Little Shop...Who Leads? Anyone know? — Page 18

TaffyDavenport said: "Darren Criss confirmed on Sirius XM's Broadway channel that he and Evan Rachel Wood will be taking over at the end of January, for what sounds like a short 2-month run."

Amazing casting. The show probably sells out that entire two months.

Any current discounts for this?

January 30 start date confirmed, and, according to Criss's Insta Story, through March 31:

https://twitter.com/littleshopnyc/status/1738961701062778974

Updated On: 12/24/23 at 02:34 PM

Check TikTok. I may or may not have seen a Suddenly Seymour video on there just now ….

They both sound great for their first performance. Give em time

https://ew.com/darren-criss-evan-rachel-wood-little-shop-of-horrors-exclusive-first-look-photos-85598619

DramaTeach said: "Honestly, this casting seems very boring to me. Criss hasn’t had a role in a while and he’s hasn’t even done Elsie Fest, a thing that wins him brownie points with theater nerds. Evan Rachel Wood’s name has been more in the press because of drama with Marilyn Manson that anything else as of late. Eh."

…yes, unfortunate that neither of them have any established careers other than whether they have been recently in the headlines.

Update from ERW if no one has said this yet- It seems she is sick, so she might be out of the show for a bit.

Kad said: "DramaTeach said: "Honestly, this casting seems very boring to me. Criss hasn’t had a role in a while and he’s hasn’t even done Elsie Fest, a thing that wins him brownie points with theater nerds. Evan Rachel Wood’s name has been more in the press because of drama with Marilyn Manson that anything else as of late. Eh."

…yes, unfortunate that neither of them have any established careers other than whether they have been recently in the headlines."

You definitely misinterpreted what I was saying, but okay. Enjoy their performances.

DramaTeach said: "Honestly, this casting seems very boring to me. Criss hasn’t had a role in a while and he’s hasn’t even done Elsie Fest, a thing that wins him brownie points with theater nerds. Evan Rachel Wood’s name has been more in the press because of drama with Marilyn Manson that anything else as of late. Eh."

Ah yes, one must run a mediocre theater-focused music festival every year to have clout in the Broadway communtiy year after year, and one mustn't have "drama" in the press because they keep speaking out against domestic abusers going unpunished despite the number of victims coming forward - these are faux pas to lead an Off-Broadway revival's 4th? cast change.

And to think - Criss needs Elsie Fest to have theater nerd fans? His fans are copious and obsessive thanks to a show you may have heard of called "Glee."

For what you might deem relevant experience: Wood voices Anna and Elsa's parents in Frozen 2 (and sings with Menzel on "Show Yourself" in addition to having a solo song) and typically appears in one or two films every year.

Updated On: 2/7/24 at 10:12 PM

Saw the show last night. My thoughts:



Evan Rachel Wood is the best Audrey I’ve ever seen. She completely NAILS the character and her voice is absolutely perfect - even better than I expected. She isn’t acting; she embodies the character. She doesn’t play it for laughs, but she is funny! A true actor. Run to see her before she leaves. Darren Criss was also great, but ERW was the standout. Everyone else was amazing - Bryce Pinkham being another standout. It was great to see a Dentist making huge comedic choices, but also having a beautiful voice to go along with it.


The disappointing…

Aaron Harrington was out as the voice of Audrey 2 and his understudy was on. I’m not completely opposed to a female voicing the plant, but I just don’t think this voice worked. Zakiya Baptiste was on and it was just a letdown. I’m sure she is great when she covers the urchins, but, in such a PERFECT production.. this is a strange choice! The plant should be menacing and she just wasn’t. She had a very youthful voice and I just don’t think it works. The jumping octaves just goes to show that the role was written with a male voice in mind. She also came in early during a verse of “Feed Me” which almost derailed the song, but they got back on track. I know plenty of other productions have used a female to voice the plant, but I just think this time it just misses the mark. I guess I missed the comedic element of a plant named “Audrey” having a big booming male voice and it was impossible to believe that Seymour or Audrey would be at all threatened or scared by that voice.


I'm just surprised that such a high profile production would choose to go that route with the plant understudies (both Audrey 2 understudies are female). They really need to bring in someone to JUST cover that role when Aaron is out. Definitely a letdown. 😔

But, all in all, it’s pretty close to the quintessential production of Little Shop… except for that (pretty big) understudy misstep. I’m sure if I’d have seen the full main cast I would walk away with zero complaints. Little Shop is my favorite show of all time - I know every single word and I still found myself laughing out loud at the MANY new choices and fresh takes. I saw the Broadway production in 2003 and I enjoyed it - but this production feels so much more authentic to the original intent. Off-Broadway is where it belongs. The Broadway production felt too slick and polished.. this feels right.


I hope this is the beginning of more theater from ERW, she is incredible. She needs to headline a new show.


EDIT TO ADD:

Only Mushnick came out the stage door. Darren Criss popped his head out to say thanks for coming and that he wasn’t coming out. Then the security guard said that no one else was coming out.

Updated On: 2/11/24 at 10:28 AM

Until when are Darren and Evan playing? It just says limited time..

When it was first announced, Darren posted an Insta story that said through 3/31.