at the Indiana Repertory Theatre

STUDY GUIDE FOR

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
BOOK AND LYRICS BY HOWARD ASHMAN, MUSIC BY ALAN MENKEN

PRESENTED BY GLICK PHILANTHROPIES

April 17 – May 19, 2024 | OneAmerica Mainstage
 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken

Content When shy, awkward Seymour Krelborn finds a strange and interesting
new plant that sings wicked R&B, he suddenly sees an unexpected road
Spotlight to fame, fortune, and the heart of his true love—as long as he’s willing to
pay a horrible price. This silly, scary sci-fi musical romp has devoured
the hearts of audiences around the world—and now it’s coming for you!
You’ll laugh. You’ll scream. You’ll give up gardening for good!
Little Shop of
Horrors contains: Recommended for students in grades 6-12
Contains mild profanity The performance will last approximately
and scenes of domestic 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.
violence, self-harm, drug
use, and murder. Weapons

INSIDE
on stage include a gun,
machete, and rat poison.

Synopsis....................................................................................................... 3
For more The Writers.................................................................................................. 4
information, contact: Dramaturgy................................................................................................. 5
Anna Barnett, New York City.............................................................................................. 6
Education Manager
Horticulture................................................................................................. 8
[email protected]
317.916.4841 Retro Pop Culture..................................................................................... 10
140 W. Washington Street People......................................................................................................... 12
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 Yiddish........................................................................................................ 15
irtlive.com
Abusive Relationships............................................................................. 16
Dental Glossary......................................................................................... 18
EDITOR Indiana Academic Standards................................................................. 19
Richard J Roberts, Discussion Questions............................................................................. 22
Resident Dramaturg
Writing Prompts..................................................................................... 23
STAFF Activities................................................................................................... 24
Devon Ginn, Resources.................................................................................................. 25
Director of Inclusion &
Community Partnerships Text Glossary............................................................................................ 26
Anna E. Barnett, Going to the Theatre............................................................................... 27
Education Manager Arrival & Parking...................................................................................... 28
Claire Wilcher,
Education Assistant
Lily Miller,
Education Intern

Original Artwork
by Kyle Ragsdale

DESIGN
Noelani Langille,
Multimedia & Design Manager
 THE STORY OF LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
A few days later, Seymour is interviewed on the
radio as a botanical genius—“Ya Never Know.”
Audrey dreams of a better life with a sweet little
guy like Seymour—“Somewhere That’s Green.”
Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.—“Dentist”—picks up Audrey
for another date, encouraging Seymour to leave
the shop and take his plant elsewhere. In a panic,
Mushnik offers Seymour a partnership—“Mushnik
and Son.” The plant, now grown larger, suddenly
begins talking to Seymour—“Feed Me (Git It)”—
demanding more human blood. As Seymour
objects to the idea of murder, he sees Orin slap
Audrey, and an idea is born.

Seymour arrives at Orin’s office with a gun, but Orin

easily disarms him and decides to remove one of
Seymour’s teeth—without anesthesia. Orin inhales
nitrous oxide—laughing gas—to enjoy the experience
more. But his special gas mask gets stuck, and he
begs Seymour to help him remove it—“Now (It’s Just
the Gas).” As Seymour debates whether or not he
should help, Orin dies of asphyxiation, and Seymour
feeds his body to the plant.

A few days later, Audrey confesses to Seymour that

she is relieved by Orin’s mysterious disappearance,
and they declare their love (“Suddenly Seymour”).
Little Shop of Horrors is a 1982 stage musical When Mushnik reveals his suspicions about Orin’s
adaptation of the 1960 cult film classic The death, the now-giant plant offers a solution—
Little Shop of Horrors, produced and directed “Suppertime”—and Seymour lures Mushnik into its
by Roger Corman. The musical begins with a jaws. Seymour is flooded with further opportunities
Prologue sung by Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon, for success—“The Meek Shall Inherit”—but he faces
a trio that functions as a kind of Greek Chorus a moral dilemma: will he commit more murders to
throughout the play, commenting on the action. gain fame and fortune, or will he stop the killings,
go back to his “tawdry and impoverished” life, and
The story is set in and around Mushnik’s Skid risk losing Audrey’s love?
Row Florists in a down-and-out neighborhood
of New York City. Mushnik yells at Seymour
as Audrey, another employee, arrives late
with a black eye. The entire cast lament their
impoverished lives—“Downtown (Skid Row).”
Mushnik decides to close the shop for good, but
Seymour shows him the strange and interesting
new plant he has been cultivating. He places
it in the window, and it draws the attention of
a big-spending customer. Alone in the shop,
Seymour begs the wilting plant to “Grow for Me,”
discovering that what it really wants is blood.

