#jeremy corbin

[beautyinsteadofashes]

26/06/2025 The Great Gatsby

The music is still not my favourite but the sets and lighting and costumes were gorgeous, the vocals were spine tingling, the acting was amazing and I giggled at the fact that you can just TELL that this score was written for JerJor's voice. Oh and John Owen Jones and Rachel Tucker just casually playing side characters???? Wtf I wasn't expecting that!

[theembergazer]

things I've heard private school children say

Is LH diffusing through the air?? ARE YOU OVULATING BECAUSE OF US?!??!!?!?

Don't put ready salted crisps on the sex bed

It's so obvious I just ate my hands

You should not have wife before life

We love politics and men

Bow before bae that's what they say

Jacketless man, sans jacket, UNJACKED

I did too much air

THE DEVIL ALL THE WAY

Do you want some onion epidermis?? EHEHHEHE THE FORESKIN

I thought I had a paper cut so I checked it and there was no paper cut but now there is?

Friend one: She slapped my thigh today - Friend two: NOOO SLAP MY THIGH

I WILL GIVE YOU RAW SALMONELLA CHICKEN

Pour the paprika until you feel it in your soul

OHH JEREMY CORBINNN, OHHHHHHH JEREMY CORBINNNNNNNNN (when the seven nation army (song) comes out of the speaker)

Friend one: Cup me!! - Friend two: Cold water you as well? - Friend one: Yeah thanks

Friend one: You like it rizzed?? Lightly roasted??? - Friend two: Hmmmm.... Spit rizzed......

Friend one: He's nice, he's fit, he's hot... He has a bike... - Friend two: You like a man with two wheels.....

Friend one: (Eating toxic waste) Did these get worse?? - Friend two: I think we just got older... - Friend one: DAMN YOU AGING!! They tell you about wrinkles, they tell you about loss of bladder control but they don't tell you about the loss of toxic waste tolerance

Gimme a cocksicle pleaseeeeeeeeee

Friend one: print("hello) would raise a syntax error therefore punctuation is crucial no matter where you are in life - Friend two: Well print("hello!!.!") would still work so your point is invalid

What, can I commit suicide?? YEAH!!

I LOVE GETTING HIT BY TRAINS

I must have been higher than Stevenson when I wrote this

But I thought Macbeth was a woman

You're not a mouse trap, you're a spoon

Life is short, make other people shorter

I was having a fight with a piece of paper. And it won

Friend one: Does anyone have a grey? - Friend two: It's called light black bro

CHILD you can drink a child? It's 11 calories... This one's only 0.1 calories!! :D

Friend one: I'm America - Friend two: Hi America, if you're feeling sexy you can bomb me or commit war crimes

[foulestbauble]

So this is how Americans felt after Joe Biden won

[seriesmusicandwrestling]

[nonbinary-vents]

Read Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel. I’d already watched the documentary so I sort of knew what I was getting into. At some point I started hyperventilating a little, so that’s nice

[hitchell-mope]

Hypothetical titles for season 26 of 88.

The inauguration. Season premiere. Part one. New York and the world tune in to see Drummond Sullivan be sworn in as the president of the United States of America.

Tail on the chief. Season premiere. Part two. Two weeks into his tenure Drummond is being stalked. First appearances of Haley Joel Osment and Emily Osment as republican reporters Wilson and Roosevelt “Sonny&Rosie” Dinwiddie

Staff meeting. Drummond exercises his right as president to indulge his social circle by putting them into roles of the president’s entourage.

Autobiographical. In the 600th episode Jones starts dictating his memories with the help of his personal assistant and flashbacks from all 26 seasons.

State of the reunion. Part one. Sullivan and Findlay have to go to their 40th high school reunion when Drummond reads out his first State of the Union address. Guest starring Ashley Tisdale as Annalise Marsden, Corbin Bleu as Rusty Kinney, Brenda Song as Principal Olivia Henning and Macauley Culkin as Ian Henning.

The class of 2025. Part two. The reunion turns into a murder mystery when both Annalise and Rusty are found dead in the principals office.

The pronoun game. Findlay and Sidney help a young boy convince his mother that he is not transgender after he disguises himself as his twin sister to take tap lessons after his school take dance classes off of the curriculum.

Competence. Drummond’s ability to be president is called into question when the Dinwiddie’s learn that he was born in 1980 and is therefore 85 years old.

Leave religion at the door. ACS&Associates come to Dr Corsica’s defence when she saves a young boy’s life against the wishes of his Jehovah’s Witness parents.

Blue Spanish eyes. Zack Caldwell springs into action when Arlene is hypnotically seduced by a male siren and his growing fanbase. Guest starring Jonathan Bailey.

