Posted: 7/5/17 at 7:08pm
I did see Annaleigh in Sunday, and she was wonderful. I think she fits the character, I just think her vocal type isn't Audrey. She's a strong singer, but she's not a big beltress. Her voice was PERFECT for Dot. Dot needs a nice strong mix. Audrey needs a huge almost rock belt (but not rock). I can see what you're saying about Betsy in a sense.
Posted: 7/5/17 at 7:20pm
Seymour- Adam Kantor
Audrey- Megan Hilty
I also love the idea of Andy Karl as Orin, I hadn't thought of that before!
Posted: 7/5/17 at 8:13pm
I like I like the idea of Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Seymour. He might need to tone down the twinkle in his eye cuteness and play more vulnerable, fearful, and nerdy.
Andy Karl, I love the idea as Orin. Think Ted Bundy, the handsome serial killer type. I love characters that have sharp contrasts like that.
I always had the sense Audrey should be physically older than Seymour, to illustrate she's been around the block, knowing time is running out to get outta Skid Row, makes her arc all the more engaging and poignant.
Posted: 7/5/17 at 8:15pm
Adam Kantor is another great idea! Although I have been dreaming about Ben as Seymour for a few months now. I also feel Ben would be better for ticket sales, seeing as he's the big buzz nowadays. He would definitely sell the show. And Megan Hilty is also a great choice for Audrey.
Posted: 7/5/17 at 8:19pm
darquegk said: "Isn't Seymour, like Hamlet, younger in popular understanding than he actually is in text or most performance? It's like a milder case of the "how old is Tobias Ragg" spectrum of possibility.
Lee Wilkof and Rick Moranis were both early 30s. So was Jonathan Haze in the original movie. So, let's say he's around 30, although I think he could reasonably be played by anyone between 20 and 35.
Posted: 7/5/17 at 8:20pm
PatrickDC said: "I like I like the idea of Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Seymour. He might need to tone down the twinkle in his eye cuteness and play more vulnerable, fearful, and nerdy.
Andy Karl, I love the idea as Orin. Think Ted Bundy, the handsome serial killer type. I love characters that have sharp contrasts like that.
I always had the sense Audrey should be physically older than Seymour, to illustrate she's been around the block, knowing time is running out to get outta Skid Row, makes her arc all the more engaging and poignant.
I think Andrew would seem even younger than Ben Platt would be though. And he's also REALLY short, so pairing him with someone like Megan Hilty or Betsy would look off. I mean, Seymour isn't supposed to be tall, but I think Andrew is 5'5. I can see why you thought of him though!
Posted: 7/5/17 at 9:24pm
I also think that they should add Mean Green Mother from Outer Space if another revival happened
Updated On: 7/5/17 at 09:24 PM
Posted: 7/5/17 at 9:58pm
"Mean Green Mother" not being reinstated has less to do with the show's structure than with the fact that the song is immensely punishing to puppet live. The song has a fast tempo and motor-mouthed lyrics that keep on coming, as opposed to Audrey II's other songs, which either take a more laid-back tempo or alternate short sung passages with breaks.
There are a few videos on YouTube of productions that illegally interpolated the song- none of them look good because the song just isn't written in a way that a basic Audrey II puppet of that size can manage live.
Posted: 7/5/17 at 10:14pm
RogerMoore said: "Call me crazy, but I have no issue with a young man loving an older woman. The only hint of Audrey's age requirement I can think of is that she fantasizes about having children in Somewhere That's Green. To me, the whole character is even more poignant if she's 40+
also, there's a man-eating plant that sings, can't we suspend disbelief for just about anything?
"
Yes, but by your argument, we might as well match Jimmy Fallon with Carol Burnett! Or put every equity member's name on a card and cast by drawing lots.
Do cast members even need to sing? Or shall we just suspend disbelief on that, too?
Posted: 7/6/17 at 2:52am
I'm seeing a production in Atlanta next week that includes a female voice for Audrey II, a genderfluid actor as an Urchin and a Hispanic Seymour. I'd love to see casting like this put on an even bigger stage with someone like Cynthia Erivo or even Jennifer Holliday voicing the plant
Posted: 7/6/17 at 12:14pm
That sounds very interesting and different. Also, a Cynthia Erivo voiced plant would probably make me faint from perfection.
Posted: 7/6/17 at 12:36pm
Audrey needs an actress who looks like an ingénue, who takes the role seriously, but is just inherently kooky. It's a deceptively hard role to cast. Annaleigh Ashford is probably the closest to the ideal in terms of a "name," but I think a really successful production would find someone off the beaten path.
This is really a show for character actors, through and through. Even Jake Gyllenhaal, despite his looks, is more at home as a character actor than traditional leading man.
I've seen productions with a female-voiced Audrey II and it's just never fully worked for me.
Updated On: 7/6/17 at 12:36 PM
Posted: 7/6/17 at 1:51pm
Kad said: "Audrey needs an actress who looks like an ingénue, who takes the role seriously, but is just inherently kooky. It's a deceptively hard role to cast. Annaleigh Ashford is probably the closest to the ideal in terms of a "name," but I think a really successful production would find someone off the beaten path.
This is really a show for character actors, through and through. Even Jake Gyllenhaal, despite his looks, is more at home as a character actor than traditional leading man.
I've seen productions with a female-voiced Audrey II and it's just never fully worked for me.
I mostly agree with this, but Audrey kinda needs to be a character soubrette. She needs to be more a "Marilyn" than "Cosette." But I can see what you mean about being an ingenue as in personality. Audrey isn't your typical soubrette. She's very naive and innocent.
Posted: 7/6/17 at 7:13pm
How about Mike Wartella as Orin? He has a dark side to him, at least I get that vibe, and could believe him doing the psycho dentist's acts. Probably reads too young though, but I could see it.
And as I'm typing this I was thinking, could he be Seymour?
Posted: 7/6/17 at 11:15pm
Seymour: Blaine Krauss
Audrey: Annaleigh Ashford (This is from 2001, sixteen years old.)
Audrey II: Lilli Cooper
As for the others, I really have no idea, but I like the idea of Andy Karl as Orin! He would be fun.
