A trio of 1960s street urchins named Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon set the scene ("Little Shop of Horrors") and comment on the action throughout the show.

As the caretaker of the plant, the timid Seymour is suddenly regarded as a hero ("Ya Never Know"), while Audrey secretly longs to leave her abusive boyfriend.

Her dream is to lead an ideal suburban life with Seymour, complete with a tract home, frozen dinners, and plastic on the furniture ("Somewhere That's Green").

Meanwhile, the employees at Mushnik's are sprucing up the flower shop because of the popularity of the rapidly growing Audrey II and the revenue that it is bringing in ("Closed for Renovation").

Seymour feeds Orin's body to the now huge Audrey II, and the plant consumes it with ravenous glee ("Act I Finale").

The next day, Patrick Martin from the World Botanical Enterprises tells Seymour that his company wishes to sell leaf cuttings of Audrey II in florist shops across America.

Seymour, in desperation, runs into its open jaws with a machete planning to kill it from the inside, but he is quickly eaten ("Bigger Than Hula-hoops").

Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon relate that, following these events, other plants appeared across America, tricking innocent people into feeding them blood in exchange for fame and fortune.

[4] Howard Ashman wrote, in the introduction to the acting edition of the libretto, that the show "satirizes ... science fiction, 'B' movies, musical comedy itself, and even the Faust legend".

[5] An original cast recording, released in 1982, omitted the songs "Call Back in the Morning" and the reprise of "Somewhere That's Green", and had abridged versions of "Now (It's Just the Gas)", "Mushnik and Son", and "The Meek Shall Inherit".

[9] The recording features Leilani Jones, who originated the role of Chiffon at the WPA and replaced Marlene Danielle two weeks after the musical opened off-Broadway.

It ran for 813 performances, starring Barry James as Seymour, Greene reprising her role as Audrey and Harry Towb as Mr. Mushnik, with Sinitta (then surnamed Renet) understudying Chiffon, Crystal and Ronette.

[12][13] An Australian production opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, Perth on January 14, 1984, starring Christopher Pate as Seymour and Denise Kirby as Audrey.

In the musical, the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello, is killed by suffocation from laughing gas instead of being stabbed with a dental instrument as in the film.

In the 1960 film, Mushnik and Audrey survive, and the plant's carnivorous activities are discovered when its flowers bloom with the faces of its victims, including Seymour, imprinted on them.

[33] Critics complained that by expanding the show to fit a larger theatre, its intimacy was lost; they also judged several actors as miscast, although the Miami Herald declared that "Alice Ripley's Audrey – part lisping Kewpie doll (a la Ellen Greene, who originated the role), part dental punching bag – is heartbreakingly adorable.

[35] Nevertheless, within weeks, they ousted Grappo in favor of veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks, who fired everyone in the cast, except Foster, and redirected the production from scratch.

[36][37] Although this was the first time it had played on Broadway, the show's success in film and numerous regional productions made it fall under the "Revival" category for the 2003 Tony Awards.

This revival, directed by Matthew White, featured a new Audrey II designed by David Farley, resembling the pitcher plant.

[48] A UK tour began on August 4, 2016, directed by Tara Wilkinson, starring Sam Lupton as Seymour, Stephanie Clift as Audrey and Rhydian Roberts as Orin.

[50] A revival at London's Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, from August 3 to September 22, 2018, was directed by Maria Aberg, choreographed by Lizzi Gee and designed by Tom Scutt.

[54] Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: "A confluence of alchemical elements was at work, converging in ways that made a perfectly charming but small musical feel like a major event.

It also featured Lee Wilkof, the original Seymour, as Mr. Mushnik, Nick Cordero as Orin and Michael James Leslie reprising his role as the voice of Audrey II from Broadway.

The cast starred Jonathan Groff as Seymour, Tammy Blanchard as Audrey, Christian Borle as Orin and Tom Alan Robbins as Mr. Mushnik.

The production suspended performances on March 11, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic,[66] and reopened on September 21, 2021, with Jeremy Jordan as Seymour; Mayer, Scott, Blanchard, Borle and Robbins returned.

[68] The revival has gone on to have a long run: later players in the role of Seymour have included Conrad Ricamora,[69] Skylar Astin, [70] Rob McClure,[71] Matt Doyle, [72] Corbin Bleu, Darren Criss,[21] Andrew Barth Feldman,[22] and Nicholas Christopher.

[23] Drew Gehling,[73] Bryce Pinkham and James Carpinello[27] have played Orin, and replacements for Mushnik have included Stuart Zagnit, Brad Oscar,[74] Reg Rogers[30] and Stephen DeRosa.

The third puppet sits on the floor and is large enough to hide a person inside, who moves the plant's mouth in sync with Audrey II's voice, which is supplied by an offstage actor on a microphone.

The 1986 film follows the plot of the musical closely but omits the songs "Ya Never Know" (rewritten as "Some Fun Now," a trio for Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon), "Mushnik and Son", "Now (It's Just the Gas)", "Sudden Changes," "Closed for Renovation" and "Call Back in the Morning"; the final cut ending also omits "Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed The Plants)".

An ending more faithful to the stage version was filmed, in which the plant eats Audrey and Seymour and then, having grown to massive size and reproduced, goes on a King Kong-style rampage through New York City.