#christian borle breaking character

[havanasroses]

christian borle making jeremy jordan break character, little shop of horrors

📸: @starcuffedjeans

[nekole-doodles]

Part #5 of DSMP-coded song series! I haven't done one in a while so I'll do a lightning round of a few random characters or duos!

Philza and Kristin. Come on, it's so sweet, it's literally them

C! TNT Duo(/r)

"One of us just has to change, you say the same"

"Twist my umbrella 'til it's inside-out, Hand you a bouquet of rain"

"Did I shout or think I could save you this way?"

"Then you looked in my eyes and said, 'How dare you love me? When you should despise me? You should be scared of me,' It seems that that's what it means when somebody needs you"

"When the smoke clears are we friends or strangers again? Just a familiar face"

"So how could we separately heal? God, I don't get it. I really don't get it, Could someone tell me how to feel?"

"So watch your step or you'll trip and fall right out of love"

"'Til death do us part, please keep breaking my heart, 'Til it ceases to beat, please be mine"

"So if love conquers all, then all else must have failed, I mean, who wants to fall? Can't we just take the stairs?"

C! Clingy Duo, especially New L'manberg time right before and after Tommy gets exiled

C! Crimeboys or C! TNT Duo(but headcanon-ized), in a what-if scenario if Tommy or Quackity found Wilbur in the button room on the 16th instead of Phil. (C! Wilbur is so JD-coded, this is very old news in this fandom)

C! TNT Duo(/r) /hj but not really. Idk, it just kinda fits how I imagine their dynamic

C! Disc Duo in Exile arc. So fun :D Nothing ever happened ever in exile arc

"Nobody ever loved me, Like she tells me she does" Dream claiming he's Tommy's only friend and no one else cares for him like Dream cares about him.

"Tender as a bruise, sharper than a razor, Wrap her tentacles around me like she'll never let me go, Her fury shakes the rafters, but never in my favor" Whenever Dream gives angry(sometimes physically) at Tommy for whatever reason

"I should be counting blessings, Something is better than nothing, Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it? It's close enough to perfect, What does it hurt, a little bit?" Tommy trying to convince himself that exile is fine and that Dream really is his friend and he should be grateful for him despite how much Dream is hurting him.

[dogwhizzer]

i will be committed to the bit but i will put soooo little effort into it

[id: twitter thread drawn over to look like it is a conversation between the characters of falsettos. the first post is by the account labeled 'trina lastname'. the icon depicts a small drawing of trina weisenbachfeld smiling, posed next to the character jason, who is frowning. the tweet reads, 'saw this on the news about my husband, what does it mean?'. attached to the tweet is a drawing of marvin and whizzer holding hands outside at night on a busy street, assumedly outside of a nightclub. it is made to look as if it is a candid picture of them. whizzer, wearing a pink button up, is smiling causally at the camera and holding up a peace sign. marvin, to the right of him, is wearing a blue button up and grimacing in fear, holding up his right hand to try to block his face from the camera. edited over the picture, at the bottom, is a red block harboring the caption, 'breaking news: local weatherman seen w guy'. also edited over the picture is a red circle surrounding marvin's face. attached to the circle is a low quality headshot of christian borle. replying to this initial tweet is the account titled, 'dr mendel'. the profile picture is a drawing of mendel from falsettos from the shoulders up, grinning at the camera and holding up a small blue fish. his reply reads, 'your husband gettin FUCKED bro he gettin his shit ROCKED BACKSHOTS HAIR PULLED EVERYTHING.' trina has replied to this, saying, 'ight bro i get it'. her icon has changed so that now she is frowning. mendel has replied to this once more, saying, 'he gettin FINGERED bro straight up gettin his shit PLOWED like RAW SQUIRTING AND FARTING but just focus on yourself bro'. /end id]

[understance]

doing this in one sitting bc i want to!

1: marvin!

2: marvin 😡

3: …marvin

4: cordelia :/

5: marvin & whizzer bc their relationship shows how imperfect relationships can be, but they learn from their mistakes and change for the better

6: ‘what more can i say?’ or ‘the games i play’, because i love the solo songs and the spotlight it gives the characters (also they’re just amazing songs)

7: ‘marvin hits trina’ solely because i hate seeing trina go through that 😕

8: whizzer laying on marvin’s chest in ‘what more can i say?’ because GODDD IT MAKES ME SO UPSET. seeing them so happy makes me wanna cry bc they’re so sweet

9: literally every-time they’re dancing stupidly tickles me half to death

10: “we’re just gonna skip that stage” AAAHHH

11: basic answer but marvin for obvious reasons

12: MORE LESBIANSSS. i would’ve loved to see their friendship with marvin more

13: loved mendel until he said “i know more than you do” to trina cause SHUT UP

14: ‘days like this’ but i need to be singing every single part

15: unrealistically, MARVIN. however i am not a man and therefore will never 😕 realistically, cordelia bc i’m a non-jewish lesbian who can’t cook (and i can sing her parts decently well). i’d LOVE to play trina but i don’t wanna take away from the jewish representation

16: charlotte bc RICH BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WHOS CONFIDENT AND DETERMINED AND AMAZING

17: every single character bc i need to know all of their thought processes during every single event

18: whizzer leaving marvin was definitely for the best that first time around. ik it wasn’t really his idea bc he got kicked out but you get it

19: i need to sing with marvin bc CHRISTIANS VOICE IS SO BEAUTIFUL

20: andrew rannells my beloved

21: i actually DID convince a friend to watch falsettos, and i literally showed them pictures of bald christan borle, and i think i made them watch TTOFL

22: act 1 bc i love drama

23: marvin’s entire character is something i could talk about for days on end (+ m&w’s relationship is smth i analyze SO MUCH)

24: kevin price bc i just wanna see what the fuck would happen (honorable mention is connor mckinley, cause i feel like whizzer would help him realize he is, in fact, very gay)

25: MARVIN. (ik it’s not a good thing but a lot of him resonates with how i am)

26: whizzer and jason’s friendship makes me SOB

27: “whizzer, kid you’re looking very good today” but also “i’ll let you win, whizzer” “don’t let me win” “i’ll let you win” tears my heart into little pieces

28: marvin hitting trina will forever make me want to break smth

29: LOOK AT HERRR

30: fire musical 🔥 (it changed my life)

[dead-dog-dont-eat]

hey sal! I see that youre currently enjoying some ttcc atm :))!! Glad that you are since im currently getting into the game and I love it too!

Which, btw, now that we're on the same topic, do you have any headcanons of voice claims for any of the TTCC characters that you love/like??