The tour. The Sullivan Administrations first official cross country presidential tour is hounded by the Dinwiddie siblings every step of the way. Guest starring Taylor Lautner as Drummond’s new bodyguard Bucky Dunn.

The Sonny&Rosie Show. In this out of genre experience we see a day Wilson and Roosevelt Dinwiddie as they host their talk show. First appearance of Elisabeth Moss as Kennedy Dinwiddie and Krysten Ritter as her wife Reyna.

A benevolent conspiracy. Midseason finale. Part one. It’s Drummond’s first Christmas as president. And to celebrate he and Findlay invite two former presidents and one first grandson to let them in on their plan to keep republicans out of the White House. Featuring returning guest stars Jeremy Shada as Robbie Guilroy, Amy Acker ad Bethany DuPont and Adam Beach as Marcus Murray.

The special relationships. Midseason premiere. Part two. With new year approaching, Drummond and Robbie still need to get Marcus and Bethany on side.

Chronics. Findlay takes desperate measures when The Mages And The Mundane is up against a new medical drama called Chronics at the Daytime Emmys. Guest starring Chris Pratt as Emerson Davenport and Sandra Oh as Marianne Black.

Happy birthday mr president. Drummond’s 86th birthday party is interrupted by a betrayal from Bucky and an abduction performed by the Dinwiddie’s.

Manchurian. Part one. Further information is revealed about Buchanan Dinwiddie’s life and deception as his family takes President Drummond away to parts unknown. First full appearance of Weird Al Yankovic as Cleveland Dinwiddie

Chilean sausage pulp. Part two. Drummond can’t help but poke the bear and insult his captors even through they have a very unpleasant fate in mind for him.

Specifications. Arlene seeks out Deucalion for a therapy session after Findlay is a little bit more than candid about what she did with Ken dolls when she was eighteen.

Purists. The race is on to save Drummond from the Dinwiddie family. Along the way. Reyna and Buchanan have a realisation and a change of heart.

The first family. After Drummond’s rescue, Justine plays spin doctor and organises an interview for the Sullivan’s and Wilmington’s to have with the press.

Food, clothes and pets. Drummond exercises his verbally sadistic side when PETA attack people attending a pet shop open house.

Serial killer on life support. Humiliated and grievously injured after Drummond got rescued, Cleveland Dinwiddie starts his final plan from his hospital bed.

Sons of a witch. After a mishap with the latest stage in Barnaby’s business and a rather cruel ousting from a dog park after Jonah and Butterball’s relationship goes public, the twins team up to fix their respective love lives.

Preempted. Season finale. Part one. Drummond prepares to send a troop of specialist FBI agents, accompanied by some extended family, into a taping of The Sonny&Rosie Show to take down the Dinwiddie family once and for all. By any means necessary. Guest starring Ben Barnes and Mia Wasikowska as Ernie and Zara Roche. Final appearance of Weird Al Yankovic as Cleveland Dinwiddie

The take down. Season finale. Part two. With Cleveland dead as Zara’s hands, all that’s left for President Sullivan and the team to do is ensure that the rest of the Dinwiddie’s cannot escape his wrath. And Reyna and Buchanan are more than eager to help. Final appearances of Elisabeth Moss, Haley Joel Osment and Emily Osment as Kennedy, Wilson and Roosevelt Dinwiddie.

[death-of-a-ladies-man]

.

[emptytcwn]

tag dump #5

[cultfaction]

HERD trailer released

Framework Productions is thrilled to share the first trailer for action horror HERD. Officially Selected for this years FrightFest, the film will celebrate its World Premiere on August 26th at the iconic horror festival. Directed by Steven Pierce, the film stars Corbin Bernsen (Major League, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, LA Law), Timothy V. Murphy (Snowpiercer, National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Ellen…

[maybeitsapineapple]

THE GREAT GATSBY, LONDON 30TH APRIL

OVERALL:

A solid 7.5. I am NOT judging it as an adaptation of the book

If I liked the songs more I might give it an 8.5 but icl I think the songs are pretty mid. Also I swear to god the Gatsby/Daisy duet theme is Go The Distance from Hercules, especially when it comes up in Go

The individual performances are better than the thing as a whole. The charcterisation is fairly surface-level, and the first half is a bit rushed. Not in a ‘Nick’s whirlwind adventure’ type of way but in a ‘we’ve got to introduce all these characters fairly separately before we can start the plot’ kind of way. It is still a very entertaining experience, if you’re okay being entertained by visuals and vocals rather than substance and storytelling (which I am)

More specific thoughts under the cut!

