The hit Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors at
the Westside Theatre welcomes Evan Rachel Wood and Darren
Criss as the latest Audrey and Seymour, respectively, beginning January 30.
Wood and Criss succeed Constance Wu and Corbin Bleu, who played their final performances in the long-running revival January 28.
“The casting of this show has become one of the greatest joys of our
lives. The fact that in year five, we continue to attract talent like
Evan Rachel Wood and Darren Criss is a testament to Howard Ashman’s and
Alan Menken’s Little Shop of Horrors being one of the finest
achievements in musical theatre, and to Michael Mayer’s perfectly and
joyously staged production at the Westside Theatre,” said the producers
of Little Shop in an earlier statement. “As two of the most daring,
enticing, and dynamic stars of their generation, we cannot wait to see
the magic that real-life friends Evan and Darren bring to their roles."
See the show's recent casting announcement in the video below.
Wood is a three-time Golden Globe nominee and a three-time Emmy nominee for her work in film and TV. Some of her credits include Mildred Pierce, True Blood, Westworld, Across the Universe, The Wrestler, and Frozen 2. This marks her New York stage debut, though she has sung on screen in Across the Universe (the Beatles jukebox movie musical directed by Julie Taymor) and Frozen 2. She also is in a band with Zane Carney (the brother of Broadway's Reeve Carney), called Evan + Zane.
Criss came to fame on the Ryan Murphy musical television series Glee and has since appeared on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and most recently, American Buffalo. He is an Emmy winner and Golden Globe winner for portraying murderer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
The current cast of Little Shop of Horrors also features Tony nominees Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Heidi Chronicles) as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. and Brad Oscar (The Producers)
as Mr. Mushnik, alongside Aaron Arnell Harrington as The Voice of
Audrey II, D’Kaylah Unique Whitley as Ronnette, Tiffany Renee Thompson
as Crystal, and Khadija Sankoh as Chiffon plus Camryn Hampton, Najah
Hetsberger, Michael Iannucci, Weston Chandler Long, Jeff Sears, Teddy
Yudain, Zakiya Baptiste, Jonothon Lyons, Noel MacNeal, Johnny Newcomb,
and Kevin Pariseau.
Previous players in the roles of
Seymour and Audrey have included Jonathan Groff, Tammy Blanchard, Jeremy
Jordan, Lena Hall, Maude Apatow, Gideon Glick, Rob McClure, Skylar
Astin, Conrad Ricamora, and Matt Doyle.
The Off-Broadway revival resumed its run September 21, 2021, after temporarily closing in March 2020 due to the pandemic.
Directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer, the revival opened in October 2019. The creative team for the Howard Ashman-Alan Menken musical also includes choreographer Ellenore Scott, scenic designer Julian Crouch, lighting designer Bradley King, costume designer Tom Broecker, sound designer Jessica Paz, puppet designer Nicholas Mahon, original puppet designer Martin P. Robinson, hair and makeup designer Tommy Kurzman, music supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger Will Van Dyke, and casting director Jim Carnahan. Puppets are by Monkey Boys Productions.
General management is by Live Wire Theatrical/Chris Aniello, and production stage management is by Sara Sahin.