-📼 anon

HOLY SHIT DUDE, I KNOW!! I honestly feel like Markiplier finding out about Lady Dimitrescu--which is EXACTLY how I feel about this game /silly. its SOOO amazing and I can't believe JUST NOW I'm starting to enjoy it!! Its making me feral (lol)

Also, on the topic of voicelines, I was just so happening to look into them since I'm currently writing some fanfic about this game atm 'n' figured I would share some of my VA headcanons for various Cogs (mostly ones I love the most). Btw the choices for these voices mostly stem from various TV shows and movies I love watching. Mind you this is gonna be a bit of a long one jsyk:

Dave Brubot - Asmodeus (Helluva Boss/James Monroe Iglehart) <- cuz why not? I love Ozzie's voice and I think its a great fit for Major Player

Buck Ruffler - Fizzarolli + lisp (Helluva Boss/Alex Brightman) <- ik ppl mostly do Daffy Duck for Buck, but I think Fizz would mostly fit him

Graham Ness Payser - Jerma985 <- this ACTUALLY fits him quite well and I love it (im a jerma fan lol). Plus most ppl hc Jerma to be his VA/voiceclaim

Chip Revvington - Nick Offerman (aka Ron Swanson from "Parks and Recreation" and Beef Tobin from "The Great North") <- I love Nick Offerman, especially in his role of playing Bill from "The Last Of Us" TV series, so this fits him perfectly. Ik some people think of Chip like Bojack Horseman, but I don't so sorry :/ (plus I never watched bojack; but I do love "Tuca and Bertie" from the same producer)

Barry Briefcase - Bob Belcher (Bob's Burgers/H. Jon Benjamin) <- I think his murmurs would DEFINITELY be sounding like Bob himself. Plus I like to think that he, too, isn't much of a social person

Courtney Case - Anna Gunn (aka Skyler White from "Breaking Bad") <- I dunno if its just me but they kinda have a similar hairstyle, plus I think it fits her pretty well! (+ additional info: I have a Cog OC I made that Courtney is married to since Courtney is canonically married to a unknown partner)

Mundie Mudsnapper - Alessio (Helluva Boss/Abe Goldfarb) <- I KNOW that Alessio said, like, only ONE line in "Exes and Oohs", but I love him as a neat character; same for Mundie

Kilo Kidd - Ham Tobin (The Great North/Paul Rust) <- holy shit finding a good VA was hard for Kilo, but this is the best I could do for him

Cathal Bravecog - Gene Belcher (Bob's Burgers/Eugene Mirman) <- I just think it fits him :)

Allan Bravecog - Vox (Hazbin Hotel/Christian Borle) <- I think you see my reasoning, right?? Allan, a Sellbot; Vox, a bot that SELLS stuff?? Also it just fits him, as per usual

Spruce Campbell - Mike Myers <- Since I know that Spruce is Scottish + has a Scottish-ethnic accent in the game, and also cuz Mike Myers is of distant Scottish ethnicity, so it pairs up well

Mary Anna - Linda Belcher (Bob's Burgers/John Roberts) <- was mainly inspired by that one TTCC comic of Mary helping Misty being confident and being overly-posivite, which made me think of Linda

Holly Grayelle - Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel/Stephanie Beatriz) <- I actually LOVE Vaggie's VA since I'm a fan of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "Twisted Metal," so I think its perfect

Prester Virgil - David Harbour <- okay, i'll admit, I'm a BIIIIIG fan of David himself since he plays Hopper in ''Stranger Things" and his role in "Violent Night" (plus hes hot, ngl)

Benjamin Biggs - Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane (Harley Quinn show/Rahul Kohli) <- I LOVE this version of Scarecrow in the show (this one plus the BTAS version and the "Batman: The Long Halloween" too) and his British accent is REALLY amazing imo. Shame that Scarecrow died early in the show tho :( justice for my boy

Misty Monsoon - Kiana Madiera <- LOVED her in the Netflix horror trilogy series "Fear Street"

Tawney C. Esta - Kevin Chamberlin (aka Bertram Winkle from "Jessie") <- I feel like Kevin's voice will fulfill him and reminds me a bit like Bertram since he loves naps

Belle Dama - Paulette Jones (Brandon Rogers' multiverse/actor) <- it was a bit hard for me to decide who Belle would be voiced as, so this was my best shot as well. However I DO love Paulette Jones in her many appearances in Brandon's videos so this'll work

Cosmo Kuiper - Teddy + Italian accent (Bob's Burgers/Larry Murphy) <- I feel like Teddy's voice with an Italian accent would be a good one for Cosmo

Flint Bonpyre - Michael Kovich <- saw someone also hc Flint w/ michael and its SUCH a good choice imo. I rlly love Flint (and kovich) so this is a great one (especially since I love Michael's role from the Hazbin pilot, Murder Drones and TADC)

Brian - Yuri Lowenthal <- loved yuri cuz he voices teen ben tennyson (b10 is one of my favorite childhood cartoons that I still watch to this day)

William Boar - Adam (Hazbin Hotel/Alex Brightman) <- fun fact, my choice of misty's VA would've been erika (aka hh series charlie morningstar) and william have adam's VA for humorous reasons. Tho, I changed misty's hc VA last minute but kept alex because I could visually SEE it so perfectly

Buck Wilde - Striker (Helluva Boss/Edward Bosco) <- I'll be honest, as a "Walking Dead" fan I LOVE Norman Reedus and I liked his role being Striker when he first appeared in season 1 HB. But with the voice change in S2, I like Striker's voice a bit better with Edward. Plus Wilde and Striker ARE both cowboys

Dana S. Charme - Alastor (Hazbin Hotel/Edward Bosco) <- I love the pilot VA of alastor before the actual series came out, plus Dana is a radio host so I thought I made it more fun if Dana was voiced ALSO by a radio host lol

Winston Byrd - Kellen Goff <- I think you know why

Insider - Cosmo (IF/Christopher Meloni) <- I thought this movie was super cute and I like Cosmo (and Christopher Meloni cuz Stabler from SVU) plus Insider looks a bit like cosmo

Head Honcho - Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills) <- one of my favorite metal bands AND vocalist. Also putting this here via headcanon cuz I can and will

Magnate - Tom Bateman (Based On A True Story) <- His voice...mwah 🫶🏻👌

High Roller - Chazwick "Chaz" Thurman +lisp (Helluva Boss/Eric Schwartz) <- i LOVE eric schwartz and the character he voiced in hb: chaz thurman (hes got an amazing voice) so I am confident this is a good fit for High Roller himself

Count Erclaim - Whampire (Ben 10/John DiMaggio) <- they're both vampires and whampire's voice fits him

hoooo, this was a LOT!! thank god my autism powered through this ask lmao, thanks for askin!!

[lawbreaker13]

Fun fact, I’ve seen the show in this run three times (I’m not rich, just really good at getting discounts) and the last time I saw it the actor playing the dentist (Christian Borle, whom I adore) decided to ham it up and try and make Seymour break character. He did. And then he kept going. And kept going. And suddenly a 30-second scene has been going on for three minutes. And then it got quiet. And for some reason that made me laugh even harder. And then HE broke character.

And then suddenly it had been seven minutes and no one on stage was in character in anymore.

And it was fantastic.

I think venus flytraps should be intelligent and ambulatory. I think they should get into the cupboards. I think they should purr when you pet them.

