. In their “Greek Chorus” capacity, they occasionally sing to the audience directly. And when they do, it’s often with a “secret-smile” that says: “we know something you don’t know.”

VOICE OF AUDREY 2: Bass/Baritone (G2-G4)
Please have 32 bars (1 minute of music) of a song to sing. 

PUPPETEER AUDREY 2 (NO SINGING/SPEAKING REQUIRED)
Puppeteer(s) must have strong physical acting skills and excellent lip-syncing ability. 

Puppeteers for the largest Audrey 2’s will require immense stamina: must be comfortable with sitting still (no movement at all) for up to 15 minutes; a strong core, and an ability to lift at least 40 lbs comfortably is a must. You must be comfortable with working in a very small confined space and free of any claustrophobic tendencies. 

Puppeteers will be asked to do a “lip-sync” to 32 bars (1 minute) and must also provide the name and link (YouTube preferred) for their song on their audition form.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE:

The LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS artistic team will create a rehearsal schedule that will break the show into workable units. Not all cast members will be called for all rehearsals. When called, you may be scheduled from 1 to 2 ½ hours, depending on what is worked on during that session. 

Rehearsals can be expected during these time slots: 

  • Monday: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (Palace Theater)
  • Tuesday: 6:00pm – 8:30 pm (PPAC or TBA)
  • Thursday: 6:00pm – 8:30 pm (PPAC or TBA)
  • Sunday: 10:00am – 12:30 pm (Palace Theater)

First rehearsal/Table read: Monday, July 20th at The Palace Theater 

Tech week begins: Saturday, Oct 3, and ALL cast members must be available until the show opens on October 9th.

Performance Dates:

Invited Dress Rehearsal: Thursday, October 8 

Opening: Friday, October 9
Saturday, October 10
Sunday, October 11 

Friday, October 16
Saturday, October 17
Sunday, October 18

Friday, October 23
Saturday, October 24
Closing: Sunday, October 25 

Days/times of planned performances: Fri, Sat @ 7:00 pm; Sun @ 3:00 pm

Performance venue: Palace Theater

DISCLOSURES

  • Thu 10/15 and Thu 10/22 7:00 pm performances may be added ONLY if other shows are sold out.
  • Costumes will be supplied by the producer, but actors will be asked to supplement as needed.
  • Performers may be expected to help build and strike the set.
  • There may be understudies for this production. Understudies will only take the stage if the lead actor is unable to perform.
  • There is one public preview (see invited dress rehearsal) planned for this production.
  • There will possibly be a preview “tiny desk” style performance- dates & locations TBA

Mahalo again for your interest! Please come back to www.hilopalace.com June 15th for our official audition registration.