Little Shop Of Horrors with Jonathan Groff

[+ WilliamM]

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OFF BROADWAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan has appeared off-Broadway a number of times before

 

 

OFF BROADWAY 11:22 A.M.

 

Vulture

Feed Me, Jonathan Groff! We’re Getting an Off Broadway Little Shop of Horrors Revival

By Jackson McHenry@McHenryJD

 

From Mindhunter to, uh, plant feeder, the very handsome Jonathan Groff will be playing the nebbishy Seymour in a new Off Broadway revival of the classic Howard Ashman and Alan Menken musical Little Shop of Horrors. Tammy Blanchard will play Audrey (the role originated by Ellen Greene), while Tony winner Christian Borle will play Orin the sadistic dentist. Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Burn This) is directing the revival, which originally premiered Off Broadway in 1982.

 

Little Shop has since had a 2003 Broadway production and a 2015 Encores! production with Greene and Jake Gyllenhaal, but this will be its first Off Broadway revival. The production will run at the Westside Theatre, with performances starting September 17 this year and opening night set for October 1

[Doe Be Doe]

Yes! I can’t wait to see him!

[bostonman]

This is wonderful casting - I'm even more excited for Borle as Orin Scrivello, DDS.

 

I just saw a fantastic production of this show on Cape Cod, with Andrew Keenan Bolger as Seymour. Perhaps they could tap him as a replacement if the show runs long enough. (Probably not, but "ya never know" lol.)

 

Another fun fact about the show - when I was just out of college in Boston, in the mid-1980's,there was a sit-down production (based on the off-Broadway production) at the Charles Playhouse, with a then unknown Carolee Carmello as Audrey. She was great - and I wasn't surprised when she started turning up in Broadway productions in the years following. (She's still not a household name, but theatre people will certainly know her.)

[+ ProGay]

Howard Ashman was only 31 years old when he wrote "Little Shop of Horrors" with Alan Menken. Complications from AIDS ended his life nine years later.

 

Disney classics "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" include his work.

[edjames]

Got my seat!

An intimate theater just off 9th Ave.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

LSOH is a great show. It's just got so much going for it.

 

Groff, eh? I think he's too cute for Seymour and not nearly nebbish enough. We'll see. He's very talented.

 

Tammy Blanchard is a great actress and can sing just about anything. I loved her in the Radcliffe revival of How To Succeed and think she could do this justice if she's able to create a wholly different Audrey than Greene.

 

For me, I still want to see Alice Ripley do Audrey, which she was cast for and fired from (along with almost everyone in the show) while they were previewing in Coconut Grove. The boots of her singing from the show are awesome.

 

I'm hoping they can snag Titus Burgess for Audrey II. Unless they do a version of what Regent's Park did last year, I'd like to see what Titus's voice could do with the music.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Benjamin_Nicholas

[bostonman]

Groff, eh? I think he's too cute for Seymour and not nearly nebbish enough. We'll see. He's very talented.

 

One of the things I loved about the Cape Playhouse production I just saw is that neither Andrew Keenan-Bolger nor the woman playing Audrey (Lauren Zakren) went too broad in caricature. He wasn't nearly as "nebbish-y" as I've sometimes seen, but just enough so that the role made sense. And she didn't overplay the accent or go with the choice to be "dumb." (In fact, I was starting to tear up as much as laugh during her "Somewhere That's Green," because her reach seemed so genuine, not just silly. Just the way it should be.)

 

So hopefully Groff will find a similar balance. As much as the show is a hysterical spoof, I like when the main characters are also very believable.

 

But Benjamin - I agree - it's a wonderful show, and it has really held up well over time. We can quibble about how the Audrey/Orin relationship plays in our time, but even then, Seymour finds a unique way to put an end to that, lol, and we can still feel that Audrey willingly moves on. But oh, the material is so well-written. And yes, the loss of Howard Ashman is really tragic. Think of all the things he could have written.