Original artwork by Kyle Ragsdale. 3

 BOOK & LYRICS BY HOWARD ASHMAN
Howard Ashman was born and raised in
Baltimore, where he played Peter Pan with
the Children’s Theater Association. He did his
undergraduate work at Boston University and
Goddard College before earning a Master of
Fine Arts at Indiana University in Bloomington.
He moved to New York City in 1974, writing
several plays and becoming the artistic director
of the WPA Theatre in 1977. After meeting
composer Alan Menken at the BMI Workshop,
the two developed a musical version of Kurt
Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Their
next collaboration, Little Shop of Horrors, won
the 1982 New York drama Critics’ Circle Award
for Best Musical and ran for five years, becoming
the third-longest-running musical and the
highest grossing production in Off-Broadway
history. With Marvin Hamlisch, Ashman wrote
the book and lyrics for the short-lived 1986
Broadway musical Smile. After briefly writing
songs for Sesame Street, Ashman and Menken
began working for Disney. Together they wrote
The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast
(1991), and three songs for Aladdin (1992),
winning two Golden Globes, two Grammys, and
two Oscars for Best Song. The latter two films
were released after Ashman’s 1991 death at the
age of 40 from AIDS.

MUSIC BY ALAN MENKEN

Alan Menken was born and raised in Manhattan. He began writing music at age nine. After graduating
from New York University, he worked as a dance accompanist, a musical director for club acts, a jingle
writer, an arranger, and a vocal coach before collaborating with Howard Ashman on Little Shop of
Horrors. Menken has won four Best Song Oscars and four Best Score Oscars: two each for both The
Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast with Ashman, two for Aladdin with lyricist Tim Rice, and two
for Pocahontas (1995) with lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Other film work includes Newsies (1992), The
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010). Menken’s
other stage works include A Christmas Carol (1994), King David (1997), and Sister Act (2009). In
addition to his eight Oscars, Menken has won an Emmy, 11 Grammys, and a Tony, making him one of only
19 people with an EGOT.

