Video: Jeremy Jordan is Getting Ready to Head Back to LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Jeremy Jordan is stepping back into the role of Seymour in the hit revival of Little Shop of Horrors for eight weeks only

from July 25th through September 17th. And I caught up with him here at the West Side Theater

actually in Mushnick's Flower Shop. It is great to be standing with you here

in Mushnik and Sun's flower shop. Yes, it's my absolute pleasure. So we were here like a year and a half ago

We sat right over there to do an interview. And you were supposed to go in like that Friday night

No, a year and a half ago. Wasn't a year and a half ago? What are you talking about? That was 2020

Okay. How many years ago is that? That was over three years. No, about three years ago

Okay, so I had before. Over three years ago. It was March of 2020. I had before COVID and after COVID

Yeah, it was before COVID. Yeah. We sat here on a Tuesday afternoon, I think. I know. It feels like, it feels simultaneously that it was only a year and a half ago and also 10 years ago

Yeah. So yeah, we sat here and talked about things that were, that never happened

That eventually happened. Yeah. So let's just look back. I mean, you're about to return to the show

How excited are you to return to this role and to this company? Very, very excited

It was, I got to reopen the show when theater came back after the pandemic

And it was a real joy to be with this show and with that company

There are some people that still here. and I'm getting to know the new company, but it's one of those really special pieces

It's, you know, it's like a perfect piece of theater. And the character of Seymour is just really wonderful and, you know, has a lot of, you know, depth to it

And because it's a comedy, it's got a great connection with the audience

and we have in this tiny little theater, which I think really makes everything feel really present

And yeah, I'm just, I had an absolute blast doing it. Yeah

Was this a role you always wanted to do? Was this on your radar as your bucket list

Yeah, for sure. I think I thought that I was kind of like it wasn't going to happen, you know

and then they heard about the revival, and then they asked me to come in. It was, yeah, so it's definitely been on one of the bucket list sort of roles

And it's not disappointed. Yeah. Yeah. So you open on July 25th

July 25th, yeah. Two weeks from when we're taping, that's I don't know when it air is. Yeah

So have you been back in rehearsal again? What's it been like getting Seymour back into your muscle memory

Not that. I mean, I was here a year and a half ago. Maybe that's what you were thinking about

I was here a year and a half ago. And yeah, it's like putting on an old glove and, you know

I got a couple of dings in my body that weren there last time but otherwise it it uh it feels it feels good I mean it it it funny because I be like what was my choice there

And like, where, where did I, it's, it's not just about, you know, where you move

That's all kind of like, you know, the nuts and bolts of it, but the actual juice and, like, the actual, like, fun stuff

That's what's, like, slowly seeping back in. I was like, oh, I made this really interesting choice on this line

oh, I was actually thinking about that when I said this line

and I remember discovering that, and I, like, get to rediscover it, you know, for the first time

probably in front of an audience, because I only have a few rehearsals. So it's going to be great

So you have, like, five rehearsals, and then you have a put-in. Yeah, got to have the put-in

You don't always have the put-in, but you got to try it, yeah. So, yeah, put-in is when you, like, when all the actual..

Because all the rehearsals I have are with the stage management and with the assistant director and assistant choreographer

and then the understudies come in and help put you into the character

and they play all the other roles. And then you do the put in, you're like

oh, these are the people I'm doing the show with. Nice to meet you, Brad Oscar

I've not met him yet. And then you just go. And you do the costumes and you hope it goes well

And then usually you do the show later that day, but mine's the following week. Nice

What is it like singing the score? This is one of the most iconic scores by L.M.N

It's so fun. It's so, so fun. And I've, like, come up with, like, a very fun and silly Seymour voice

which has made me... Which has made it even more fun, you know, because it's..