TECHNICAL STUFF:

The party scenes look somewhat underpopulated. The dancing moves around the stage a lot to fill it, but if I’ve looked at the correct numbers the stage of the Broadway Theatre is like 10’ narrower than the Coliseum and the ensemble is the same size

The dancing was fun to watch and the ensemble are very talented but it looked a little incongruously modern at times

Set pieces are great. They look good and give the right sense of space/perspective without taking up too much space

Ensemble costumes look great. Cohesive but differentiated

Some of Gatsby’s outfits did not scream 'rich’ as much as I expected them to

One of the car doors came slightly loose which did make it look a little cheap, but you can’t deny that cars driving around on stage is fun. The positioning/angling is also good, and they take up space when they’re supposed to and don’t when they’re not

The lighting is fun and glitzy without being overwhelming. The night scenes look dark without being too dark. The spotlight during One-Way Road wobbled a fair amount though

PERFORMANCES:

Jamie Muscato obviously has a great voice, and it suits his songs, especially as he doesn’t sound quite so modern as Jeremy Jordan does on the OBC album. Great at portraying an earnest ball of anxiety, but there’s not a lot of mysterious, confident, public-persona-Gatsby build-up, so we don’t really get an opportunity for contrast. He’s charming enough in his scenes with Daisy, and he does pull off the growth from ‘ball of anxiety’ to ‘your wife’s leaving you for me’ convincingly, despite, again, not having a lot of time to do it in

Frances Mayli McCann suffers from having particularly uninteresting solos imo but delivers on the emotion even when the score doesn’t, and delivers her dialogue engagingly too. Obviously a brilliant voice and particularly captivating in Beautiful Little Fool, which is fortunate because it rescues what is otherwise a somewhat uninspiring final ballad

Corbin Bleu my love my fucking love. Everything he does is golden. His singing, his dancing, his speaking, his expressions, his movement around the stage. Unfortunately they sort of forget that he’s supposed to be the narrator for most of the middle

Amber Davies is, again, brilliant. Such energy, and she and Corbin Bleu have enough chemistry that it almost makes up for their godawful romantic subplot (which is not entirely the fault of the musical, in fairness). Doesn’t really make up for the somewhat flat characterisation

Joel Montague was lovely. Keeps it lowkey for most of the show, so it hits well when he really gets into it in act 2

JOJ is so good even with a broken arm. Very fucking growly. I am biased he’s my favourite Phantom (and Valjean too for that matter, although I haven’t really explored Les Mis boots so I don’t have many points of comparison)

Which bring us to Jon Robyns. I often find he’s a bit too nasal for my liking, but it sounds fine in an American accent, and I would have liked him to have a little more singing to do. Considering how much time he spends on stage, you sort of expect him to. His acting is a brilliant balance of laid-back but with the potential for anger always right there. He does smarmy bastard very well

Rachel Tucker. jfc she’s good. Like I knew she was good but like. She was funny and lively and then One-Way Road was just fucking chills for the entire song. In a show full of brilliantly performed solos this was probably my favourite, even though the song itself isn’t

[so-god-awful]

My Headcanons For Contestants Full Names

Drop yours too if you want!

1st OG Gen

Eva Charlotte Ariti

Owen Grant Bennet

Alejandro Leónel Burromuerto

Katelynn Samaira "Katie" Caridade

Courtney Paloma Cicada-Sadri

Tyler Finnegan Damon

Lashawna Zarina Davis

Lindsey Tia Galilea

Laurencia Inez "Izzy" Happernook

Cody Emmett Jameson-Anderson

Duncan Roy Jeremy

Justin Vincent Kanani

Sadie Karissa Kress

Bridgette Ellis Leasom

Ezekiel Caspian Mallory

Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V

Gwenaëlle Eloise "Gwen" Oleander

Heather Serina Saimei

Devin Joseph "DJ" Setal

Noah Danial Simamora

Beth Leanne Tremblay

Trent Corbin Verlice

Geoffrey Matthew "Geoff" Vesely

Sierra Chassidy Weber

.

2nd OG Gen

Horrance Scott "Scott" Campbell

Zoella Jacklyn "Zoey" Chancer

Dawn Guinevere Galene

Samuel Addison "Sam" Gallagher

Rudolph Lawrence "Lightning" Jackson

Beverly Dale "B" Kavi

Brick Gabriel McArthur

Dakota Elodie Blaire Milton

Annette Maria "Anne-Maria" Ricci

Eustacia Holland "Staci" Smith

Josephina Briella "Jo" Sutton

Michelangelo Gian "Mike" Testa

Cameron Corderoy Wilkins

.