4 Ashman & Menken

 GREEK TRAGEDY AS MUSICAL COMEDY
BY RICHARD J ROBERTS, RESIDENT DRAMATURG

Fast-forward to 1982, when playwright-lyricist (and

Indiana University alumni) Howard Ashman and
composer Alan Menken were looking for a follow-
up to their less-than-successful Off-Broadway
musicalization of Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You,
Mr. Rosewater. Directed by Ashman, Little Shop of
Horrors—without the The—premiered at the WPA
Theatre and went on to a five-year run, making it
the third-longest-running musical and the largest-
grossing Off-Broadway production in history. In 1986,
Frank Oz (one of the original Muppet puppeteers
and Yoda in the Star Wars franchise) directed a film
version with Ellen Greene (the original Audrey), Rick
Moranis, and Steve Martin.
Like many musicals, Little Shop of Horrors is derived
from less-than-profound source material. But deep
down, it is another version of the Faust legend,
adapted over the centuries by Marlowe, Goethe,
Gounod, Berlioz, and countless others, as well as the
inspiration for Stephen Vincent Benét’s “The Devil
and Daniel Webster,” Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of
Dorian Gray, the fifties musical Damn Yankees, and
Queen’s epic hit “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It tells a
timeless tale of fatal risk born from unrequited love
and a deep yearning for something better.
Howard Ashman’s book is one of the most
meticulously structured in all of musical theatre, with
every story element carefully crafted for its maximum
potential. Alan Menken has described his music as
Little Shop of Horrors started life as a cheap “the dark side of Grease, but there are also elements
afterthought to A Bucket of Blood, a 1959 winking at the late fifties and early sixties—beach
comedy horror film produced and directed on a blanket horror movies with people dancing on the
shoestring budget by “the King of Cult,” Roger beach while some monster comes in from the water
Corman. When he discovered that he had to terrorize them—as well as Phil Spector rock, which
access to the sets from that film for two more is apocalyptic in tone…. It’s a cocktail of really dark
days, Corman quickly worked with screenwriter themes and fun spoof elements.”
Charles B. Griffith to develop a script that
could use that leftover scenery. Interiors for Little Shop of Horrors may be a brilliant parody and a
The Little Shop of Horrors were shot over two hilarious comedy, but it is also a Greek tragedy, with
days and a night; exteriors were shot over the a flawed hero who somehow thinks he can harness
next two weekends. The film’s score was the a supernatural force. Instead, he—and the woman he
same music used for A Bucket of Blood. The loves—are destroyed by the monster he has wrought.
entire budget was under $30,000. A young There’s even a Greek Chorus—Crystal, Ronnette, and
unknown Jack Nicholson had a small role as a Chiffon, named after popular sixties girl groups—who
dental patient, Wilbur Force. When the movie send us home with the sobering moral of the tale:
was released in 1960, Corman had so little faith “Don’t Feed the Plants.”
in its commercial potential that he neglected to
copyright it.

Original Seymour and Audrey, Lee Wilkoff and Ellen Greene, sing “Suddenly Seymour” 5
(Howard Ashman Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington DC.)
 NEW YORK CITY
The play takes place in Skid Row, New York City:
buildings, red light districts, and drug dens, as
well as other features of urban blight. In New
York City, from the 1940s though the 1970s,
Skid Row meant the Bowery, the neighborhood
around Bowery Street, which runs from Chatham
Square to Cooper Square on the Lower East
Side of Manhattan. The Bowery is located north
of Chinatown, west of the Lower East Side and
the East Village, and east of Little Italy and NoHo.

THE RITZ | The Ritz-Carlton Hotel was located

at 46th Street and Madison Avenue in Midtown
Manhattan from 1911 to 1951. It was considered the
ultimate in luxury, service, and fine dining. Today
the Ritz-Carlton is located on Central Park South.

DOWNTOWN | In Manhattan, Downtown refers to

everything below (south of) 14th Street. This area
includes the East Village, the Lower East Side,
the Bowery, Chinatown, Little Italy, Nolita, the
Financial District, the World Trade Center, Battery
Park, Tribeca, SoHo, Greenwich Village, the West
Village, and the Meatpacking District.
LEVITTTOWN is the name of several
large suburban housing developments created
in the United States by Levitt & Sons, including
one on Long Island and one in New Jersey. Built
after World War II for returning veterans and their
new families, the communities offered attractive
alternatives to cramped central city locations and
apartments. Production was modeled on assembly
lines; a house could be built in one day. Although
the houses were, by today’s standards, bare bones
(750 square feet, with no basement or porch) they
included white picket fences, green lawns, and
SKID ROW is a North American term applied to modern appliances, all for $7,900 (the equivalent
an impoverished urban area whose inhabitants of about $100,000 today). With the G.I. Bill and
are mostly poor people “on the skids.” The federal housing subsidies, many veterans were
term originally referred to the path along able to buy a new house for around $400 (the
which timber workers skidded logs, and its equivalent of about $5000 today). But Levittowns
current sense appears to have originated in were restricted communities: until the mid-1950s,
the Pacific Northwest, in areas such as Pioneer only white people were allowed to live there.
Square in Seattle; Chinatown in Portland, Oregon; While in their early years Levittowns were seen
and Downtown Eastside in Vancouver. Skid as a housing innovations, eventually they came to
rows are marked by high vagrancy, dilapidated be known for their racial discrimination and their
bland architectural sameness.

6
STOOP | A Dutch word used mostly used in the Northeast for a short staircase leading to the entrance
of an apartment building or other building.
TOKEN | Prior to the development of the magnetic stripe MetroCard, the New York City Transit
Authority used subway tokens from 1953 to 2003. Token sizes and the shapes of cut-outs changed
frequently over the years. During the 1960s, subway fares increased from 15 to 20 cents (the equivalent
of $1.50 to $2.00 today).

