Little Shop of Horrors Stars Milo Manheim and Elizabeth Gillies on Being a Seymour and Audrey for the Next Generation of Superfans
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)
In 2003, Hunter Foster and Kerry Butler birthed a new generation of Little Shop of Horors fans: millennials who practiced their "Suddenly Seymour" harmonies in the shower and dreamed of one day diving head first into the mouth of a hungry plant. Milo Manheim and Elizabeth Gillies—joining the powerful forces of Gen-Z Disney and Nickelodeon—could be the pair that helps pass on the tradition.
They're the new Seymour and Audrey leading Michael Mayer's hit revival of the 1982 Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical at the Westside Theatre, now in its sixth year off-Broadway. Manheim's fan base bloomed when he landed the role of undead football player Zed in Disney's Zombies movies, and Gillies is best known as goth girl Jade West from the Nickelodeon show Victorious (though, real ones know her first Ariana Grande collab was in the teen-led Jason Robert Brown musical 13, which gave both Gillies and Grande their Broadway debuts in 2008).
"It's been 15 years since I have done theater," Gillies told Broadway.com in a joint interview with her co-star the day after their first performance. "It was intimidating but also an immediate yes. It's like—bucket list." Manheim, meanwhile, fresh off an illness that cut his rehearsal time in half, couldn't be cooler. "I work well in crunch time," he said. "That's live theater, baby!"
Read edited exerpts from their conversation and watch the video below.
What was last night like? Take me through that experience of doing the show.
Elizabeth Gillies: It was pretty feral.
Milo Manheim: We needed it. I was so nervous.
Elizabeth: Yeah, I mean there was like a three-minute applause when we walked out. Probably 10 for Milo and his screaming fans.
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)
Milo: It felt like an eternity. I was like, what do I do?!
Elizabeth: We made it work. It was very fun.
How are you guys making this your own? These are iconic characters, but you guys now get to put your own Liz and Milo stamp on them.
Milo: I think the beauty of these characters is that you get to bring yourself to them. But when you walk in the dressing room and you see all the names of the people that have done the show, there's a little pressure, because you want to respect it.
Elizabeth: Yeah, I mean, I saw it with Sherie Rene Scott. I was like, “Well, I'll just grab my bag and go.” What she did was so original and brilliant—and she's Sherie Rene Scott. This has been my favorite show since I was a kid and I've always wanted to play Audrey. But I've always wanted to play anyone in the show. I've really toyed around with playing the dentist a lot.
Milo: Yeah, she wants to play the dentist. It's very clear.
Elizabeth: But I'm beyond thrilled to play Audrey. I've been singing these songs my whole life—either like Ellen [Greene] or even Kerry [Butler], who I saw when I went in 2003. That was the moment that solidified this. You know when you're a theater kid, and you go see a musical and then it just locks in? Whatever that cast is, whatever that soundtrack is, every breath, every note. Having to wipe all that out and keep some parts that I liked but try to find my own thing has been a challenge. But I tried to not let it paralyze me.
Milo: Somebody asked me yesterday, “Does this feel so full circle for you doing Seymour on American Housewife and then here?” I was like, "This feels like such different chapters to me." I didn't really grow up with Little Shop the same way Liz did. So I'm grateful to be able to rediscover it and find it now with where I am.
You guys are both theater kids, but you kind of made your path on television. What was it like deciding, this is how I'm going to come back to New York? Was it an immediate yes?
Elizabeth: I had three years of immediate no after my last show. Nothing could have come through that I would've said yes to. I literally just retreated and I was like, "Maybe I won't act anymore." But my agents knew there were three things, if they ever came through, that I would definitely do them. And Little Shop was one of those things. I am very happy that I made the leap and that I'm giving it a go. I realize how much I love it now, and I could never ever stop doing it.
(Photo by Emilio Madrid for Broadway.com)
Milo: I'm grateful that that's the decision you've made because you belong here. I mean, I started with theater and I think the reason I loved it is completely different than why I love it now. I think that I really did it for the audience feedback, and now it's just a cherry on top because it's more inward now. I'm looking inside about what I want from this and it's so much more validating.
What is it like getting to sing these songs? Is there one that gets stuck in your head all the time?
Elizabeth: I’m having a weird one right now. The song I used to skip as a child has become “Mushnik and Son.” It just loops and loops in my head.
Milo: Oh, I'm sorry about that. That's a tough one to go to sleep to.
Elizabeth: Then, when I should be changing or looking over my lines, I'm literally sitting back there watching the monitor. That's how big of a superfan I am.
Milo: [“Feed Me”] was the song that I was the most looking forward to and it's still the one that I love the most, and it's also the one that I dread the most, because it takes a lot. It's just impossible not to rock out.
Elizabeth: “The Meek Shall Inherit” gets stuck in my head too…
Milo: It's all perfect. Even my favorite musicals, I love half the songs, I like 25 percent and then 25 percent are skippers. But this show…
Elizabeth: No skips. New York's hottest album is the Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway soundtrack.
The Broadway Show Credits: Directed by Zack R. Smith | Producers: Paul Wontorek and Beth Stevens | Senior Producers: Caitlin Moynihan and Lindsey Sullivan | Videographer: Ryan Windess
Photo Credits: Photography by Emilio Madrid | Photo Assistants: Cooper Hammel and Eric Hodgman | Location: Corner Studio
Styling Credits: Styled by Emma Pritchard | Gillies Floral Dress: Markarian | Gillies Gold Shoes: Michael Kors | Gillies Green Dress & Jacket: Cinq à Sept | Gillies Black Shoes: Tara Jarmon | Gillies Interview Dress: DELPHINE | Gillies Interview Blazer: Jack Sivan | Gillies Accessories: Alex Monroe | Manheim Green Suit, Shirt & Tie: Jack Sivan | Manheim Brown Boots: Frye | Manheim Vest & Pants: Jack Sivan | Manheim Striped Shirt: Peak Lapel NYC | Manheim Sneakers: Converse | Manheim Interview Shirt & Pants: Peak Lapel NYC
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