[+ ProGay]

And yes, the loss of Howard Ashman is really tragic. Think of all the things he could have written.

 

+1

 

For me, I still want to see Alice Ripley do Audrey

 

Alice Ripley and Seth Rudetsky performing "Suddenly Seymour" at Idina Menzel’s 6th annual karaoke benefit for A BroaderWay on May 21, 2018 at the PlayStation Theater in New York City:

 

[+ ProGay]

Ellen Greene, the original "Audrey" in 1983:

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Ellen Greene, the original Audrey, in 2015... Still giving a fully-realized character in one single song.

 

You could literally watch this not knowing a thing about the show and understand her completely.

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Talk about stealing someone's thunder... This CA production just swooped in and took the spotlight off the off-Broadway cast.

 

Interesting casting: Exactly why it's eclipsed the NY version (well, so far).

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mj-rodriguez-amber-riley-george-salazar-tackle-little-shop-horrors-1225156

[bostonman]

This is hardly the first time the plant voice has been female. It was done expertly in the production I just saw on the Cape.

 

There's no reason why both productions (and more) can't be successful. There will also be a month-long production at the Lyric Stage Company in Boston this September.

 

After all, the "plan" at the end of the show is to have Audrey II's in every city, lol.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

After all, the "plan" at the end of the show is to have Audrey II's in every city, lol.

 

BIGGER THAN HULA-HOOPS?!?!

[bostonman]

BIGGER THAN HULA-HOOPS?!?!

 

MUCH BIGGER!!!

[+ nycman]

Ellen Greene, the original Audrey, in 2015... Still giving a fully-realized character in one single song.

 

You could literally watch this not knowing a thing about the show and understand her completely.

 

Thank you for sharing that amazing performance.

 

I’d kill to see her perform the song in person. She’s brilliant.

 

“I tried to be on time but....”

 

“Don’t tell me....you got tied up?”

 

“No...just handcuffed a little”

 

Slayed me!

[+ ProGay]

From Howard Ashman:

 

“Little Shop of Horrors satirizes many things: science fiction, ‘B’ movies, musical comedy itself, and the the Faust legend. There will, therefore, be a temptation to play it for camp and low-comedy. This is a great and potentially fatal mistake. The script keeps its tongue firmly in cheek, so the actors should not. Instead, they should play with simplicity, honesty, and sweetness--even when events are at their most outlandish. The show’s individual “style” will evolve naturally from the words themselves and an approach to acting and singing them that is almost child-like in its sincerity and intensity. By way of example, Audrey poses like Fay Wray from time to time. But she does this because she’s in genuine fear and happens to see the world as her private ‘B’ movie--not because she’s “commenting” to the audience on the the silliness of her situation. Having directed the original New York production of Little Shop myself, and subsequently having seen it in many versions and even many languages, I can vouch for the fact that when Little Shop is at its most honest, it is also at its funniest and most enjoyable.”

 

An early television commercial:

 

[bostonman]

From Howard Ashman:

 

“Little Shop of Horrors satirizes many things: science fiction, ‘B’ movies, musical comedy itself, and the the Faust legend. There will, therefore, be a temptation to play it for camp and low-comedy. This is a great and potentially fatal mistake. The script keeps its tongue firmly in cheek, so the actors should not. Instead, they should play with simplicity, honesty, and sweetness--even when events are at their most outlandish. The show’s individual “style” will evolve naturally from the words themselves and an approach to acting and singing them that is almost child-like in its sincerity and intensity. By way of example, Audrey poses like Fay Wray from time to time. But she does this because she’s in genuine fear and happens to see the world as her private ‘B’ movie--not because she’s “commenting” to the audience on the the silliness of her situation. Having directed the original New York production of Little Shop myself, and subsequently having seen it in many versions and even many languages, I can vouch for the fact that when Little Shop is at its most honest, it is also at its funniest and most enjoyable.”