UPTOWN | In Manhattan, Uptown generally refers to everything above (north of) 59th Street, which is the
southern border of Central Park. This includes the most expensive residential areas in the city, the Upper
East Side and the Upper West Side, as well as Harlem and Washington Heights. But in the context of this
play, from the viewpoint of those who live on Skid Row, Uptown would mean any area to their north.

WHOLESALE FLOWER DISTRICT | Since the 1940s, the Flower District in Manhattan has been centered
around West 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.

7
 THE FLOWER SHOP
Much of the play is set in Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists, and several horticultural terms are used:

BREED … GENUS | Taxonomy is the scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of
organisms based on shared characteristics. The hierarchy of biological classification, from broadest
category to narrowest, is: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. In this context, the word
breed refers to species.

A plant CUTTING is a piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for

vegetative propagation—growing new plants. A piece of the leaf of
the source plant is placed in moist soil. If the conditions are suitable,
the plant piece will begin to develop roots and grow as a new plant
independent of the parent.

The Venus FLYTRAP is

a carnivorous plant native
to the wetlands of the
Carolinas. It catches its
prey—chiefly insects and
spiders—with a jaw-like
clamping structure in
each of the plant’s leaves;
when an insect makes
contact with the open
leaves, vibrations from
the prey’s movements
trigger the “jaws” to snap
shut, forming a “stomach”
FTD today known as Florists’ and triggering the release
Transworld Delivery, is of enzymes that digest
a floral wire service, retailer, the prey.
and wholesaler. FTD was
founded as Florists’ Telegraph
POTASH is salt that contains potassium in water-soluble form. It is
Delivery in 1910, with florists
used as plant fertilizer. The name derives from pot ash, plant ashes
agreeing to serve each other’s
or wood ashes soaked in water in a pot, which was the primary
out-of-town customers
means of manufacturing potash before the Industrial Era. The
by exchanging orders
word potassium is derived from potash.
via telegraph.

PINCHING | When Seymour sings, “I’ve pinched you back

hard like I’m s’posed to,” he is referring to deadheading, or
pinching. If dead flowers remain on a plant, they will start to
produce seeds, and the plant will stop flowering. When you
pinch the dead flowers off a plant, you stimulate the plant
to branch and send up multiple stems that will bloom at the
same time.

8
 MUSHNIK’S FLOWERS
These are some of the flowers that can be found at Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists:

African violets anemones baby-blue-eyes camelias

carnations chrysanthemums daisies delphiniums

forget-me-nots forsythia fleur-de-lis geraniums

gladiolas hepaticas japonica magnolias

nasturtiums peonies petunias roses

wisteria wolfsbane zinnias

9
 OLD SCHOOL
Set in the 1960s, the play contains a number of references to retro pop culture:

BETTY CROCKER is a fictional

character used in advertising
campaigns for food and recipes.
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS CRYSTAL, RONNETE, &
She was originally created by
magazine was first published in CHIFFON | The Crystals (“Da
the Washburn-Crosby Company in
1922, focusing on homes, cooking, Doo Ron Ron”), the Ronettes
1921 as a way to give personalized
gardening, crafts, decorating, and (“Be My Baby”), and the Chiffons
responses to consumer product
entertaining. Today it is the fourth (“One Fine Day”) were popular
questions. Beginning in 1936,
most widely circulated magazine girl groups in the 1960s.
portraits of Betty Crocker
in the United States.
appeared on print ads, product
packaging, and cookbooks. Today
the red spoon Betty Crocker logo
appears on Gold Medal flour,
Bisquick, cake-mix packages, and
other General Mills products.

