The beloved musical Little Shop of Horrors is getting a West Coast production with a star-studded cast that includes Afro-Boricua trans actress and Pose star Mj Rodriguez as Audrey.
The Pasadena Playhouse, located in the Los Angeles County, has announced their production of the classic sci-fi musical comedy that’ll also feature Be More Chill breakout star George Salazar as Seymour and Glee’s Amber Riley take on the historically male-voiced role as the killer plant Audrey II. An off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors is also slated for the same duration at the Westside Theatre in New York City starring Riley’s former Glee co-star Jonathan Groff, Tammy Blanchard, and Christian Borle.
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Little Shop of Horrors centers around a demanding, blood-thirsty alien plant that a geeky florist initially thought was a Venus flytrap. Per the Playhouse, it will feature “some deliciously devious new twists: a brand-new puppet concept for Audrey II, and a whole new take on Skid Row,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Rodriguez is an off-Broadway alum of Rent and starred in an Encores! production of Runaways. While Riley, known for her role on Glee, won an Olivier Award for her performance in London’s Dreamgirls and was also in productions of Cotton Club Parade and Hair.
Salazar, who is half-Ecuadorian, is currently an award-winning cast member of Broadway’s Be More Chill and he’s also been seen on stage in Godspell, Here Lies Love, The Lightning Thief, and Tick, Tick…BOOM!
Little Shop of Horrors was first released in 1960 as a low-budget film which was the basis of the Off-Broadway Howard Ashman-Alan Menken musical that premiered in 1982 and ran for five years at the Orpheum Theatre in NYC. The production in L.A. will run from September 17 through October 20 at the Pasadena Playhouse and tickets are on sale now.
“Our new electrifying production of Little Shop of Horrors will give our audiences the opportunity to see a show they know and love in a way they never have before,” Pasadena Playhouse producing artistic director Danny Feldman told The Hollywood Reporter. “From a delicious new take on everyone’s favorite singing plant to the stunningly talented cast, this is sure to be a landmark theatrical event for Los Angeles.”
Salazar, who tweeted about it being a dream role, wrote: “I am truly so excited to bring a Little Shop that is inclusive and current and VERY 2019.” We can’t wait to see Mj Rodriguez, George Salazar, and Amber Riley work their magic on stage.