3rd OG Gen

Sky Catiana Ahenakew

Bernard Tobias "Beardo" Awan

Ashleigh Desiree "Sugar" Berkeley

Rodney Edmund Canyon

David Zachary "Dave" Dhiren

Shawn Fletcher Earnest

Eleanora Emi "Ella" Hikari

Maximus Cain "Max" Mayhem II (I have reasons I promise)

Christopher Marlon "Topher" Lancaster

Leonard Griffin Lawal

Amanda Adele "Amy" Parker

Samantha Saoirse "Samey" Parker

Jasmine Cordelia Powell

Scarlett Jane Sutherland-Pól

.

I took Sky's last name off this Reddit post

.

1st Reboot Gen

Caleb Malcom Ambrosia

Rajesh Aveer "Raj" Ankola

Wayne Remington Côte

Alejandra Isabel "Axel" Espinoza-Moreno

Chase Bradley Gol

Millie Francesca Ikenna

Beauregard David "Bowie" Jackson

Lauren Fawn "Scary Girl" Janina

Damien Josiah Kamara

Mary-Kate "MK" Kasem

Reginald Philip "Ripper" Kensington

Nichelle Simone LaDonna

Priya Faiza Patil

Hezekias Rafael "Zee" Perdomo-Pineda

Emmeline Nicola "Emma" Rancourt

Julianna Fiore "Julia" Winther

.

[d-criss-news]

Evan Rachel Wood, Darren Criss on Stepping Into ‘Little Shop of Horrors’: “We’re Both These Little Theater ’90s Nerds”

The 'Westworld' actress and 'American Crime Story' star open up about deciding to take the stage together, personal connections to their characters, and their love for Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

It’s early afternoon on a Friday when Darren Criss and Evan Rachel Wood pick up the phone, just five days before the duo is set to debut as the new Seymour and Audrey in off-Broadway‘s Little Shop of Horrors. Both are on their way to the Westside Theatre stage for their first top to bottom run-through, taking over the complicated but beloved characters based on Roger Corman’s 1960 horror comedy and deftly adapted for the stage by theater legends Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (music). Now in its fifth year, several notable names have left their mark on this U.S. revival of the dark goings-on of a Skid Row flower shop: Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Conrad Ricamora, Corbin Bleu, Constance Wu, Maude Apatow, Tammy Blanchard, Lena Hall. But none quite like this, as an intentional leap together among friends.

As the interview begins, Wood — who is already at the theater — openly wonders whether she should take the elevator down to where she’ll soon meet co-star and friend Criss, before quickly interjecting that “you might lose me for two seconds.” Meanwhile, Criss declares he opted to skip the subway after realizing he was running behind, as he briefly turns on his Zoom camera to reveal himself in the backseat of a car.

Later, his voice will drop out for a few minutes, before reappearing, sounding winded. “I have my ear pods in, and so I just got out of the car talking to you guys, and you cut out,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Then I looked at the car driving away, so I just sprinted down the block to grab it.” This frantic energy is reminiscent of what you can find within this kind of scrappy, fast-paced, off-Broadway musical environment in the final days before curtains go up. As replacements, Criss and Wood will do so with less time to rehearse and no preview audiences on which to test their performances, but that doesn’t seem to phase either of them. Instead, with their easy and fun rapport, the duo celebrate the challenge of what it means to be passed this mantle for a three-month run, beginning Jan. 30. On Tuesday, Wood will make her New York theater debut, a long-awaited moment for the actress who grew up with a father (Ira David Wood III) as an actor, playwright and theater director in her hometown of Raleigh. With her early stage ambitions sidelined by a burgeoning film career — later including movie musicals like Frozen II and Across the Universe — the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Wood will finally return to her performance roots, a year after news of her attachment to a possible Thelma & Louise musical adaptation for Broadway.

Little Shop of Horrors will also mark Criss’ first return to New York’s musical theater world since a multi-week replacement run in 2015 as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. On the phone, he’s adamant that, absent traditional musical theater training, he’s fooled the world into thinking he’s more than an “actor trying to act like he knows how to sing.” But with several EPs, a Christmas album, Billboard-charting work with StarKids Productions, and roles in musical-driven screen projects like Glee and Hazbin Hotel, it’s hard not to believe that the Emmy and SAG award-winning performer, like Wood, will be right at home. Ahead of their debut, the duo spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about sharing the stage, the impact of Little Shop of Horrors across the stage and screen, their love of Ashman and Menken, and why these roles are personally resonant and remain culturally timely. Darren, you said in a previous interview that you had been begging Evan to come do theater in New York for years. How did you make that happen now and for you both together? CRISS Let me just start by saying as much as I can before she can hear me. I’m in a regular habit of just exalting Evan for her talent. I’d done this before I even had the great privilege of getting to know and become friends with her. I’m always talking about how wonderfully talented she is and how I’ve always really loved her voice and her breadth of ability. When I meet people who are these wonderful triple threats that have a really strong theatrical background — people who can sing and don’t have as many opportunities as I wish they did — I get off on the idea of people who didn’t know that they could do this thing finally getting to see that they could do this thing.