HOWDY DOODY was an

HOWARD JOHNSON’S was the
FATHER KNOWS BEST was a TV American children’s television
largest restaurant chain in the
sitcom starring Robert Young program with circus and Western
United States during the sixties and
and Jane Wyatt that ran from 1954 frontier themes broadcast from
seventies, with more than 1,000
to 1960. It followed the lives of the 1947 to 1960. The show’s host
locations. There were a number
Andersons, a middle-class family was Buffalo Bob Smith, and
scattered throughout Manhattan,
living in the town of Springfield, Howdy Doody and various other
including three in Times Square.
somewhere in the Midwest. characters were marionettes.
The rise of fast food eroded the
A live audience of around 40
company’s customer base, however,
children was a prominent feature.
and the last Howard Johnson’s
The show was a pioneer of
restaurant closed in 2022. There are
children’s programming and
still 285 Howard Johnson’s hotels.
tie-in merchandising.
10
HULA HOOPS | Children and adults have been twirling hoops around their waists, wrists, and necks since
at least 500 BCE. The term hula hoop seems to have originated in Australia in the 1950s. The Wham-O toy
company began marketing plastic hula-hoops in California in 1958, and the craze very quickly swept the
nation and the world.

“THE LEADER OF THE PACK” by George “Shadow” Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich was a number
one pop hit in 1964 for the girl group the Shangri-Las. The song is about a teenage girl who falls in love
with the leader of a motorcycle gang, only to see him die in a motorcycle crash.

PINE-SOL is used to clean grease and heavy soil stains. From its creation in 1929 to 2016 it contained pine
oil, the source of its distinctive pine scent.

SOMINEX has been an over-the-counter sleeping pill since the 1950s.

VITALIS | Appearing on the market just before World War II, Vitalis Hair Tonic was advertised as a light-
hold hair styling product for men, an alternative to heavy, greasy pomades. It is still sold today.

11
 HISTORY & LITERATURE
The play contains several references to historical and literary people and events:

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER (c. 1864–1943) was an agricultural

scientist and inventor, one of the most prominent African American
scientists of the early 20th century. While a professor at Tuskegee
Institute, he developed techniques to improve soils depleted by
repeated plantings of cotton. He encouraged poor farmers to grow
other crops, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, as a source of
their own food and to improve their quality of life. In an era of
high racial polarization, his fame reached far beyond the Black
community, and he was widely recognized and praised for his many
achievements and talents.

THE MARQUIS DE SADE (1740–1814) was a French writer, libertine, and political activist. The word sadism
derives from his fictional characters who take pleasure in inflicting pain on others.

EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809–1849) is best known for his tales of

mystery and the macabre such as “The Black Cat,” “The Pit and
the Pendulum,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Masque of the Red
Death,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” A central figure
of Romanticism and Gothic fiction, he was one of the earliest
practitioners of the short story, and with “The Murders in the Rue
Morgue” (1841) he is considered the inventor of the detective
fiction genre.

STURM AND DRANG | Sturm und Drang (German: storm and stress) was a proto-Romantic movement
in German literature and music from the late 1760s into the early 1780s. Individual subjectivity and
extremes of emotion were given free expression in reaction to the constraints of rationalism imposed
by the Age of Enlightenment. The term sturm and drang is still used today to describe a state of violent
disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions, for example).

KING TUT | Tutankhamun (c.$1341–c.$1323 BCE) was a pharaoh of

ancient Egypt. In 1923, the discovery of his tomb filled with
more than 5000 artifacts, many of them solid gold, was a
worldwide sensation, and he came to be called King Tut. In 1962
the first exhibition of these artifacts outside Egypt caused a
King Tut revival.