[acessy0420]

Legally Blonde the Musical

Christian Borle as Emmett Forrest

but with Becky Gulsvig as Elle Woods

[maybeeatspaghetti]

SO My observations about Little Shop! First of all, let me just say that Christian Borle is an absolute champ. He puts 100% into all his characters (and in Little Shop, he has many in quick succession) and each new one is just as exciting and fresh and interesting and nuanced as the last. If I remember correctly, he plays eight characters (a drunk, a customer, an old man, Orin, Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, Skip Snip, and Patrick Martin—roughly in that order, and I'm NOT counting the narrator because that's likely pre-recorded), and he's absolutely brilliant as each one. I'll just list everything I noticed (mostly about Christian Borle) and hope I haven't forgotten anything!

When he's playing the drunk, he holds the bottle in his arms and cradles it, rocks it, and kisses it like a baby. He plays a very convincing stumbling drunk (he's very shaky on his feet and his depth perception is really off—it takes him three tries to climb one step).

He shows off his ass so much—he just sticks it out constantly when he's playing Orin, whether that's twerking at the audience, or sitting on his knees with his back arched, or crawling across the floor on his hands and knees (which he does a lot). The black jeans he wears are a little tighter than the Marvin jeans, for reference, and it's very obvious.

When he first appears onstage in his Orin outfit, he keeps inhaling nitrous oxide, and he has an inhaler and keeps using it. When he does, he sucks it in, making a Darth Vader breathing noise, bugs his eyes out, and cackles hysterically for a second. He just won't stop doing it, and it's so funny.

At the end of "Dentist!" when Orin says, "Say ah," the urchins all put in those freaking cheek retractors (aka the ones that the Falsettos family wore at Susan Blackwell's Thanksgiving dinner), and did their "ah"s with them in. And then right at the end, they distract the audience enough for Christian to put one in, and he yells "Now SPIT" with that in his mouth. It was absolutely hysterical.

He and Jeremy Jordan have some homoerotic tension going on throughout the show—Seymour almost kisses Orin when he comes into the flower shop for the first time, and the customer Christian was playing earlier in the show was obviously gay and was eyeing Seymour up and down, which... Seymour was noticing and preening. They certainly didn't have to play it this way, but it was absolutely brilliant and fueled my fanfic-loving brain.

On Orin's first visit to the flower shop, after Audrey is cowering away from him, he turns on Seymour and holds his fist up, as if he's going to hit him, and Seymour just SCREAMS, which is hilarious, but THEN— Christian and Jeremy spend a couple minutes just messing around. Christian would lower his arm and Jeremy's scream would subside, but then he'd raise it again and the scream would get louder again. It was basically just dragged out for laughs and it was great.

On a more serious note, none of the abuse is played for laughs. There's absolutely nothing funny about how Orin and Audrey interact. Christian's voice just turns absolutely deadly and ice-cold when he's talking to her and it's so effective and not funny in the slightest. He pretty much whispers, "Excuse me, what?" and "Sorry, what?" when she has interrupted him, and it's actually terrifying. And there's basically a "Marvin Hits Trina" moment where Orin slaps Audrey in the face when she forgets her sweater, and it looks absolutely awful, which was the intention.

As the old man hunched over and pushing a cart, he tries to break into the flower shop when it's closed and gets run off, and it's just something that happens in the background, but it's a great detail.

When Seymour comes into the dentist's office and pulls out the gun, Orin walks forward and straight into the gun (Christian just plays his gait with this swagger that I can't describe, but it's great). The gun essentially folds his nose in half, pressing it sideways, and he just eyes the audience and says his next line (a very sickly sweet: "Are you nervous about seeing a dentist?"). I love that he made fun of his own nose.

Christian seems to have way too much fun brandishing that rusty drill.

When he's got the gas mask on (first of all, that mask is WILD and magnifies and distorts his face ghoulishly), and he's dying, he lies on the floor and gurgles for so long, again just dragging that out for laughs. He JUST KEPT GURGLING. Right when you'd think he was done and had died, he'd do a little spasm and another round of over-exaggerated gurgling would start.

He was crawling all over the floor during that song, leaning into the audience and yell-singing at them through the mask, and I really wish I could have afforded front row tickets! (Also, side note, Jeremy Jordan spits so much when he's singing that I'm pretty positive the front row got sprayed a couple times.)

When he's in drag playing Mrs. Luce during act two, he looks so much like Herbert from Spamalot with a blondish wig on. It was such a callback to that role, especially since he was doing a high-pitched voice and slightly British accent. Oh, and a strange thing I noticed—his legs are so pale! Like it looks like he's never gotten sun on his legs his entire life. They're an almost creepy white color.

Another note about Mrs. Luce—that man can run in fucking stiletto heels! I'm absolutely in awe. He does his bit as Mrs. Luce, then literally bolts off-stage for his quick change into Skip Snip. And he's wearing heels the entire time. Incredible.

Each character he plays in that song (Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, and Skip Snip), all lift up Seymour's glasses to see his face, and do their own variation of a horrified "Ew, no!"

Mrs. Luce throws up a handful of money when she leaves, a lot of which lands in the audience, and the urchins, who are gathering it up, snap their fingers at the audience to pick it up for them and snatch it out of their hands, brandishing their fingers at them for taking it from them. So funny!

At the end of the show, all the characters who were eaten by the plant (so... all of them except the urchins) emerged wearing ghillie suits with a flower around their faces and flowers for hands (which looked kinda like the Stranger Things monsters). They wore these for curtain call, and Christian kinda looked surprised when they brought the lights back up for curtain call. I saw him say "Perfect!" to Tammy Blanchard, who was standing next to him.

For curtain call, they brought out the entire backstage crew for the audience to applaud, then wheeled out a little table with a 12-inch TV on it, exactly what Audrey dreamed of, that had a live video of the conductor (under the stage) to applaud him as well. Then, after the actors and crew left, they left the table onstage, and after the final note was played, the conductor held up a little sign that said “The End,” and the video feed ended. It was so cute. So if any of y'all have the chance to see this show, don't rush out of the theatre after the actors have left the stage! There's this little gem in there at the end.

So— I'm pretty sure that's everything! (I took notes at intermission so I wouldn't forget some of the smaller details.) The cast was brilliant, and I had such an incredible time. I'm so thankful I got to see it.

[our-future-is-up-to-us-2]

*Screams Unintelligibly*

I’m obsessed with Legally Blonde the musical- 

I’ve never seen the movie, and I’d heard of the “Gay Or European” meme a couple of years back, but now, I’m just completely in love. It’s so much better than I could’ve ever anticipated. 

First of all, CHRISTIAN BORLE IS IN THIS- I love any musical he’s made an appearance in, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Falsettos and Little Shop Of Horrors just to name a few. But now he’s a teaching assistant at Harvard in the form of Emmett Forrest!! I!! Can’t!!!

Laura Bell Bundy is a powerhouse as Elle Woods. She brings just this amazing amount of energy and fun to her role, and she’s still achieving all her dreams! 

I will admit, the Delta Nu chorus got annoying at times, but there were plenty of dance breaks where they made up for it. 

Vivienne was an interesting character for me! Obviously didn’t like her in Act 1, but the redemption arc was absolutely worth every second that it was present. 

Paulette and Kyle are such beans!! I’m so glad they got together <3 

I don’t know how I feel about Warner tbh, his character was dropped for me the minute Act 2 was on. 

And. 