 

Off-topic but not really -- a few seasons ago, I did a college production of Urinetown, and we were lucky to be able to have skype sessions with two of the original cast members. And we also had a wonderful visit from the playwright. ALL THREE OF THEM stressed that the actors should not be trying to "play the comedy" - in fact, to play the show as seriously as possible, and treat the story as one of life and death. (That was also the mantra of the show's original director, John Rando.)

 

And of course they're all completely right, in terms of both shows. I also recall the writers of Bat Boy (another spoof/satire musical that played NYC around the same time that Urinetown did) making a similar statement about their show.

 

It's interesting to me that all 3 of these shows, wonderfully funny as they all are, all end up with the same denouement - evil triumphing over good, even if it's done in a humorous way. Food for thought?

[+ g56whiz]

Howard Ashman was only 31 years old when he wrote "Little Shop of Horrors" with Alan Menken. Complications from AIDS ended his life nine years later.

 

Disney classics "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin" include his work.

 

I was a friend of Howard Ashman’s cousin, Mike. When Howard died Mike was assigned to bring their grandmother to the memorial service to be held for Ashman at the theater on lower 2nd Avenue where Little Shop of Horrors opened. Mike said that until that service his grandmother had no idea that her famous and beloved grandson was gay.

[+ g56whiz]

Whenever I have to do some sorrowful like attend the funeral of a friend or colleague the first thing I do when I get home is put on one of two movies: Little Shop of Horrors or The Ritz. By the end of either I’ve discovered i can laugh again and face the world.

 

The only staged production I’ve seen of Little Shop of Horrors was an amateur one at the local junior college: painful.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Off-topic but not really -- a few seasons ago, I did a college production of Urinetown, and we were lucky to be able to have skype sessions with two of the original cast members. And we also had a wonderful visit from the playwright. ALL THREE OF THEM stressed that the actors should not be trying to "play the comedy" - in fact, to play the show as seriously as possible, and treat the story as one of life and death. (That was also the mantra of the show's original director, John Rando.)

 

And of course they're all completely right, in terms of both shows. I also recall the writers of Bat Boy (another spoof/satire musical that played NYC around the same time that Urinetown did) making a similar statement about their show.

 

It's interesting to me that all 3 of these shows, wonderfully funny as they all are, all end up with the same denouement - evil triumphing over good, even if it's done in a humorous way. Food for thought?

 

Bat Boy is another one of my favorite musicals

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Re: Ashman

 

Michael Riedel's book Razzle Dazzle has a really interesting chapter on Ashman and his final-days involvement with Disney's Beauty and The Beast. Some touching and relevant stories to this thread.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Razzle-Dazzle-Broadway-Michael-Riedel/dp/1451672179

[bostonman]

Bat Boy is another one of my favorite musicals

 

Yes. Awesome show. Also have done a college production of that, and played in the pit for 2 other productions. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

"I'll Show You A Thing Or Two" and "Comfort And Joy" are, for me, right up there with the greatest of the musical sequences in any show. Incredible stuff.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Yes. Awesome show. Also have done a college production of that, and played in the pit for 2 other productions. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

"I'll Show You A Thing Or Two" and "Comfort And Joy" are, for me, right up there with the greatest of the musical sequences in any show. Incredible stuff.

 

I get a lot of the same musicality from Avenue Q as I do from Bat Boy.

 

I'd also say that Spelling Bee is a bit similar as well.

[+ purplekow]

I get a lot of the same musicality from Avenue Q as I do from Bat Boy.

 

I'd also say that Spelling Bee is a bit similar as well.

Benjamin if you are an Avenue Q fan you know the internet is for porn not discussion of Broadway.

So grab your dick and double click for porn porn porn.

[bostonman]

I get a lot of the same musicality from Avenue Q as I do from Bat Boy.

 

I'd also say that Spelling Bee is a bit similar as well.

 

Yes - they all have that "contemporary musical" style. Though to me, Finn has a very distinctive style of his own.