12
 RICH & FAMOUS
A number of celebrities from the fifties and sixties are mentioned in the play:

LUCILLE BALL (1911–

1989) was the star of
several very popular JAMES DEAN (1931–1955) DONNA REED (1921– WOLFMAN JACK (1938-
TV sitcoms in which was born and raised in 1986) acted in more 1995) was a famous disc
she played a character Indiana. He is considered than 40 Hollywood jockey with a distinctive,
named Lucy: I Love Lucy one of the great stars films, including It’s a gravelly voice. In 1963
(1951-1957), The Lucy of Hollywood’s Golden Wonderful Life (1946) he began broadcasting
Show (1962-1968), and Age, despite starring in and From Here to from XERF-AM in
Here’s Lucy (1968-1974). only three films: Rebel Eternity (1953—Oscar Ciudad Acuña, Mexico,
without a Cause and winner for Best whose high-powered
East of Eden (both 1955) Supporting Actress). On border blaster signal
and Giant (1956). After television in The Donna broadcast at 150,000
dying in a car crash at Reed Show (1958–1966), watts, three times the
the age of 24, he became she epitomized the U.S. limit. Wolfman Jack
the only actor to receive wholesome yet beautiful could be heard all over
two posthumous Best wife and mother. North America, and at
Actor Oscar nominations. night as far away as
Dean’s film roles, fashion, Europe and the Soviet
and manners became Union, making him very
celebrated in popular famous very quickly.
ROGER CORMAN (born culture and influenced the
1926) was the producer development of rock and
and director of the roll in the 1950s and 1960s.
original 1960 film The
Little Shop of Horrors.
In his long career he has
directed 55 films and
produced 385. In addition
to his cult classics A ELIZABETH TAYLOR (1932–
Bucket of Blood (1959) 2011) was a child actress in
and The Little Shop of the 1940s (National Velvet,
Horrors (1960), he is 1944) and was one of the most
perhaps most famous popular and beautiful stars
for a series of films he of classic Hollywood cinema in
produced and directed JACK PAAR (1918– the 1950s (Giant, 1956; Cat
based on Edgar Allan 2004) was a talk show on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958). She
Poe stories and starring host, writer, radio and became the world’s highest
Vincent Price, including television comedian, and paid movie star in the 1960s
House of Usher (1960), film actor. He was the (Cleopatra, 1963; Who’s Afraid
The Pit and the Pendulum very popular host of of Virginia Woolf?, 1966),
(1961), The Raven (1963), The Tonight Show from remaining a well-known public
and The Masque of the 1957 to 1962. figure for the rest of her life.
Red Death (1964). She was married eight times to
seven men. 13
 “THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT”
“The Meek Shall Inherit” is a song in Act 2 of Little Shop of Horrors. It takes its title from Christ’s
Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, the third of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth.”—Matthew 5:5. The three characters who tempt Seymour during this scene
are all based on real people:

CLARE BOOTH LUCE (1903– Skip Snip is an allusion to BIFF LIFF

1987) was a writer, managing (1919-2015). He was a Broadway
editor of Vanity Fair, U.S. stage manager (Gentlemen Prefer
Congresswoman, Ambassador Blondes; My Fair Lady; Hello, Dolly!)
to Italy, and well-known public and then became an associate
LESTER BERNSTEIN (1920-
figure. She is best known for producer for David Merrick (Marat/
2014) was a theatre columnist
her hit 1936 play, The Women Sade; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
for the New York Times,
(basis of the 1939 film), but her Are Dead; Promises, Promises). In
a film critic and foreign
writings extended to fiction, 1973 he joined the William Morris
correspondent for Time
journalism, and war reportage as Agency as head of its theatre
magazine, and editor in chief
well. She was married to Henry department. Among his clients were
of Newsweek magazine. As an
Luce, publisher and editor-in- Jane Alexander, Julie Andrews, Ellen
NBC vice president from 1960
chief of Time, Life, Fortune, and Burstyn, Carol Channing, Agnes
to 1963, he helped organize
Sports Illustrated. The Luces are de Mille, Jerry Herman, Angela
the campaign debates of
considered one of the great power Lansbury, Chita Rivera, and the
John F. Kennedy and Richard
couples of American history. Eugene O’Neill estate.
M. Nixon, the first televised
presidential debates.
LIFE was an American THE WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY
magazine published weekly was a Hollywood-based talent
NBC had many hit shows in the
from 1883 to 1972. During its agency. From 1899 to 2009, it
1960s, including Bewitched,
golden age in the forties, fifties, represented some of the best-
Star Trek, The Addams Family,
and sixties, Life was a wide- known entertainers in film,
The Carol Burnett Show, The
ranging weekly general-interest television, and music. In the 1950s,
Dick Van Dyke Show, The Wild
magazine known for the quality its clients included Elvis Presley and
Wild West, Batman, The Tonight
of its photography, and was one Marilyn Monroe; in the 1960s, the
Show Starring Johnny Carson,
of the nation’s most popular Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, and
and The Ed Sullivan Show.
magazines, regularly reaching the Beach Boys. Today the agency
one-quarter of the population. is known as Endeavor.
14
 YIDDISH
Yiddish is a language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in ninth century
Central Europe, based on German fused with elements taken from Hebrew and Aramaic. Mr.
Mushnik uses a number of Yiddish words and phrases in the play:

ARON G’VORN G’VOXEN, AKEBEBBLE, MIT

TZIBELEH | As the play’s stage directions note, this
text is “something that resembles Yiddish,” although
“mit tzibeleh” is actual Yiddish for “with onions.”