I’m writing fanfic for this, yes, just a day after I gave the musical a full watch through! I’ll likely post it on my AO3, maybe even here! 

Lmk what you guys think! 

[larcher0001]

Smash Thoughts Season 1, Ep 1-8

So I'm watching Smash (that show surrounding making a musical).

I love Tom (biased (played by Christian Borle)), I love Leo... That's kinda it. Everyone else is like okay or I hate hoe much I love them and won't admit who it is because like I said I don't like that I like them.

Same time I'm on episode 9.

Trying to take a break because watching irl actors on tv shows always make me extremely melancholy for some reason.

I'll probably binge it as fast as possible when I get a chance. Simmer on it for a week as I watch something that doesn't make me feel bleh then watch Smash again, understanding the characters better and by then I'll love the show with all my heart and won't feel bleh.

[alloutofgoddesses]

Prodigal Son - Season 2 Episode 9

- How is it once again prodigal son time

- Oh flashback time love it

- Painting!

- Christian Borle is back!

- ‘I stopped writing, started repressing’ I feel very called out

- Because it’s break time Malcolm

- You know Gil too well

- I love Malcolm so much

- Edrisa!! Hello love of my life how are you

- And this is an episode written by Sabrina!! I’m really behind on TGOG episodes I gotta catch up

- Leggies

- Edrisa’s so pretty this episode

- Martin & the doctor make me uncomfy

- Gil wants Dani to talk to Malcolm cause he knows she’ll actually get through to him 🥺

- Edrisa why is that scary

- OH NO EDRISA

- Malcolm being protective over birds he looks So pissed

- Killabustas 🥺 Edrisa please marry me

- And she just insulted the police ma’am- 💍💍💍💍

- Is this... is this an Edrisa focused episode? I’m gonna cry this is everything I’ve ever wanted

- Her alias is Kamasutures! I love her so much

- My poor cat is gonna be cuddled so much after this episode

- OH YES THIS IS SO RIDICULOUS

- Dr. Tanaka! I hate that Martin is so respectful of fellow doctors

- There’s the creepy Martin smile

- I know I’m gonna say this a lot but like I really love Edrisa Tanaka

- I also really love Keiko, because without her Edrisa wouldn’t be as special and wonderful

- Sorry babe

- It’s talk about your emotions time Malcolm

- Oh Dani...

- Okay fuck off

- ‘I pulled a Bright’ shdhhshahshshaj how quickly did that become a saying among our crew

- OH SHIT THERE’S PEOPLE THERE

- Okay hey Malcolm could you please not-

- Goddammit

- His shoe fell off :(

- What the fuck is happening

- Hello Killabustas

- Yay we love hallucinations

- Ah flirting good for Edrisa

- Those are great aliases but guys- how’d you know?

- WE GET TO GO TO EDRISA’S HOUSE

- I’d really like it if it wasn’t these guys who killed him because Edrisa deserves friends and happiness

- Gil’s face looking at Jessica 🥺🥺

- Edrisa I am in love with your apartment

- Uh no Spaghettios

- Martin!

- Hahaha I like Dr Capshaw (I learned the name)

- *gasp* Edrisa!!

- Hey Blaze that better be just nerves that have you looking around

- Whoopsie

- Oh that’s definitely the head

- Hey Martin how’s it going

- Ohhh origin stories

- I’m so uncomfy

- Mmmmmmmmm no thank you

- Welcome to Malcolm’s Edrisa

- Edrisa ma’am I’m so in love with you

- Oh no oh boy

- Poor Edrisa

- Edrisa I’m so sorry

- HELL YEAH

- THAT’S MY FUCKIN BABY

- You deserve to brag

- Hey Gil. Hey Jessica.

- These two are too cute

- Yes yes yes yes yes yes they’re dancing!! This isn’t a drill they’re slow dancing!!

- Are they actually gonna talk feelings over pizza that’s adorable

- Oh. Yeah. Okay. What a slip up Malcolm

- Awww Malcolm baby.

- Dani sweetheart please be patient

- There’s Friar Pete how’s it been dude

- Of course he’s only here to cause problems & sing that’s what Christian Borle characters do best

[dogwhizzer]

oh haha christian borle breaks character when anthony dances during year of the child NO FUCK YOU!!!! THATS IN CHARACTER!! THATS MARVIN FALSETTOS LAUGHING AT HIS SILLY LITTLE SON. THATS HIM OVERCOME WITH JOY AT HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIS CHILD *BEETS YOU WITH A STICK

[what-kinda-fuckery]

Hey so, I was one of the star struck falsettos stans that spent the forty dollars for the webinar, and I took notes (like a weirdo). So I decided I would share my funny moments and updates from the cast here!

- Host: Everyone should be keeping their audio off.

Christian: Oh alright!

Host: nO Christian not you

- Christians in Manhattan and his hair is back and he’s wearing a Superman t-shirt.

- Brandon is with his parents in NJ

- Stephanie and Brandon still love each other

- Brandon: Meat should be cooked just right

- Betsy: Stephanie are you in maple wood?

Stephanie: Well thank you for telling everyone where I am (she’s in NJ)

- Stephanie: Are you fucking kidding meee!!!

- Tracie is in LA, she looks like she’s in Costa Rica and I love her dog.

- Anthony’s VOICE IS LOW EVERYONES FREAKING OUT

they’re all talking about Anthony’s clear skin

- Andy Randy is in LA with a fresh haircut his boyfriend did it and he’s watching too much TV

Andrew: I’m watching this is America

Stephanie: SO GOOD

Andrew: SO GOOD

- Everyone’s having hard days

- Christian is acting out tracies dog’s pathetic bark and everyone’s like WHAT are you doing bc it looks like he’s about to throw up

- BETSY IS A WEEK AWAY FROM HAVINGA WHOLE CHILD

Betsy: What else do you do during a pandemic? Have a baby!

Andrew: Can I toss out another baby name? Celery.

Literally everyone: Goodnight Andrew goodbye!

- Christian is living with a girl (?) and playing board games instead of watching television

HE COOKS NOW EVERYONES PROUD OF HIM

Christian: yesterday I made pork filet en croute

Stephanie: I MADE PORK WITH SAGE AND APPLES ON WEDNESDAY

Stephanie: In mean girls they wear pink on wednesdays. In falsettos they make pork.

- I can’t get over Anthony’s voice

Again everyone returning to his literally perfect skin

- Stephanie: When watching four jews in a room in the beginning who’s in China?? I know the answer I just want to hear someone say it.

Andrew, with a thick accent: It was Bryna, in China, with a torn miniscus

- Christian: Did anything interesting make it on to the telecast between me and you? Andrew? Actually I dont remember I need to do my research.