Evan has done a lot of singing in her life. She’s literally a Disney princess for Frozen II and there’s obviously Across the Universe. But knowing that she has this really strong theatrical background, I’ve always been hell-bent on getting her on a stage. As a friend, she has popped up on many gigs with me in my personal life just for fun and parties I’ve thrown. She showed up for me on the Christmas album. She’s said yes to me far more many times than I frankly deserve. So when this came around, a lot of my colleagues — a lot of my friends — have been Seymour, and who loves theater that doesn’t love Little Shop of Horrors? It would be a really fun time for me, but the thing that would make it really, really special is if I had got the chance to do it with an Audrey that not only I thought really could bring something spectacular to the role, but on a personal level, this is off-Broadway. We’re all doing this scrappy theater thing in a basement together. If we’re going to live on top of each other might as well be someone but I’m also personally very fond of and have a wonderful relationship with. So short story that’s way too long, I went to Evan and said “Hey, I have an idea. Would you be available to do this?” and thank my lucky stars, she said yes. I’m just a pig in shit, getting to do this with her. It’s an absolute joy. Evan, what’s your response to that glowing review, but also, why did you want to make this show your off-Broadway New York theater debut?

WOOD Funny enough, I have been so close to being on Broadway a handful of times and something has always come in the way of scheduling or something falls apart. It was actually my dream as a kid. I went back and read some old interviews of mine when I was around 12 or 13, and I completely had forgotten that my dream was to go live in New York, go to NYU, and do theater in New York. That was where my sights were set before my life sort of got derailed for a moment. So it’s always been in my sights. It’s gotten increasingly harder over the years to make it work, especially if you have kids, to be away from home for such long periods of time. Usually, the theater commitments are an amount of time that I was just never able to do and so the timing was perfect because I was thinking to myself, “God, I wish I could go to New York and do a play, but maybe not a six-month run. Maybe something around three months. A classic musical that’s going to be really fun.” Darren called me maybe a week later and said, “I’d love for you to come and do it with me,” and it was like an instant yes. To piggyback on what Darren said, I feel very similarly about Darren and that whenever he’s asked me to do something, I just know it’s going to be great. I know it’s going to be fun and I fully believe in everything that he does and his talent. We’re both these little theater ’90s nerds that just hit it off in so many ways, and we collaborate well together. I just felt like we would like this project. It’s made so much sense for both of us that it was a no-brainer.

Little Shop of Horrors is one of those musicals that even people who aren’t big fans of musical theater and attend regularly are aware of, both in terms of story and music. Among the many adaptations of this, whether it was a professional or high school staging or even any of the movie versions, was there one that made you want to do this show? CRISS I’ll say this. As hip of an aura as I’ve tried to give off, make no mistake, I think the biggest gateway to this property for everybody is hands down the movie. I was not seeing off off Broadway theater in the 1980s. I wasn’t there, and that’s why I love movie musicals so much. As much as I love going to the theater, being able to go to a Broadway show is a very specific and privileged situation tied to being in New York City. But whether it’s a liked or celebrated movie, it is still going to be the most accessible thing in perpetuity for everybody. So definitely the movie and those songs. Before you can really understand the complexities of the thematic, Faustian elements and high dramaturgical elements of the story — and before you even get the comedy — you get the music. Especially when you’re really young and your parents are playing you things that you go, “OK, well, kids can get behind music.” It doesn’t take much to understand that the music from that show is beloved. I mean, this music and this show are like proto-Disney Renaissance. It’s like what got [Jeffrey] Katzenberg to ask Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to help them out. It was like, “We want to do some Disney musical fairy tales.” Now, because of the show, we have The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast.