BOYCHIK | A term of endearment for a boy or

young man. Derived by combining the English word
boy with the Russian word for boy, malchik.

BUBBELAH | Little doll. The term is often used as a

term of endearment like sweetie or darling.

GOTT IN HIMMEL | God in Heaven.

KAPUT | Finished, worn out, dead.

KLUTZ | A clumsy, awkward, or foolish person.

MRS. SHIVA | Sitting shiva is the week-long

mourning period in Judaism for first-degree
relatives, lasting for seven days after the burial.
After the initial period of despair and lamentation
upon a death, shiva allows for a time when
individuals can discuss their loss and accept the
comfort of others.

NOGOODNIK | A worthless or idle person; a bum.

The -nik suffix is thought to derive from Russian.

MENSCH | A good person, a stand-up guy.

MISHEGOSS | A crazy, mixed up, insane situation.

PUTZ | An insignificant, incompetent person; a loser.

SCHMENDRIK’S | Schmendrik is a Yiddish term for a

stupid person, a pathetic sad sack. Its origin is the name
of a clueless mama’s boy in the 1877 comedy Schmendrik
or The Comical Wedding by Abraham Goldfaden.

SHTICK | Shtick originally meant a play or skit, evolving

to mean a contrived bit of comic business or a clichéd
gimmick. In common usage, shtick has also come to
mean any talent, style, habit, or other eccentricity for
which a person is particularly well known.

15
 ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Abuse means treating someone with violence, disrespect, cruelty, harm, or force. When someone treats
their partner in any of these ways, it’s called an abusive relationship. Abuse in a relationship can be
physical, sexual, or emotional. Or it could be all of these.
An abusive partner might use mean words, threats, or shaming. They might act with jealousy or
controlling behavior, or with physical or sexual violence. These things can start small and build over time.
If you think you’re in an abusive relationship, it’s time to get help. There are people to help you get to a
safe situation. There are people to help you sort out all the emotions of partner abuse.

AM I IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP?
Here are some warning signs. You might be in an abusive relationship if someone:
• harms you physically in any way. This includes hitting, pushing, shaking, or kicking
• threatens to harm you if you leave the relationship
• threatens to harm themselves if you leave the relationship
• forces you, or tries to force you, into any type of sexual act that you don’t want
• tries to control parts of your life, like how you dress, who you hang out with, and what you say
• often shames you or makes you feel unworthy
• twists the truth to make you feel you are to blame for their actions
• demands to know where you are at all times
• often acts jealous or angry when you want to spend time with your friends
• makes mean or rude comments on social media
• demands or asks for your sign-in information for your social media accounts

Get help from a therapist or someone at a helpline if you feel unsure of whether you’re in an abusive relationship.

HOW CAN I GET OUT OF AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP?

• Know that you have the right to be safe. You have the right to be treated with respect. Knowing
this is the first step.
• Confide in someone you know. Tell a parent, trusted adult, health provider, or friend what you’re
going through so they can help. Many adults know how to help in this situation. An adult might be
able to get you to safety faster than a friend can.
• Get help and support from experts. Going through abuse can leave you feeling confused, scared,
or exhausted. Find a therapist to help you get your emotional strength back. They can help you
sort through the many emotions you might be dealing with.
• Get advice from someone at a helpline too. Learn more about how to get out of an abusive
relationship safely. The helpline advisors also can talk to you about other things that might help
you move forward.