Andrew: There’s been some strange comments about Christian and I- (AT THIS POINT IM WHEEZING)

HE MENTIONED THE TONY BONY

HE SAID IT WASNT A THING

HE DIDNT HAVE ONE

Andrew: No that’s not a thing that happened

Brandon: Andrew i want you to know that it’s okay if it was. It’s a safe space just the seven of us. (Lol)

- Bill Finn would take two steps into the room: “WROONG”

Stephanie: he wanted me to sing the end of I’m breaking down up the octave and I said #notmytrina

Brandon: #NOTMYTRINA

- Tracie what did you do during act 1

Tracie: Betsy and I sat in that dressing room for like an hour and a half

Andrew: You SANG the WHOLE SHOW TRACIE

- Betsy watched parts of the first act to feel like she was there

- Betsy sprained both her ankles at one point during the run and was a trooper anyways

Brandon reenacting Betsy limping during look look look look

Everyone dies laughing

Christians LAUGH makes me SO HAPPY

- Betsys screen is frozen like this: 🤨

Andrew: What if she went into labor??? (This is a common thread throughout the zoom)

- Anthony: I’m getting a lot of glitching so Stephanie is just like “HUH UH UH UH”

- Betsy comes back and everyone is like

YOU GUYS ITS COMING!!!

- They bought Andrew an ice cream for his birthday from the vending machine at rehearsal

- Andrew: The Hawaii crop top

Betsy: I would give anything to have that

- Tracie: it was very hard. Very precise bringing the blocks together

Brandon: Trying to be like oh my god we’re going to a funeral

Andrew: MY DEATH IT WAS MY DEATH

- fan question: What did the blocks weigh?

Stephanie: They were like thick yoga blocks. Not heavy but awkward shaped

Andrew: Significantly heavier when Anthony sat on them

Anthony: I just realized how much I got thrown around

Stephanie: Anthony were you proud of yourself? #proudofyou

Anthony: The one moment I was cringing was father and son

Christian: HERE WE GO *SLAPS TABLE*

Betsy: Anthony’s like BLAH BLAH BLAH blah my line BLAH BLAH BLAH my line BLAH BLAH

Christian: I LEAVE THE PAUSE IF YOU CANT GET IN THATS ON YOU

Anthony: I was blinking in that number like constantly

Christian: THE WHOLE THING LIKE A SALAMANDER

Oh Anthony.

- Andrew: I HAVE A STORY ABOUT CHRISTIAN BORLE. Tech for what more can i say. He was laying on me. We were shirtless in underpants under the blankets.

Christian: SLOWER

Andrew: he leaned over; He sniffed his armpit and said “I hope you like France”

EVERYONE DIES LAUGHING INCLUDING ME

Christian: i haven’t worn deodorant in 10 years true story

- Christian: i seem to remember holding our pillows and blankets pretending like we were partying on fyre island and Andrew said:

Andrew: WHATS YOUR NAME???

Christian: No no it was something like:

WHAT HOUSE ARE YOU STAYING IN??

Andrew: WHAT HOUSE ARE YOU STAYING IN???

Betsy: James lupine I feel like we’re ruining this show

- Andrew: The shenanigans were real but so was the sadness

Stephanie: We’re real and we’re funny what you gonna do

- Andrew talking about how hard the show was to do: Finding some liberty, It’s a hard world to live in all the time. It was a hard time especially for Christian. I would sometimes go home and cry for no reason

Brandon: Building up emotion with nowhere to put it

Betsy: then Lesbians come in and provide all the levity

Stephanie: Although Dr. Charlotte brings in horrible news

Tracie: Everything’s beautiful at what more can i say and I’m like not so fast

- Tracie always had a funny thing to say

- Who broke character the most on stage?

Anthony Stephanie and Christian

Anthony: it was when I said “I don’t want a bar mitzvah” and I spit in your face a lot and you went like *puts arms up* and someone at stage door was like very condescending like it’s not professional

Christian: Oh my bad we’re people sorry

- Stephanie wrote a line in the show “YOU HAVE PAINTINGS OF DICKS”

- James wanted her to cut off her finger during I’m breaking down

And turn around with a bandaged bloody finger

- Betsy’s nose bleeding during something bad is happening

And Tracie was like something BAD IS HAPPENING

Tracie: Christians throwing up right now

Betsy: Bloody Kleenex up the nose THE SHOW MUST GO ON

- Fan question: Stephanie how do you belt with a banana in your mouth

Christian: Practice practice practice

Stephanie: just shove it in your cheek. But Really that wasn’t supposed to happen

Anthony’s nickname in the rehearsal room was little bananas because he had to gather up all the pieces of stuff after Stephanie shoved the table over with her rear. Sometimes he didn’t have enough time to put it somewhere so he would just put the pieces of banana in his mouth and that’s where it came from

That’s why

- Andrew: Stephanie your glasses are very chic

Stephanie: Oh my gosh thank you *shocked*

- Betsy: Bill was like I’d rather DIE than change lyrics for the pbs special

FLaT aS a LaKe

- Cue everyone accidentally talking over each other and saying what at each other for 30 seconds

Christian: what? what? what?

Who is it?

What’s going on?

- If you could play anyone else in the show who would it be

Anthony said Mendel

Tracie said Mendel

Brandon said Trina

Andrew said marvin

Betsy said whizzer

Stephanie said Mendel

And I honestly couldn’t hear if Christian said anything whoops

- Brandon: If someone could at some point explain to me the Mendel eats dirt meme? People have been Asking me if Mendel eats dirt? I don’t think it’s about Trina Trina is not the dirt. I was overwhelmed. Can someone in the Q&A explain this? *A few seconds later* oh It was from a meme generator?

Christian: Greaat.

Brandon: It’s a fan fiction about Mendel eating dirt and getting aroused by it

Everyone: WHAT

- They still get fan art

Someone recreated the whole soundtrack 8bit and also with KAZOOS

- Brandon: CONGRATS CHRISTIAN ON LULOS WIN FOR LITTLE SHOP. If you haven’t seen Christian in little shop it’s revelatory I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass I have not laughed that hard in a while at the theatre

- Christian talking about little shop

Christian has a 12 inch Batman toy in his dressing room and he misses it

- Ticket prices were getting out of control before corona everyones hoping this will make a difference

Brandon and everyone think it should get more accessible

- Brandon: Hear hear I need a refill

- Stephanie: Your hair looks incredible Brandon (it did)

Christian: She’s been waiting to talk about it for 53 minutes

- Andrew: Well Betsy what I’m wondering is have you crowned yet??

Proceed everyone dying

Brandon, taking a picture of the screen: This moment will go down in history as When Betsy was asked if she was crowning

- Everyone mimicking zoom freezing by starting a sentence and freezing halfway through

- Christian: What new Steven sondheim musical are you excited about Anthony *devilish grin*

Anthony having no idea what Christian is talking about

Christian: Come on Anthony you know the answer. Ugh. The minds of the young. You’re smoking pot now aren’t you??

Christian: We have a lot of fun

- Andrew: I’m trying to get people to pay attention to me

- Christians pretending to be frozen

Cue a lot of yelling: Stephanie BRANDON STEPHANIE

NO CHRISTIAN

Everyone accusing each other of being frozen

NO YOURE FROZEN

- Andrew: Let’s all act like we’re frozen

Steph: I see Andrew acting like hes frozen

Betsy: Watching you do that is killing me

- Listening to the cast recording for the first time together

Stephanie: Why was I the a-hole that couldn’t be there???