I grew up in the ’90s, as me and Evan tend to relate upon a lot. With The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and these films that I loved so much, as I got older, I really wanted to know more about the people behind them. I became obsessed with, and I talk a lot about, Howard Ashman and how much of an influence he’s had on the musical theater genre ever since the popularity of those films. So I wanted to go back to the start of that, and that’s when I started to dive into Little Shop and discover how this was the sort of nexus — the genesis — of everything. WOOD Yeah, same. I grew up watching the film and being so terrified by it, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I grew up doing theater. My father runs a theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, and so that was my childhood. I was always listening to show tunes, and as Darren said, the classic Disney albums, acting out plays in my living room and Little Mermaid was certainly one of them. Ellen Greene’s performance always stuck with me, and I am also a major Howard Ashman-Alan Menkin nerd for similar reasons as Darren. Those were all things that drew me to it. I was really terrified about and still am terrified about being eaten by the plant because it was like a deep seated childhood fear of mine that I had to conquer to do this show. It’s stuck with me since childhood. It’s not as bad as you would think. But it’s still pretty scary. Also just a fun fact, I was cast as Audrey in the seventh-grade school play, but I couldn’t do it because I was doing movies. (Laughs.) So I got pulled out of school, but I was almost Audrey in seventh grade.

CRISS You aged into it well. This is a much more appropriate time in your life being Audrey than in seventh grade, so worked out just great. (Laughs.) I just have to say, this production, we both have our careers going on and different dragons that we’re chasing in our professional and personal lives that committing to a big Broadway production is a huge investment. What’s so wonderful about this is, the way the show is set up, we can kind of come in for just a little bit. It’s really high output but like low stakes — and I don’t want to say that to be reductive of the production. I mean that the show is beloved. There are people that know this show but have never seen it, and have heard of it and know the songs without ever even having tried to listen and know the songs. So it’s so culturally ubiquitous, that it’s a very, welcome accessible thing for all kinds of folks and that might cross-pollinate between me and Evan’s demographic of people who might be interested in us. Also, it’s been running for long enough that I feel protected. I’ve seen this production several times. Evan and I went just last night. It’s something that you don’t have to figure out. One of the hardest parts about getting a show up on its feet is like, does it work? Do we want this song in? We got to do with an audience and you really have to workshop stuff for a long time. Shows take years before they’ve reached mainstream Broadway, so the fact that all that legwork is taken out is a no-brainer for us. It’s just this really like warm snuggle from something that we really love.

You’re right in that this is not a traditional production experience for you, as you’re coming in after others, and you have less rehearsal time, no previews. What have the challenges or exciting elements of that been for you so far? WOOD I don’t know about you, Darren, but I feel like one of the reasons why I said yes to doing this with you is because this is kind of where you and I thrive — in the fast-paced chaos. I need a challenge sometimes. I need that adrenaline and I need that fast pace, especially if I’m coming in to do theater. That’s where I grew up, and that’s what I’m used to. That’s where home is for me. So coming back into the theater into the organized chaos of it all feels right. My brain loves it and thrives off of it. When somebody says “Oh, this is a really hard number to learn,” I think, “This is going to be my favorite number.” (Laughs.) I love figuring something out, and picking it apart piece by piece and putting it back together, then conquering it. There’s just such satisfaction that comes from doing that there, Darren, and I think it’s similar for you. CRISS It is kind of a party trick some people are quick studies of, for better or for worse. I think this kind of pace suits us. I think it’s something that we wear pretty well, and I think we do that a lot in our own lives. But to do it together is pretty fun. I’ve thrown Evan into all kinds of things where she’ll just show up knowing a whole song last minute. That’s not too dissimilar, and it’s not like we’re learning new music. We know these songs.

In the theater world, you learn a track. It’s literally a track — there are little railroad tracks set around the stage because there’s no follow spots. The lights are where they are. You don’t have to do hours of tech rehearsal, figuring out where the lighting cues are. They’re there. It is our job to jump into a machine that is already very well-oiled and running. So in that regard, you’re kind of free from having to worry about that stuff. But you can just focus on your characterization and nuance within these very, specific directives. I’ve done a few put-ins. I think this is probably your first, Evan, for a show that’s already going. Correct me if I’m wrong. WOOD I did learn, for the record, Baz Luhrmann in one night and performed it the next night. CRISS Case and point. So yeah, doing a put-in — I’ve done it a few times for Broadway — it’s nice because then you can just focus on the little things that you really want to play with and not worry about these big macro things. What’s funny is that people always say, “Oh, I love Broadway music. I love Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.” The word Broadway is often conflated with the music from narrative storytelling, whether it be from films or TV. This show was always an off-Broadway darling. It was only really on Broadway for a little bit in 2003. Beyond that, it’s the movie and this off-off-Broadway show, which started in the ’80s and ran for a pretty long time. Then in just so many regional and school productions. But it’s actually only been on Broadway for a minority of the time.