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 SCAN TO READ
DIGITAL NEMOURS
ARTICLE

IF YOU NEED HELP SCAN TO FIND LOVE IS RESPECT NATIONAL DOMESTIC GLOBAL NO MORE
A THERAPIST RESOURCE VIOLENCE RESOURCE DIRECTORY
RIGHT AWAY:
If you have been physically hurt, get
medical care or call 911. Helplines
can give advice on how to get out of
an abusive relationship safely:

HOTLINE: HOTLINE:
1-866-331-9474 1-800-799-7233

HOW CAN I DEAL WITH THE EMOTIONS I HAVE?

• Learn how partner abuse affects people. Partner abuse can cause harm you can see — things like
bruises, sprains, or marks. But it also can cause deep emotional hurt that you can’t see. Deep
emotional stress that makes you feel unsafe is called trauma.
• Notice how relationship abuse has affected you. Abuse by a partner can leave you feeling shaken
or scared. You might feel angry, sad, anxious, or depressed because of what you’ve been through.
It’s natural to have many different emotions after going through abuse. Sometimes the deep stress
lasts even after the abuse has ended. Notice what it’s been like for you.
• Get help from a trauma therapist. There is therapy to help people deal with this deep stress. It
is called trauma therapy. It is a type of talk therapy that counselors and therapists use. It helps
people who have been through trauma — like abuse. Find a therapist to work with.
• Learn to cope, and share your story. Trauma therapy can help you feel safe and supported. In
therapy, you can learn coping skills and have support. This helps you face difficult memories, tell
your story, and find healing. Find the words to talk about what you’ve been through.
• Move forward toward healthier relationships. Sharing your story with a trauma therapist can ease
the emotional hurt of partner abuse. It also can help you find your inner strength and move toward
healthy relationships that add to your wellbeing.
—article courtesy of Nemours KidsHealth for Teens

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 SAY “AAAHHH”
In the play, Audrey’s abusive boyfriend is Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.—Doctor of Dental Surgery.
(A scrivello, by the way, is a small elephant tusk of the type formerly used to make billiard balls.)
The play features several dentistry terms:

A dental ABSCESS is a localized collection

of pus associated with a tooth. The origin might be a
bacterial infection that has accumulated in the soft,
often dead, pulp of the tooth. This can be caused
by tooth decay, broken teeth, or extensive periodontal
disease (or combinations of these factors). Symptoms
include pain and/or swelling.

CAVITIES are the result of tooth enamel being

dissolved by acid produced by bacteria as it breaks
down food debris or sugar on the tooth surface.
Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with
eating. Complications may include inflammation
of the tissue around the tooth, tooth loss, and
infection or abscess formation.

An IMPACTED tooth is one that fails to erupt

through the gums. Teeth may be impacted
because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone,
excessive soft tissue, or a genetic abnormality. Some
dentists believe that impacted teeth should be
removed; but removal of asymptomatic, pathology- Dental PLAQUE is a biofilm of microorganisms
free impacted teeth is not a medical consensus. (mostly bacteria, but also fungi) that is
commonly found on or between teeth and/
NOVOCAIN is a trade name for procaine, a local
or just below the gumline. Build-up of dental
anesthetic. (A local anesthetic is a medication that
plaque can give rise to tooth decay (cavities) and
causes absence of all sensation [including pain] in a
periodontal problems such as gingivitis. Plaque
specific body part without loss of consciousness, as
control and removal can be achieved with correct
opposed to a general anesthetic, which eliminates
daily or twice-daily tooth brushing and the use of
all sensation in the entire body and causes
dental floss.
unconsciousness.) Novocain is often used in dental
procedures to numb the area around a tooth. A WISDOM TOOTH is the rear molar on each side
of both the upper and lower jaw in the mouth.
NITROUS OXIDE is a colorless non-flammable
The term wisdom tooth developed because, while
gas with a slightly sweet scent and taste. It has
the rest of the teeth have usually emerged by the
significant medical uses, especially in surgery
age of 13, the rear molars emerge somewhere
and dentistry, for its anesthetic and pain-reducing
between 17 and 20, at an age when people have
effects. The colloquial names “laughing gas” or
theoretically acquired more wisdom.
“giggle gas” come from the euphoria it gives when
inhaled, a property that has led to its recreational use.

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