Ethan Slater and Betsy Wolfe have rooted themselves in 'Little Shop of Horrors' history

During the stars' run as Seymour and Audrey, the musical's acclaimed Off-Broadway revival became the longest-running Little Shop production ever.

"Betsy actually showed up to the first day of rehearsal thinking we were doing The Rocky Horror Picture Show," joked Ethan Slater about Betsy Wolfe, his co-star in Little Shop of Horrors. Wolfe didn't miss a beat, saying so earnestly you might almost have believed her: "I really thought that's what we were doing. I heard the word 'horror' and I was like, 'Oh yes, that one.'"

Wolfe evened the score a few minutes later by saying how much she's enjoyed performing Little Shop with original star Jonathan Groff — whoops, sorry, Slater. That the two Tony Award nominees are well-matched in wit is no surprise to anyone who's seen their previous musical comedy work — Wolfe in Broadway shows like & Juliet and Death Becomes Her, and Slater in SpongeBob, Spamalot, and the Wicked films.

"We can find a new joke. We can change the temperature. We can throw something slightly differently at someone, which we definitely do. We make some very different choices than what's been made previously," said Wolfe of applying those skills to Little Shop, in which she and Slater perform through October 25. "And everyone catches it and they throw it right back, so neither one of us have to diminish what we would naturally do."

Their Little Shop roles, it should be said, are funny until they're not: Audrey (Wolfe) finds love with her geeky plant-shop coworker Seymour only after an abusive relationship, and Seymour (Slater) gets in over his head with a bloodthirsty plant that promises him fame and fortune. But off stage, there's nothing but celebration. Slater and Wolfe's run at the Westside Theatre coincides with a major milestone: In September, the revival, which opened in 2019, overtook the original 1982 production's five-year run to become Little Shop's longest-running production ever.

This longevity is due in part to intimacy. The 2003 Broadway run at a 1,200-seat venue didn't last a year, but both record-setting Off-Broadway iterations took root in roughly-300-seat spaces. Slater equated performing at the Westside to being in the audience's living room, which means he and Wolfe aren't just playing off each other, but off everyone. That makes both their comic and weighty beats especially unpredictable, and gratifying.

"You go to the theatre to watch stories with other people performed by other people to learn empathy, to learn about people who are different than you, to learn more about yourself," Slater said. "The intimacy of the theatre [...] means we as actors feel even more intimately part of the community each night."

Shortly before celebrating Little Shop's historic record, the actors spoke with New York Theatre Guide about putting their own stamps on Seymour and Audrey and their own histories with the musical that's planted itself in countless fans' hearts over the years.

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What does it mean to you to be in Little Shop as it hits the milestone of being the show's longest-running production?

Wolfe: What an iconic show. What an amazing opportunity to be part of not only the show's legacy, but, for me, this incredible revival's legacy. I see all the Audreys that have come before me. I see all the Seymours that have come before Ethan, and it was such an honor to add my name to this list of incredible people.

Slater: And it's a cool external reminder as we're doing this of what makes the show so enduring and why people love it so much and what has allowed us to get to work on it. It was written so well, and this production has been directed so beautifully, performed so beautifully.

How would you describe each other's take on their character?

Slater: There's a crossover between Betsy as a performer to share the stage with and her Audrey. There's two things I would say right off the bat. One is, she's this perfect blend of sincere and also ridiculous and over the top. She's a wild card. I feel very safe, but I have no idea what she's going to do.

It's really clear to me that Audrey feels safe in the shop and feels unsafe out of the shop. That is something that, although it may be baked into the show, I've never experienced in the same way I can see it in Betsy's Audrey.

Wolfe: You nailed it. That's the only place she feels safe. So I thought, how much can we push that boundary for both Ethan and I? That's what I love about Ethan, too; he's so willing to [explore], what is the most joyous moment these two could have together? They become kids again.

[Ethan] doesn't play the idea of Seymour. There's a lot of people that would play into, understandably, the archetype you would think of: quirky, nerdy, physically funny, sweet. Ethan definitely has all that; he's obviously an extraordinary physical performer, we know that about him, and he's a smart comedian. But the comedy comes out of his circumstances, if that makes sense, instead of being laid on top of them.

He understands that desperation is so important in this. Audrey's desperate; he's also desperate. He wants things so badly: he wants Audrey so badly, he wants to belong, he wants respect, he wants escape from Mushnik's hold. When you see that vulnerability, it makes him funny, but it also makes him a little dangerous, which is really appealing. I understand how this seemingly gentle person makes these crazy choices. In the show they're indefensible choices, right? You actually understand why he does that without making him into a villain.

And he listens to Audrey. No one else listens to Audrey.

