Adam Abraham > Quotes

“One of the most potent combinations is comedy and horror. The pairing descends from the tradition of gallows humor, also known as sick humor or dark comedy. Typical example—a man awaits the guillotine and tells the executioner, "Just a trim, please. Dark comedy laughs at that which is not funny: death, disease, dismemberment, suicide, homicide, cannibal apocalypse. Ashman, so dedicated to the form of the musical, also "liked splatter movies," according to Nancy Parent. After Little Shop opened, he worked with her husband, Michael Serrian, on another potential Off-Broadway show, entitled Splatter! Ashman then realized that his new project was too close to Little Shop. Nevertheless, there is a structural similarity between musicals and the slasher film: both work toward a climax every five or ten minutes, either a musical number or the next decapitation.”
― Adam Abraham, Attack of the Monster Musical: A Cultural History of Little Shop of Horrors