Christian: That’s a question only you can answer

- Betsys husband came in everyones like BETSY LOOK OUT

Christian: that scared the shit out of me

- What is marvins last name and what was his line of work

Christian: we definitely said it at some point right? (They didnt) but he was in advertising. What was the last name? Gardens? O’Malley?

- Andrew: Betsys gone oh no

Betsy: I’m right here!!!

Andrew: She’s giving birth (again)

Stephanie: Betsy Wolfe is a ceiling

- Brandon: Welcome back Anthony. You’re here now.

Anthony singing merrily we roll along over Betsy trying to tell a story

Christian: STOP SMOKING POT IN YOUR BEDROOM ANTHONY

- Betsy: Steve (Steven Sondheim) comes to the door I call him steve

Into the woods is the reason Betsy is in theatre

- Betsy: Andrew was nervous singing at the tonys for Book of Mormon and he got dry mouth he sang like 😬I BELIEVE and he licked his lips so much during the song.

Brandon: Did you have a boner then too?

Andrew: GUYS DONT BE DICKS

Stephanie: It’ll be like dry mouth, boner

Andrew: BETSY YOU FUCKIN BITCH ITS ACTUALLY NOT THAT BAD

Stephanie: Bets maybe we should wrap it up

- Brandon sings MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

EVERYONE TELLING HIM TO STOP SINGING I took a video it was beautiful might post that later

- “Tracie Thomas from Lent!”

Tracie having stage fright

Tracie: Billy porter said “oh child we all forget the words” and walked away

- Anthony said WHO SHAT THE BED in four jews once

Anthony: That’s my contribution. Steph got her line, I got who shat the bed

- Steph: We lost andrew oh no

Christian: Um, we lost andrew ten minutes ago. Yeah when Brandon started singing

- Then Betsy sang a song by Bill Finn beautiful

- Steph: Wear your masks and eat pork on wednesdays

That was it!! I hope you enjoyed and people who were there if I got anything wrong that’s my human error it was hard to note everything I wanted to. Smooches! Byee

[skyblue-ringpops]

Since Broadway is shut down, I’m gonna reflect on the Broadway shows I’ve seen

Beetlejuice: Alex. Brightman. He’s amazing. I went in October so they handed out these cute pins. I was in the orchestra, so right by the stage. Ryan Breslin waved at me during the bows! Best performances go to Alex Brightman, Leslie Kritzer, and Dana Steingold. And Sandy tbh. Best character goes to Miss Argentina, Delia, and Otho. And Sandy. Best song goes to Home. Best part goes to the game show part, especially Otho. 

Be More Chill: Honestly, this was probably my least favorite show. I don’t have much to say about it. Like...George Salazar was amazing. Will Roland was too. Besides that...eh? I also saw it before the cast recording came out, so I was disappointed by Pitiful Children. Best performance goes to George Salazar. Best character goes to Michael. Best song goes to Michael In The Bathroom. Best part goes to “Michael makes an entrance”.

The Book of Mormon: I saw this with my mom... Awkward. Especially Joseph Smith American Moses. But it was absolutely hilarious! I loved every second of it. My mom did too. And she didn’t yell at me after! I also found it hilarious that there’s a church across from the theatre. Also, the theatre was the most gorgeous one I’ve been to. Best performance goes to Stephen Ashfield and whoever played Jesus. Best character goes to Elder McKinley. Best song goes to Turn It Off (the vests, man). Best part is a tie, Spooky Mormon Hell Dream (not the best song because I liked the staging more than the actual song) and literally every line Jesus has.

The Cher Show: This was my first one that I still remember well. I also saw Stephanie J. Block without knowing who she was, so... That was fun. Anyway, I thought the show was amazing, especially the choreography and the costumes. Best performance goes to Teal Wicks. Best character goes to Sonny Bono. Best song goes to I Got You Babe, Just Like Jesse James, and If I Could Turn Back Time (I know... It’s a lot). Best part goes to the classic Sonny line, “Stupid tree.” 

Dear Evan Hansen: Underwhelming finale. Besides that, it was amazing. The most emotions I’ve felt in a single show. I also accidentally made Alex Boniello break character... I don’t know how, all I did was look at him. And the lady next to me pulled a banana out during intermission... It was weird. Anyway! Best performance goes to Michael Lee Brown. Best character goes to Connor and Jared. Best song goes to You Will Be Found and So Big / So Small. Best part goes to that dance in Sincerely, Me... You know the one. 

Hadestown: Magical. Worth the price. Best show experience I’ve ever had. Right before the show, we found out that Andre DeShields was out, and Anthony Chatmon II would be making his Hermes debut. And he killed it. I had no idea it was his debut until I saw it on his Instagram, and I never would’ve guessed. Best performance goes to Reeve Carney and Anthony Chatmon II. Best character goes to Eurydice and Persephone. Best song goes to Wait For Me. Best part goes to the swingy lamps.

Little Shop of Horrors: Also worth the price. Sadly, no Christian Borle. But Chris Dwan was absolutely amazing. Literally the only issue I had with this was Orin never riding out on a motorcycle... Just kidding. Kind of. This show technically shouldn’t be on the list since it was off-Broadway, but...it counts. Anyway, the finale... a bit weird. But it was good. Best performance goes to Gideon Glick for sure. Best character goes to Seymour (Audrey is usually my favorite). Best song goes to Suddenly Seymour and Ya Never Know. Best part goes to Gideon Glick’s dancing. He’s adorable.

Oklahoma!: I knew nothing about this show going in and had extremely low expectations, but it blew me away. Sadly, no Ali Stroker. However, I loved Sasha Hutchings’s performance. And Damon Daunno... Wow. He’s so talented. I also loved everything about Poor Jud Is Dead (Pore Jud Is Daid). Patrick Vaill was perfect. Will Brill was hilarious. Best performance...this is a lot...Patrick Vaill, Will Brill, and Damon Daunno. Best characters, Ado Annie, Ali Hakim, and Aunt Eller. Best songs, Can’t Say No, Pore Jud Is Daid, and It’s a Scandal! It’s a Outrage! Best part is the wedding scene and Pore Jud Is Dead (miles around!)

The Prom: I begged to go to this show. Partially for Anthony Norman, I’m not gonna lie. Fun fact: I saw Patrick Page going into the Walter Kerr while waiting to go inside! Okay, so, Beth Leavel was spectacular. The choreography was amazing (especially the male ensemble). The costumes were also very nice. Best performance goes to Beth Leavel. Best character goes to Barry and Trent. Best song goes to Unruly Heart. Best part goes to all the promposals in You Happened, as well as the male ensemble’s dancing.

[jgroffdaily]

Jonathan Groff sticks close to Lancaster roots while branching out in film, stage and TV

Conestoga Valley grad will move from off-Broadway musical to new 'Matrix' sequel on film.

When he is on stage at the 270-seat Westside Theatre in New York, Jonathan Groff says he often thinks about the Ephrata Performing Arts Center.

He is playing Seymour in an off-Broadway production of “Little Shop of Horrors,” which is being directed by Michael Mayer, of “Spring Awakening” fame, with Broadway veterans Christian Borle and Tammy Blanchard at Westside.

“Everyone is doing this for the fun of it,” Groff says. “It reminds me of EPAC. Nobody is trying to gain anything from it. There are no ulterior motives.”

