Whidbey Playhouse stages Little Shop of Horrors in Oak Harbor

Ethan Johnson is stepping into Seymour Krelborn for the first time as a main-season lead at Whidbey Playhouse, and that choice gives Little Shop of Horrors its local spark: a shy, awkward florist caught inside one of musical theater’s most ridiculous and enduring cautionary tales.

The show opens June 5 and runs through June 28 at the Oak Harbor theater, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. on June 5, 6, 7; June 12, 13, 14; June 19, 20, 21; and June 26, 27, 28. At 730 SE Midway Blvd., the production gives Island County audiences a full four-weekend window to catch a musical that mixes comedy, romance, horror and fantasy in equal measure.

That blend is part of why the piece still plays so well on Whidbey. Whidbey Playhouse’s season description follows Seymour, Audrey and a mysterious plant with a sinister appetite, and this staging leans into the show’s absurd energy while keeping the musical performance tight. The familiar engine of the story remains the same: a struggling floral assistant finds a strange plant that promises fame and fortune, as long as it keeps getting fed. Around that premise, the production has to balance a villainous dentist, romantic longing and the escalating threat of Audrey II.

Director Eric George said he wanted to honor the beloved classic while still shaping it as his own production, and assistant director Alex Montoya called the collaboration a lot of fun. The result appears designed to reward audiences who know the score as well as those seeing it for the first time. The street urchins add another layer of difficulty, with harmonies and quick vocal changes that test the cast’s precision as much as the story tests Seymour’s judgment.

Johnson’s role stands out because Seymour only works if he feels both comic and vulnerable. His nervousness and awkward charm give the character his engine, and that matters in a show where the central joke can easily tip into camp. Whidbey Playhouse is betting that Johnson can keep the balance, while the rest of the cast and crew carry the production’s music, costumes, lighting and painting with the polish audiences have come to expect from the Oak Harbor community theater.

That polish comes from a company with deep local roots. Whidbey Playhouse says it was founded in 1966 and is an all-volunteer community theater in Oak Harbor. As it marks its 60th anniversary, the organization has been highlighting both its longevity and its fundraising needs, including a Diamond Jubilee Gala and Auction at The Center in Oak Harbor on March 21 to support ongoing operations and projects.

For Oak Harbor and the wider island, Little Shop of Horrors is more than a familiar title. It is a chance to see a classic rock-’n’-roll cult favorite staged by neighbors, on a local stage, in a theater that has spent decades turning volunteer labor into live performance.