The problem with Audrey

I saw Little Shop of Horrors again last night and again quite enjoyed it, but it made me realize how much one aspect of it bothers me. The aspect can be summed up with the line from "Suddenly Seymour": "He purified me."

Ugh. I understand that Audrey has low self-esteem. But the whole thing is just icky. When the urchins (and also, "urchins"? They're teenage girls! At least call them "hoodlums," like I did when I lived across the street from a group of hooligans who liked to hang out on the street) suggest that she date good-boy Seymour, Audrey's all, "I can't, I have a history." In fairness, one of the girls points out that everyone has a history. Audrey's, however, is a bit more tawdry than your average, though, and thus is not deserving of a nice guy like Seymour.

On the one hand, Seymour never, ever judges her for her past or her choice in men. When she reveals that she used to work in a seedy bar, he doesn't care. But on the other hand, Audrey is a completely passive character. She doesn't do an active thing in the entire play; things just happen to her.

So, I don't know. The word "purify" consistently makes me shudder, to the point that it's hard for me to deal with that song, despite how cute Christopher Kale Jones and Jenna Coker-Jones are in it.