The Following Information is non-Canon. Demos and deleted songs are not considered canon to the Little Shop of Horrors musical, as they were not included in the final version of the musical, instead think of them as part of the history of making LSOH.
A Little Dental Music is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken during the development of the 1982 stage musical Little Shop of Horrors.
As written in various early drafts of the script, the song was intended to be sung by Crystal and Ronnette -- The character of Chiffon had not yet been written -- as they sit in Orin's waiting room, waiting for dental work. Partway through the song, Seymour walks in and joins them on the bench, the final line sung directly to him.
The song, along with the scene itself, was cut. A such, Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon are no longer present during this section of the show.
A demo of the song, sung by Menken, is present on the 2003 Broadway cast recording. According to Menken, he allowed the song to be restored to the musical for his daughter's high-school production.
Lyrics
| Crystal and Ronnette | Orin |
|---|---|
| A little dental music, | |
| Strings a-strumming, | |
| Flutes a-trilling. | |
| Numbing minds and calming nerves, | |
| While steps away, the beast is drilling. | |
| Music in the lobby | |
| Helps the patients to ignore | |
| The fact that writhing agony | |
| Waits right behind the door. | |
| Kostelanetz, Hank Mancini, | |
| Gordon Jenkins, Ferrante and Teicher. | |
| Lo, the Mormon Tabernacle sings! | |
| The sounds of pain are muted | |
| By a thousand Living Strings. | |
| A little dental music, | |
| Your appointment's for eleven. | |
| But you'll wait in here 'till noon | |
| To soothing strains of Andre Previn. | |
| Next it's Mantovani, | |
| After him you couldn't care. | |
| You're in for brutal torture | |
| When it's your turn. | |
| When it's your turn. | |
| (Spoken) Next. | |
| It's your turn, in the chair. |
Recordings
A Little Dental Music
Alan Menken's demo, as presented on the 2003 Broadway cast recording. The track also features the voice of Howard Ashman as Orin.