The show is largely sold out, and reviews have been strong. Ben Brantley, of the New York Times, wrote that Groff “is generating major nerd charisma.”

For Groff, 34, being onstage is his “ultimate existence.” “That’s when I’m happiest,” he says. “ ‘Honk’ and ‘Bat Boy’ (shows he performed in at EPAC), it doesn’t get much better than that. And that’s how I feel with ‘Little Shop.’ ”

Hometown plans

Home is never far from Groff’s mind. He returns to Lancaster frequently, though sometimes just for a day.

“He was here for less than 24 hours on Thanksgiving,” says his mother, Julie Groff.

And he recently purchased a house and property next to his father’s farm in Christiana. It’s a place to live when he’s home, but also, Groff has plans for it.

“I want to turn the barns into creative spaces — a recording studio, an editing suite, a place to write, or a place to have small workshops,” Groff says. “I want it to be inspiring, quiet and peaceful.”

It’s in the future — Groff says it is a 10-year plan — but he is excited about the possibilities. He got the idea while he was playing Melchior Gabor in the cast of “Spring Awakening,” which he did off and then on Broadway from 2006 to 2008.

“Gideon Glick (who played Ernst and will be replacing Groff next month in ‘Little Shop’) was the first to leave the show, and my mother got a school bus and brought everyone in the cast to Lancaster,” he recalls.

“We hung out in the barn and had a bonfire outside. Gideon said how rejuvenating and inspiring it felt, and that got me thinking. It’s close to New York. Someone could come and spend a couple days here. My dad (Jim Groff) loves the idea, and I love the farm,” Groff says. “So as the years go by, we’ll make it a creative place.”

“When I bought the horse farm in 1987, the Realtor bought the frontage (of the property) and built eight houses. Jonathan bought one of those houses,” says Jim Groff, who is a horse trainer and a jockey. “The view out back is, well, you can’t beat it.”

Both Groffs note that their son won’t be tearing any of the barns down and won’t be changing the house much. As a creative spot, it will not have concerts or performances, but will be a quiet place.

“He wants to keep it all natural,” Julie Groff says. “It’s going to look sharp.”

Big movies

Groff’s career is going at hyperspeed these days.

He had to take time away from the “Little Shop” run for an intense press junket for “Frozen II,” the animated musical film that was released last month and is turning into another massive hit for Disney.

And it was announced recently that Groff will be appearing in “Matrix 4,” a film sequel scheduled for theatrical release in May 2021.

“He’s working with a personal trainer. The ‘Matrix’ people are getting him in shape,” says Jim Groff. “He’s working out every day, and he’s on a really strict diet. What gets me is he had to take a picture of everything he ate for a while.”

“He basically barely has enough time to eat,” says Julie Groff. “He is loving this, but I am sure it will catch up with him.”

There is no rest for the weary. Groff is set to leave “Little Shop” on Jan. 19.

The next day, he starts working on “Matrix 4,” which is being filmed partially in Chicago.

“He’s always wanted to appear in a big action movie,” Julie Groff says. “But he’s really a Disney fan. He always wanted to be in a Disney movie, and that turned out well.”

Indeed. “Frozen,” in which Groff voices mountain man Kristoff, was a global phenomenon and the largest-grossing animated film in history. The sequel is breaking records, too.

“I find it so easy to talk about ‘Frozen II,’” Groff says. “It’s so good, and the relationships with the directors and the the cast have been so positive.

“A lot of my interviews have been with Josh Gad (who voices Olaf the snowman),” he says. “We had such good time. It’s almost like a vacation.”

Groff says that when the first “Frozen” film came out in 2013, nobody expected it to be as huge as it was.

“We had all scattered after the film and didn’t really have a chance to do a lot of publicity,” he says. “So this was like a celebration for us.”

Anybody with children of a certain age will tell you how powerful “Frozen” was for their kids, particularly their daughters. Groff thinks part of the success of the movie was how it empowered the female characters.

“Kristoff is an evolved mountain man,” he says. “I love that he is there to serve the women — a man letting women take the spotlight. That flips convention.”

For a few weeks, Groff was all over TV, appearing on just about every talk show out there, from Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” to Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show.”

During his most recent appearance with Colbert, Julie Andrews was another guest.

“Can you believe I met Julie Andrews!” Groff says.

On the show, Groff showed footage of his 3-year-old self dressed as Mary Poppins for Halloween, and noted that his older brother, David, was dressed as The Entertainer, complete with top hat and cane. In the family video, David Groff says of his brother, “He has lipstick on — oooooh!”

“He was trying to upstage me,” Groff says, laughing.

“You’ve got a great mom (to let you do that),” Colbert said.

“I do have a great mom,” Groff replied.

“ ‘Mary Poppins’ was Jonathan’s first real movie. He watched it every single day,” says Julie Groff. “It was my two-and-a-half hours to get things done. He became obsessed with the movie and acted out all the parts.”

His father says that he has always studied movies and other actors onstage.

“When he did stuff at the Fulton or at EPAC, smaller stuff, he would sneak around the corner and watch them every night — watch the changes the actors made,” Jim Groff says.

“Even today he does that,” Julie Groff says. “He never stops learning.”

“I like to call him up and give him my notes after I see a show,” Jim Groff says. “We get a laugh out of that.”

Not easily recognized

You’d think Groff would get stopped by people all the time, especially because of appearances on Fox’s “Glee,” HBO’s “Looking” and the Netflix series “Mindhunter,” in which he plays FBI agent Holden Ford. (Groff says the show is on hiatus at the moment.) But he says he rarely gets recognized.

“I look like a generic white person,” he says. “And I’m mainly on my bike because that’s how I get around New York. I sign autographs if people ask.”

“He said he walked down the street in his King (George) outfit from ‘Hamilton’ once and nobody paid any attention to him,” says Jim Groff with a hearty laugh. “In New York, people don’t bother you much.”

“Things may change with ‘Matrix 4,’ though I hope not,” Julie Groff says.

But Groff hasn’t changed. He still visits with friends from home backstage during a show. He is still accessible and friendly to everyone he meets.

“With Jonathan, what you see is how he has always been,” Julie Groff says.

Right now, Groff says, life is very full. His career is going great, he’s in a relationship with New Zealand-born choreographer Corey Baker, who lives in London, and he’s closer than ever with his family.

“This is a sweet moment in time,” he says.

[i-d0nt-even-kn0w]

Thoughts on the Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway (2019) Cast Album

The Cast Album for the Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway 2019 revival recently came out, so I thought I’d throw in my two cents on it. 

I’m going to write this while listening to it, but I will put a disclaimer ahead of time that so far from what I’ve heard I overall, quite honestly, don’t love it. I don’t think it’s bad, for sure! But I feel like everyone is fawning over Johnathan Groff and Christian Borle and calling it “the best lsoh yet” which I just... don’t agree with at all.

I thought I’d create this post to gather and explain my thoughts as well as create a discussion. Whether you disagree or agree with me, comment in the post; I’d love to hear what y’all think! I’m interested in hearing others opinions and their explanations as to why.