WOOD And that was intentional, right? It was really important to them to keep it off Broadway because that was the spirit of the show. It was on Skid Row. It wasn’t supposed to be a big huge glitzy production. CRISS When you contextualize it, it’s a famous show now, but if you’re in the ’80s, and you’ve got some big Broadway musicals happening uptown, and you’re trying to tell your friends, “Yeah, I saw this thing downtown. You got to come. It’s kind of this doo-wop that’s based of this Roger Corman B-movie. There’s a plant that’s a puppet but it’s hard to explain. You just got to come down and see it.” (Laughs.) Trying to contextualize that, it makes you realize this really is a weird thing, man. It’s a weird, off-the-beaten-path, outlying renegade show. You’ve both done musicals in different mediums, which is, obviously, a different process. Was there anything you brought in with you about doing it on-screen to your performances now? WOOD It’s kind of the opposite for me. I’ve carried theater into my film work because I started in theater, so I learned how to do things fluidly and without stopping. There’s a lot of stop and start in TV and film and sometimes that’s nice. But sometimes it’s frustrating, especially when you come from a theater background. There’s something so satisfying about telling the story from beginning to end and playing the entire arc of the character in one go. There’s just a certain energy and an aliveness that comes with that that you can’t have when you have the camera in the room and it’s constantly moving and starting and stopping and changing.

CRISS I would say the same thing. I don’t know if this math checks out, but I think I’ve spent in my collective hours working in any kind of performing art more time in a theater than I have on a set. That might not be true, but in my mind, it feels that way. I constantly feel like I’m bringing what I know in the theater to film and television. I’d always prefer to be doing theater, but these days, listen, I’ll work anywhere, anyhow. As long as, hopefully, it’s positive, and additive to the world in some way. The theater, without getting on a total spiritual kick, it is a holy place. It’s an ancient art form. It is catharsis. It is sharing something with people in real-time before your very eyes. It’s why, despite the fact that we have TV and film and every possible AR, VR medium to displace our reality, theater is still around. It’s why we go to church, why we go to temple, why we go to the mosque — so we can experience something that we collectively want to believe in. We’re strangers and we want to elevate ourselves to something that’s bigger than the sum of our parts. I realize I said I didn’t want to get into a whole spiritual thing with it, but there you go. That can only happen after the fact, months if not years after you do it in a film set.

Evan and I are about to do our first put-in rehearsal, which is to say, we’re going to do the whole thing top to bottom, but there will be a key character missing, and that is the audience. The audience is one of the main characters of any show. And as much as you’d not want to break the fourth wall — that they’re not supposed to be there — of course, they’re there. Of course, that’s why we’re there — to have that kind of sacred communion with an audience giving you the privilege of their presence. You have a responsibility and a duty to make sure that you are sharing some kind of worthwhile experience with them. So getting to renew that experience every night, to me, is the most noble vocation that you can have as an artist.

WOOD I learned how to sing before I learned how to act because I wanted to do musical theater. So this is my favorite thing to do. Of all the mediums is being able to marry the singing and the acting together. Always my first love. CRISS I’m still learning how to do those two things, which is why Evan Rachel Wood is in this production — to teach me how to do those things. (Laughs.) Part of why shows like Little Shop go on for so long — why they can get this many revivals or adaptations — is that there’s something timeless about the story and its characters. For you, what is most timeless about Seymour and Audrey? Amid all the other actors who have taken on these roles, what are you most connecting to? WOOD From what I understand, everybody that’s come in to do the show brings their own energy and spin on it. Especially with Audrey — Ellene Greene, her performance is so iconic. The look, the voice, the songs. So stepping into that is figuring out how I pay homage to the parts of this character that people love and expect to see, but also bring my vibe and energy to it. That’s exciting to figure out what my Audrey looks like. For me, it’s also hard not to relate to her and her struggles because, unfortunately, those are very timeless — poverty, abuse, patriarchy. She’s sort of a victim of all of those things. Not to get too real for a second, but I am a domestic violence survivor playing this character who is going through similar struggles, who has these similar feelings and dreams of getting out and going to a better place and getting far, far away from her past. They’re all very real things, but they’re in this setting of campiness and horror. What’s amazing about the show for me is that it is fun. It is campy. There are man-eating plants. But there’s such sincerity to it as well. Especially with Audrey, Seymour, and their relationship. There are so many beautiful real moments between the two of them. Themes of poverty and capitalism are still just so prevalent that that’s why it’s so timeless because these things just are not going away.