Slater: And Audrey really gets Seymour in a way that he doesn't get seen either.

Relatedly, how have each of your performances been informed by the other person's?

Slater: For better or worse, I came in with very few preconceived notions about who Seymour was. So I don't think there is this Seymour I've created without Betsy's Audrey.

Wolfe: It's not machinery for us. That's why I actually feel like every single night is different. What I love about our two versions of this is we are both — how do I say this? — unapologetically brave about being so uncool on stage. We don't care how silly [we look]. We don't protect ourselves from being vulnerable. That is generous to the Audrey because I don't have to manufacture when I fall for him.

Slater: We do also take big swings. Not just comedy ones, but the little vulnerable ones that are embarrassing, maybe, or look a little dumb. It's nice to be in that with somebody who feels the same way.

I also want to bring in the fact that we had this privilege of joining a company that was already fantastic and open. [Everybody] is listening. Even Teddy, who's been doing this show for seven years, is listening. It's really rare. Nobody is stuck in their ways.

How are Seymour and Audrey similar to and different from your previous Broadway roles?

Wolfe: From the outside at least, [Audrey is] deceptively simple. But underneath, she is this woman who has been taught to expect very little from herself. Where the opportunity to be different than maybe in other shows is, she's funny without knowing she's being funny. She's deeply vulnerable without being sentimental. She has this enormous capacity for hope that reminds me a little bit of Waitress.

I don't think I would have understood this or played this role as well 10 or 15 years ago. Audrey doesn't care about fame. All she cares about, truly, is safety and a home and someone kind — Seymour. A place she can exhale, somewhere that's green. There's a security that comes with age and knowing about choosing the life you want. I don't have to think about playing her naive [...] I understand why this simple dream feels enormously important to her.

Slater: I've definitely done some roles where you [...] have to have a character voice or lean into a very specific physicality. What's fun for me about this role is that Seymour is written incredibly well, and from my point of view, I don't feel like I have to add anything.

I'm playing a different truth in each moment. One of the truths I haven't gotten to explore [until playing] Seymour is that he's pulling this thread that makes him the worst version of himself. He is becoming the best version of himself in one way and the worst version of himself in another.

You're performing in a smaller house where the audience is close. Have you had a particularly memorable audience interaction, or reaction?

Wolfe: Right before "Suddenly Seymour," one of the most precious, quiet, amazing scenes in the show, a really vulnerable moment, [someone] decided that was the moment where, "If I don't eat these Cheetos right now and crumple this bag, I'm going go down."

Slater: I had to tell myself, "The best performances are when the actors on the verge of breaking, so it's okay that you're on the verge of breaking because sometimes that leads to the most beautiful emotional breakthroughs."

What was a show that made a mark on you early on?

Wolfe: I was given the original company of Into the Woods, a VHS, because I'd been doing a couple little shows. My junior high teacher gave this to me and was like, "I think you'd enjoy this." [...] and it changed my life forever.

Then, when I was 15 [...] my parents let my sister and I go unaccompanied to Miss Saigon. I was [watching] the opening number, which is an odd opening number for a 15-year-old to be watching on stage and go, "This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life."

Slater: I went to see Wicked when I was in sixth grade, the spring before the Tonys that year, so it had just come out. On the bus ride back to D.C., we listened to the cast album on repeat, to the chagrin of the the bus driver.

When I was little, my mom had a VHS of the collected greatest hits of Danny K., and I wore that out. [...] That, along with watching The Producers [with] Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, really got me to love comedy and physical comedy and performing in this way.

Let's end at the beginning. When did you first experience Little Shop?

Slater: In eighth grade [...] I knew I wanted to maybe do theatre in high school. So I went to the high school I was going to go to, and they were doing Little Shop of Horrors. Gianmarco Soresi played Seymour, and Charlie Polinger was the dentist.

I learned they had announced [my casting in this revival] because the Seymour from the high school production texted me to say, "I see you're taking my role." It was funny.

Wolfe: I somehow missed Little Shop of Horrors in my childhood. I don't know how that happened. But then I was tasked with singing "Suddenly Seymour" for a couple of symphony shows. Obviously, I'd heard the song before, but I remember when I was really learning it, I was like, "This is really good. Who wrote this?"

I've loved this weird backwards approach. What I love is coming outside the stage door every night, and there's some kid, some adult, who says, "I played Audrey in high school," or a kid that's like, "My school's doing this right now." Even though I clearly grew up under a rock with a Les Mis cassette tape, this show is clearly so special to so many people.

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This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Photo credit: Ethan Slater and Betsy Wolfe in Little Shop of Horrors off Broadway. (Photos by Emilio Madrid)