Jonathan Groff to lead Off Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors
Suddenly, Seymour… and Audrey… and demented dentist Orin… are heading back to the stage in an Off Broadway Little Shop of Horrors revival.
New York’s Westside Theatre will host a revival of the beloved musical — originally devised by legendary collaborators Howard Ashman and Alan Menken — this fall, with Tony Award-nominated Spring Awakening star Jonathan Groff leading the cast as down-on-his-luck florist, Seymour, who discovers an alien plant with a voracious appetite for human flesh.
Emmy-winning actress Tammy Blanchard (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows) will play Audrey, Seymour’s coworker and love interest, while Tony-winner Christian Borle (Something Rotten!) is set to portray her abusive, sadistic boyfriend, Orin. Additional cast members will be announced in the near future.
Tony-winning director Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) will direct from Ashman’s original book, while also incorporating Menken’s compositions.
Since its Off-Off-Broadway debut in 1982, Little Shop of Horrors has blossomed into a global phenomenon, with productions on Broadway and London’s West End on top of Frank Oz’s 1986 movie adaptation starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, and Steve Martin.
Greene, who played Audrey in Oz’s classic film after originating the role in the 1982 musical, previously told EW she and Menken were working on a “darker” stage revival that would’ve blended elements from the movie and the play, though it never came to fruition.
“We set out to make it darker [than the original]. We worked for two years. It’s not easy to figure out how to make two scripts [one for the 1982 version, and one for the film version] go together and make sense [but] we had something. We were so excited. We were going to do limited runs in London,” she said. “We were prepared, and when we were denied the rights, it broke my heart because I really wanted [the fans] to know that I really fought for trying to bring it to them.”
Previews for the upcoming production begin on Sept. 17, with opening night scheduled for Oct. 17. Tickets are on sale now through Nov. 24 only.
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