But for now, here’s a bullet pointed list of my thoughts down below:

Johnathan Groff as Seymour

I’ll be transparent and admit that I didn’t think Johnathan would be a good cast for Seymour before I even heard the album, but listening to it confirmed my suspicions. He obviously can sing the notes fantastically (he’s such a good singer ahh!!!), but he also obviously isn’t the type for Seymour. Furthermore, he doesn’t even try to act into the type that Seymour is or character sing like Seymour would. It consequently sounds like he’s playing the typical handsome male lead in a musical, which Seymour isn’t--he’s more of a loser kid type (to quote my sister) and I just don’t think Johnathan pulls it off. 

I hate comparing actors, but I feel it will help to explain what I mean. I think that one of the reasons George Salazar was so good as Seymour in Pasadena Playhouse is because he fits the type and does the character singing, and it feels like how Seymour should feel: a cute, awkward loser. Not a handsome, charismatic guy barely mimicking one.

Tammy Blanchard as Audrey

I cannot say I support Audrey singing in a lower octave the way that this show chose to. Again, they butchered the character voice in the singing, and although some people find it refreshing, I find it out of place. 

I usually am awful at noticing autotune, but even I could hear it in Tammy throughout the album. Not necessarily her fault, but strange some people seemed to think she needed it so much.

Her “I’m sorry, Doctor” and everything after in “Feed Me” sounded so weird and not genuine and felt like she wasn’t even trying to act?

The more I listen to her the more I just really don’t like her Audrey... I’m sorry, Tammy. She’s not a bad singer, just... odd choices for Audrey, odd singing and voice acting choices.

Her “oh my gaaawd” in “Suppertime (Reprise)” and literally everything in it wtf I can’t even try to be polite anymore I’m so sorry Tammy but what?

The worst part of this album I am so sorry, Tammy.

I’ve realized while listening to “Somewhere That’s Green (Reprise)” that maybe Audrey sounds so weird because Tammy is trying to jokingly play up “Audrey is stupid haha” with her character voice and I PRAY that isn’t the case but if it is ooooh I’ll be so mad, Tammy/whoever the director is.

Tom Alan Robbins as Mr. Mushnik

His “Mushnik & Son” is fantastic! One of my favorite songs of the album, honestly. They get the creepiness and forcefulness of it well, it’s funny, and he actually leans into the character voice unlike many of the other actors. 

He doesn’t sound very old, which is what I prefer in a Mr. Mushnik, but this is just me being nit-picky lol.

Overall he’s one of my favorites from this entire album.

Christian Borle as Orin

I actually liked his “Dentist!” Not my favorite, but well done. 

“Now (It’s Just the Gas)” is where it all went wrong... but that’s its own bullet point. 

In all, I think Christian has the capability to be a great Orin, but the change in the musical orchestrations and the direction made him one of my least favorite Orins (but hey, at least he didn’t speak-sing every song like many Orins I’ve seen, thank GOD). I think the direction really voided Orin of any depth, and made him an JUST an unlikeable guy as opposed to an unlikeable guy who is also a comedic sadist who also can at times be genuinely friendly before you see him be a total awful person. Basically, they robbed him of complexity (and yes, Orin DOES have complexity).

His “now spit” didn’t sound like he took pleasure in it at all :(

Again, his “stupid woman, Christ what a freaking scatter-brain” and everything after it didn’t sound intimidating or even like he was trying to act at all... the slap didn’t feel intense as a result, and really killed the climax of “Feed Me”.

Kingsley Leggs as Audrey II

I have to be transparent again and say nothing will beat Michael-Leon Wooley as Audrey II in the 2003 Broadway revival, personally. He sang more into the role, which is how I myself prefer Audrey II to be played. That being said, despite Kingsley Leggs speak-singing more than I’d like, he pulls it off better than any of the many other Audrey II’s I’ve seen do it before, balancing speak-singing with his actual singing voice very well. And his actual singing voice is phenomenal! One of the better parts of the album.

His “Suppertime”? Mwah, chef kiss. Fantastic.

The Urchins

They were great, I don’t really have any criticisms for them, probably because they are roles that give the actors a lot more freedom in terms of acting and vocal choices.

Their “The Meek Shall Inherit”? Mwah, chefs kiss, their voices blend so well together. I love...........

The Orchestrations

They make them different from the usual LSOH orchestrations, most noticeably in “Now (It’s Just the Gas)”, which I will get to soon...

In general it’s not terrible, just not as good as the original in my opinion. I can tell they were going for something different, which I can respect, but it just comes out as odd when I’m listening to it. Perhaps it’s better on stage.

“Now (It’s Just the Gas)”

I have particular criticisms on this song because it’s one of my favorite songs in the show for its complexity, horror, and orchestration. This version, in the process of making it campy and different, gutted the song of it’s meaning.

They sped up Orin’s part in the music, which TOTALLY pulls away from the effective contract between his part and Seymours. Orin’s part should be slow to create the horrifying effect that he is dying slowly, begging slowly for Seymour to help him as he laughs himself to death. Seymour’s part is fast to show his frantic anxiety and fear from what will be his first murder. Instead this effect (which quite frankly is a basic part of any good LSOH) is ruined, and it ends up being a fast paced song all the way through that feels like it is just for laughs. One of the best parts of this song is how creepy and horrifying it is with the layer of comedy. This version of “Now (It’s Just the Gas)”... seems to not understand the song at all.

I personally believe Orin’s laughter should sound fearful at least a bit or at least towards the end, but it never does. It just sounds maniacal and leaning in to the comedy, which really takes away from whatever levity this number should have as Seymour’s first murder and the climax of Act I.

Christian’s Orin doesn’t sound angry (or, again, scared) when he dies. It really just feels like he leans into the joke psycho act, and this lack of character complexity or attempt to make us feel bad for a man literally laughing to death is... ugh.

Johnathan’s “Death?” at the end is much too frightened for my taste, and again creates a loss of impact in the song. The quiet fright yet calmness in which Seymour usually says “Death?” creates a sickening effect where you realize that he allowed a man to suffocate to death slowly while laughing. It’s supposed to be disgusting, not funny, not sympathetic towards Seymour (imo).

If you can’t tell, I am very passionate about this number. It’s a make or break song for me when I’m analyzing “is this a good production of Little Shop of Horrors?”

A Very Dumb Preference of Mine

More nit-picky personal preference thing, but I really prefer LSOH’s where Seymour is shorter than Audrey or at least not too tall. Johnathan is 5′11″ while Tammy is 5′6″. Again, super stupid and nit-picky, but just a personal reason this can’t be my favorite LSOH. It’s all about the subversion of stereotypical romance tropes.....

Bigger Than Hula Hoops

They renamed “Bigger Than Hula Hoops” “Da-Doo (Reprise)” in the album............... I’m being petty but that’s illegal.

CONCLUSION:

I’m sorry, but this is overall my least favorite version of LSOH (based off the cast album, of course!). Perhaps I’m biased, and perhaps people who say it’s their favorite version are biased because they are Johnathan Groff and Christian Borle stans (no shade, I am one as well). Either way, this is just my opinion, and I would again love to hear all your guys’s opinions: why you agree, diagree, etc!