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This page is about The 2003 Broadway Production of Little Shop of Horrors. For other uses, see Productions.
Little Shop of Horrors - Broadway 2003 Poster

2003 Broadway Poster

The 2003 Broadway Production was Little Shop of Horrors first appearance on Broadway. It qualified as a revival due to the massive off-Broadway and movie success - though there were many bumps in the road along the way.

After a tryout in Florida for the heavily-publicized Broadway production, the director and all of the cast members except Hunter Foster (Seymour) were dropped - and then following 10 months of performances on Broadway, Foster and two of his new costars were replaced.

The show ran for 40 previews and 372 performances before closing at the Virginia Theatre on August 22, 2004. The national touring company zigzagged across the United States from August 2004 to November 2005, playing an additional 416 performances.

Tryout[]

In 2003, a tryout was held in Coral Gables, Florida for the Broadway revival with Lee Wilkof, the man who originated the role of Seymour Off-Broadway, stepping into the role of Mr. Mushnik, with Hunter Foster playing Seymour and Alice Ripley as Audrey. The production was poorly received and the Broadway run was initially canceled,[1][2] but it got a last minute reprieve with only Foster retaining his job.

The Untouchables star and Unsolved Mysteries host Robert Stack provided the show's opening narration,[3] in what was to be his final piece of work before his death[4] on May 14, 2003 - two days before previews had finished and the show officially opened.

Originally the Broadway soundtrack was to have been recorded with Alice Ripley and Lee Wilkof on June 23rd 2003,[4] but when plans for the show were initially scrapped, so was the recording session.

Cast[]

Broadway[]

Cast[]

Revisal[]

In June 2004, there was a casting shakeup. Hunter Foster exited the show on June 6, leaving understudy Jonathan Rayson to fill in as Seymour for several weeks. Douglas Sills (Orin) left the show on the 13th, leaving his understudy, Darren Ritchie, with the part. On June 22, 'N Sync's Joey Fatone took over the role of Seymour and Jessica-Snow Wilson replaced Kerry Butler as Audrey.[5] Ritchie was committed to Dracula: The Musical," so Rayson played the role of Orin for a week,[6] then he returned to being an understudy when Robert Evan took over the part.[7] The rest of the cast remained unchanged.

Replacement Cast[]

Opening Night Playbill[]

Images[]

National Touring Company[]

For the national touring company, director Jerry Zaks and a few people behind-the-scenes stayed on, but the entire cast was changed. Anthony Rapp (Rent) took over the role of Seymour, and Tari Kelly portrayed Audrey.

Beginning in Dallas, the show crisscrossed the country for over a year, ending in Cleveland with a total of 416 performances.

Cast[]

Tour Schedule[]

Venue City, State Start Date End Date
Dallas Music Hall Dallas, TX 10 Aug 2004 21 Aug 2004
Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles, CA 24 Aug 2004 17 Oct 2004
Keller Auditorium Portland, OR 19 Oct 2004 24 Oct 2004
Capitol Theatre Salt Lake City, UT 26 Oct 2004 31 Oct 2004
Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA 2 Nov 2004 7 Nov 2004
Golden Gate San Francisco, CA 9 Nov 2004 5 Dec 2004
Civic Auditorium San Diego, CA 7 Dec 2004 12 Dec 2004
Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Houston, TX 4 Jan 2005 16 Jan 2005
Majestic Theatre San Antonio, TX 18 Jan 2005 23 Jan 2005
Andrew Jackson Hall Nashville, TN 25 Jan 2005 30 Jan 2005
Fox Theatre Atlanta, GA 1 Feb 2005 6 Feb 2005
Bass Concert Hall Austin, TX 9 Feb 2005 13 Feb 2005
Orpheum Memphis, TN 15 Feb 2005 20 Feb 2005
Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC 1 Mar 2005 6 Mar 2005
Bushnell Hartford, CT 8 Mar 2005 13 Mar 2005
Merriam Theatre Philadelphia, PA 15 Mar 2005 20 Mar 2005
Heinz Hall Pittsburgh, PA 22 Mar 2005 28 Mar 2005
Wharton Center East Lansing, MI 29 Mar 2005 3 Apr 2005
Aronoff Center for the Arts Cincinnati, OH 5 Apr 2005 17 Apr 2005
Hippodrome Performing Arts Center Baltimore, MD 19 Apr 2005 1 May 2005
Colonial Theatre Boston, MA 3 May 2005 15 May 2005
Fisher Theater Detroit, MI 17 May 2005 12 Jun 2005
Saenger Performing Arts Center New Orleans, LA 14 Jun 2005 19 Jun 2005
Auditorium Theatre Chicago, IL 21 Jun 2005 3 Jul 2005
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Milwaukee, WI 5 2005 Jul 10 2005 Jul
Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Appleton, WI 12 Jul 2005 17 Jul 2005
Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis, MN 19 Jul 2005 24 Jul 2005
Whitney Hall Louisville, KY 26 Jul 2005 31 Jul 2005
ASU's Gammage Auditorium Tempe, AZ 9 Aug 2005 14 Aug 2005
Segerstrom Hall Costa Mesa, CA 16 Aug 2005 28 Aug 2005
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Charlotte, NC 20 Sept 2005 25 Sept 2005
DeVos Performance Hall Grand Rapids, MI 27 Sept 2005 2 Oct 2005
Landmark Theater Richmond, VA 4 Oct 2005 9 Oct 2005
Palace Theatre Cleveland, OH 8 Nov 2005 13 Nov 2005

Playbill (Dallas, Texas)[]

Images[]

Soundtrack[]

After plans for the cast recording were halted in June, Hunter Foster and the new Broadway cast members found themselves in the studio on September 15, 2003,[8] under the watchful eye of composer and executive producer Alan Menken.

The soundtrack was rushed for an October 21 release,[9] and included material cut from the original Off-Broadway album, such as the Entr'acte for Call Back in the Morning and the WSKID portion of Ya Never Know.

Tacked on as bonuses were several of Howard Ashman and Menken's unused demos for the original production, including The Worse He Treats Me, I Found a Hobby, A Little Dental Music, and We'll Have Tomorrow, as well as Bad, which was composed for the film but ultimately replaced by Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.

References[]

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