It brings a whole other sense of character. For me, you know, it helps unlock something new

that I maybe wouldn't have sort of thought of just singing these songs beforehand

Yeah. This is such an icon. iconic show. I mean, people come back over and over to see this show

Yeah. Why do you think this is such a classic musical? Well, it just works. Like, it's like it, it ticks all the boxes. Like, if you were to, you know, do a musical theater sort of like how to write a perfect show, this would be a great, you know, template, you know

It's just how it, how all the acts fit together and how all the sort of story progresses and all the characters change and, and, um

I don't know. And it's just really, really, really funny, too, while at the same time being so catchy musically

And also kind of like thrilling you, you know, in a sort of horror kind of way in moments

It's in the title for a reason. And so it really plays with all your senses

And it one of those shows that you know when it over you like that it I want more And that kind of the perfect way to leave the theater That how you want people to you know to leave after they seen your show Yeah That what this show does in spades

What was it like going back into the show? Because we spoke, like you said, it was over three years ago

Yeah. When you were supposed to go into the show and then you did it, you know, last year

Yeah, I was in my final rehearsal before the put-in when everything got shut down

So I was like ready. And then I had to wait a year and a half. and then we did a whole rehearsal process with the whole cast

which was actually kind of great, because when I was going in the first time

I was put in, I was replacing. So I had a few rehearsals and then just thrown to the wolves

But when we came back after the pandemic, we got to have like a month, just the whole cast

and we kind of got to rebuild it all together, and it was really special. Everybody who I've spoken to who has done this show

said it's one of the best jobs they've ever had because it's the company, on stage

the people you work with and behind the scenes, Is the same for you? Yeah. I mean, like, you know, like, every day we had these weird rituals backstage

I'm sure you've heard of them. There's some, we're at the top of the show where we all do weird ad libs

At least when I was in the show, like, right before Audrey has her moment with the plant

I have, like, two minutes off stage and we would do, like, a very silly dance party

Like, you just make every little moment fun, and then it goes by like that

And then, sadly, it's over. At least for me, it was over in a few months

And so it's very rare, and I've never actually gotten to go back into a show, not for like a real run

I went back and did the videotaping of newsies. I went back and did a concert version of Ony and Client, but I never actually gotten to go back and do a show, you know, having been removed from it and just getting to step back into it and live in it for a while

So that's going to be a new and cool experience for me. You know, because of your success on TV and film, many people will be

becoming to see Little Shop for the first time seeing something live

Like, we all remember when we saw something live, like, oh my God, it's not a film, it's not TV, this is what he does live

What that means to introducing a whole new audience to the theater? Well, I hope that's the case

It's really special. I mean, I remember my first time seeing something, when I was old enough to really understand what I was seeing live, and it totally changed the course of my life

And I think you have to play for whoever that person is

even though you'll never know them most likely and never get to understand

or experience what they're experiencing again. But you had that, and knowing that someone else is out there

and just the potential of that is enough to drive you to put 1,000% into each performance

And I never subscribed to anything less than that at least not for me And I don think anybody in this company does either at least not in my experience And so knowing that this is one of those shows

that can really ignite something, like when I did newsies, it was kind of like that

You know, that was a show that a lot of people come up to me and they say

seeing that show was what got me interested. Somebody came up to me today and said that

is what got me interested in musical theater. And I was like, well, great, if I can do

that and I can be a part of that, then that's never really why, it's one of those unexpected

perks of the job. It's not why I got into it, but it's one of the reasons why I've stayed

Do you have a favorite moment in the show that you do? Oh man, do I have a favorite moment

I mean, there's a song called Get It that's really fun to sing with the plant where I have like

a duet with a plant. The whole ending of the show seemed more kind of like

like loses his cool and kind of just goes berserk. And that's really fun to do because he's been kind of this mild-mannered kind of dork for the rest of the show

until he just has, can't take it anymore. And I don't know, there's so many great little bits and little moments

It's great. There's a couple of jokes that are my favorite parts, you know, just because it'll stop the show

because of just the laughter. And I also really love the scene at the end of back to one with the dentist

When I did it, I'm sure it'll be amazing with Bryce, but when I did it with Christian

it seemed like his only goal in life was to break me

And so that constant battle every performance was definitely something I look forward to

What are you looking forward to the most about July 25th, your first performance back here

Um, with this show and with any comedy, specifically having the live audience for the first time is so pivotal

And it takes a few to like to get that rhythm going

And the first time an audience like has a full throat laugh at you once you've like gone on stage and had the joke that landed

It's like it energizes you but also like just shocks you. So I remember when I went into it the first time, we'd had like a month of rehearsal

And the laughs were gone because everybody knew all the gimmicks and the jokes

If you got a laugh during rehearsal in week three, like you either changed it too much

or like you've found something new and brilliant. But like when audience sees it for the first time, they laugh at everything, hopefully

And that's a great feeling. Have the best time