CRISS I’m glad Evan mentioned her own experience and what that brings to the show. I think, for my money, pathos is a dish best served sweet. Comedy and fun are a wonderful support system for really heavy themes. WOOD Exactly. CRISS I think I’m that I’m more likely to take something more seriously if it’s not shoved down my throat. This is a comedy and to me, there’s not a lick of fat on this thing from Howard Ashman who was just such an extraordinary dramaturg. He took this really silly B-movie, and managed to hone in on the very ancient themes. You’re asking what makes Seymour so timeless. It’s a Faustian tale. This is the one of the oldest fables asking what is the price of greatness. What is a man willing to do, willing to give up, willing to trade to get what he wants? WOOD He literally sells his soul. CRISS Yeah, he sells his soul. The plant is Mephistopheles in this parable of Little Shop. But, of course, if you’re going go downtown and say, “I’m going to do a show. It’s like a Faust thing, and Mephistopheles shows up,” you can see people’s eyes glaze over. Well, how about it’s this guy, there’s music that is evocative of what was popular in the late ’50s, but the plant sings. It’s sci-fi, but it’s horror, but it’s fun, and it’s comedy. Now you have my attention, now I’m subscribing to the fun and the music. But by the end of it, I’m experiencing a classic, traditional, academic tale in a really fun way. When you said there’s been millions of iterations of this show, my mind went to, there’s been millions of iterations of this story. This is probably just one of the funniest ones I can think of.

There is ancientness to this tale. I’ve realized recently I’ve made a lot of my roles, especially in the Broadway world, about people who would do anything to accomplish greatness. To varying degrees of evil or good or compromise, people are always trying to figure out what it is they have to do, and what they have to give up. What line they would cross to get it. A lot of times people are kind of conflicted [watching Little Shop of Horrors] because you are rooting for this guy doing this thing, but he’s doing something terrible. Does that make you complicit? Are you a bad person for wanting this? All those things are the bread and butter of good old-fashioned drama.

[dimension20npcofalltime]

Round One - Bracket Fifteen [Dimension 20 NPC of All Time]

Constance Brockhollow vs Jessa

Propaganda under the cut

Constance Brockhollow - She/Her

Campaign: Mice and Murder

Who is she?

Constance Brockhollow is the daughter and oldest child of William Thornwall Brockhollow, and older sister of Jeremy Brockhollow. She is married to Dr Corbin Magpie, a commoner, and as such is unable to become the new Squire Badger when her father dies.

Why is she the NPC of All Time?

She's 6'8", she doesn't care about reputation, she's modern and progressive, she threatens to drop-kick a cop in the taint. What more could you want in an NPC?

Jessa - She/Her

Campaign: Escape from the Bloodkeep

Who is she?

Jessa is one of Lilith's many spider children. She is notable for being a design major and making John Feathers his suit. Jessa also contributed to the final battle of the campaign with her mother and her brother, Jason. At the end of the campaign, Jessa starts her own design firm.

Why is she the NPC of All Time?

You go queen!! design your own clothing line!!

[jayjo-reads]

Jeremy Corbin coming out of nowhere and the mic blew out with cheering. The twists keep twisting.

[lithuanianking]

Hot take but I don't think Jeremy Jordan was right for Seymour.

Don't get me wrong Jeremy is extremely talented and I'm a big fan but he just doesn't fit the character.

Jack kelly?yes

Clyde? Yes

Gatsby?yes

Seymour krelborn?no

I'm a firm believer in every little shop of horrors character should be played by a character actor

(an actor who specializes in playing eccentric or unusual people rather than leading roles)

To really fit the campy 60s feel. Jeremy Jordan is not that. He typically plays the male lead. I also don't think Darren criss was good as Seymour for this same reason.

Now I don't think either of these people are necessarily bad at acting it's just there not good at playing that type of character.

Hunter foster,Corbin blu,Lee wilfoff and Rick moranis were all great Seymours. Now not all of these people are charcther actors but they still were great Seymours.

Ellen greene was a amazing Audrey that I've yet to see replicated.

Steve martin,franc luz,taran killam,and douglas sills, all great orins. (Notice the absence of Christian borle)

It seems like in most of these off brodway productions there just stunt casting the leads and offten (not all the time) they aren't fit to play those types of characters so you have mushnik,twoy and the urchins pulling all the weight!(I'd say orin but I haven't seen a off-Broadway orin be good so far)

I just genuinely hate stunt casting in general the only good example is the 1986 movie that Is the best casting I've ever seen.

But yeah,doesn't mean I don't like these actors,just means I don't like them as Seymour.

( also Jeremy Jordan isn't nerdy enough to be Seymour)

[mpreghotties]

Bonus round! We will have guys team up to see who can win this bonus round and come back next game!

The losers of the first round of the first round will an extra month inside Max Thieriots belly, be digested and then reformed.

The losers of the second round will stay an extra week inside Max Thieriot’s belly

The top 2 and 1 are able to avoid all Punishments and move on to game 3.

The winning team gets to skip the first round and be that much closer to winning game 3!