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Come-a, Come-a, Come and Check Out Highlights from Opening Night of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
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Oct 30, 2022
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, starring Jonathan Groff, Tammy Blanchard and Christian Borle, opened just last night, October 17 at The Westside Theatre (407 W. 43rd St, NYC), where it plays through January 19, 2020. We're taking you inside opening night below!
View Video Transcript
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Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
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Director Michael Mayer's glorious production of the classic Alan Menken and Howard Ashman musical Little Shop of Horrors
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is back in New York with a stellar cast led by Jonathan Groff, Christian Borle, and Tammy Blanchard
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and we celebrated with the company on opening night. It's been a total dream. It's a total joyride
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I'm obsessed with Christian and Tammy and Michael, our director, and the entire cast
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And it's been like doing the high school play. It's just that much fun. Yes, it's amazing to hear every day in the wings
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We all sit and watch the monitor as Salome and Joy and Ari sing the opening number
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and we watch it and move with them and dance with them. And it's a pleasure to sing and a pleasure to listen to every night
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It's a dream. It's been like battling Ellen Green personally. I mean, it's such an iconic role, and she did such a great job with it
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that I found myself wanting to just duplicate what she did. The genius in that person that she created and made the role iconic
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I had to fight for my own will and my own self and who I am to come through
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And it took a month of rehearsals and a month of previews for me to finally let Ellen go and let me show and that an honor to her and how wonderful she is The dentist is actually the most it the most recognizable obviously
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It's like Orin et al. in the script. But the other ones are just delightful and like dessert
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Because Orin is like the laughing in that mask, that's the hard work
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And then the rest are, I consider dessert. It is the most earnest and giddy group of people that, again, Michael Mayer just wanted a drama-free, happy, off-Broadway experience
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And we all wanted to follow his lead and he didn't over-rehearse us
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He's fighting for a shorter rehearsal day and only five rehearsal days a week, which I think is a great idea, by the way
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And it made us all very happy. Anyway, and this material is a dream. What is it like when you see Alan Menken in the house
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Like Christian was saying he was there tonight. Everybody, what's that like when you're singing his stuff and you see him in that house
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Honestly, when I see Alan smile, I'm like, we're doing it. We're doing it
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We're doing it. Just to see him smile. And tonight he did one of those like, yes
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He did one of those numbers today. And we was like, yes, we're doing it
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Just the fact that you have, I mean, to be honest, he's a childhood hero when it comes to composers and orchestrations
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I mean we have been listening to his music shoot since forever since day one Absolutely day one It a whole generation that knows his music Right So when you all took your bow tonight opening night
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at this stunning production of Little Shop of Horrors, what was going through your mind
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I was fortunate enough to have my brother sitting right in front of me, so that was really all I saw when I took my bow
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that I could bring my family into it. I know. I'm like, hey, we did it
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Everybody, let's go eat, let's go drink. Shout out to my mom
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My mom helped me make this dress So I was like, hey mom
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How you doing? It was amazing I had my mother also sitting in front of me
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But I still cannot believe it I'm making my debut in New York
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So it's still just like You really just took your first bout in New York
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It's been a glorious preview period For you, has it? Yeah, it really has
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The audiences have been great And they just appreciate and enjoy the show so much
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and it means so much to us. I was just talking with Christian and saying that
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I just feel like we're doing the show the way it was meant to be
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and the way he wanted it. So it just feels good to know that
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something that's such a wonderful material is being given its due. We have not had a single show
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a single night that was not positive and wonderful and happy and the audiences have loved every minute of it I can remember and you can see I been around for a while
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I can't remember another experience that was so universally positive and happy
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It's what I always say. I'm an architect. I build a house. Other people are going to live in it
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and they're living in it beautifully. And I love what Michael Mayer did with this
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and what every cast member does with this. It's just incredible. How proud would Howard be tonight
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I think he'd be very proud and very pleased. I think he'd be so also so happy that his sister, his dear sister Sarah
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was really the empathist for wanting this production off-Broadway in this way
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And I think it would mean the world to him. We've had a beautifully, a beautiful time
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Everyone is not only at the top of their game, but they're in their most generous mode
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So we've all just had a blast, and we love each other
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and we love this material. And I think that it all comes from what Howard Ashman
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and Alan Menken wrote, and everything comes from that. So that inspires all of us to do our best
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and to try to honor that work. And so we're all in it for the right reason
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