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[0:19] Will Armstrong: It's curtains up on another episode of West of Broadway.

[0:22] Wendy Rosoff: I'm radio host and theater enthusiast Wendy Rosoff, along with celebrity publicist and theater veteran Will Armstrong.

[0:29] Will Armstrong: Hey Wendy, how are you? Everything good?

[0:31] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah, well, it's been a crazy week.

[0:33] Will Armstrong: Well. And it's only Tuesday. We're recording this.

[0:35] Wendy Rosoff: Other than that, it's fantastic, and I am so happy to be here with you.

[0:38] Will Armstrong: And I'm so happy to tell you that our guest for this episode is none other than Star of Broadway's Be More Chill, George Salazar, who's coming to Pasadena Playhouse to kick off their season with the production of Little Shop of Horrors.

[0:38] Wendy Rosoff: Little Shop.

[0:58] Will Armstrong: I feel like that was one of the first plays that I saw. I saw the movie when I was a kid.

[1:02] Wendy Rosoff: Oh my gosh.

[1:03] Will Armstrong: And I was already scared of dentists, and Steve Martin just put me over the edge with that.

[1:07] Wendy Rosoff: Oh mama.

[1:09] Will Armstrong: But yeah. No, I love this show. And I'm sc I can't wait to talk to George because they are doing some unconventional things with this production, and I don't know what he can tell us, but I'm gonna try and squeeze out as much information as possible so that you all listening know what we are signing up for when we get our tickets.

[1:29] Wendy Rosoff: Well, we love unconventional, Will.

[1:30] Will Armstrong: Alright. We kind of like don't like to know what's happening.

[1:32] Wendy Rosoff: I just go in and be really surprised and shocked sometimes.

[1:35] Will Armstrong: But usually we love it. But I mean, I've heard a couple things. I don't know what I can say, but I want to hear what George has left. I want to know all the things. But yeah, we'll see what he can tell us without ruining it.

[1:45] Wendy Rosoff: Alright. Well, let's welcome him to West of Broadway. George Salazar.

[1:48] Will Armstrong: Yay! George, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. I know that you're very busy. Are you currently in rehearsals for Little Shop right now?

[1:58] George Salazar: I am, yeah. Today is our last day in the rehearsal space.

[2:02] Will Armstrong: Amazing.

[2:03] George Salazar: And tomorrow we begin tech in the theater.

[2:07] Wendy Rosoff: That's so exciting.

[2:09] George Salazar: Yeah, tech is my favorite. It's, you know, I always a couple days before tech starts is when I start to feel like the rehearsal space isn't cutting it anymore.

[2:20] Wendy Rosoff: Sure.

[2:20] George Salazar: And that we need to just get our asses in the theater and start working with lights and costumes and all that stuff to kind of fill in the rest of the blanks. But it's going so well, and I'm really so excited to get people in this theater and to do the show for our audience.

[2:40] Wendy Rosoff: Of course. I was checking out your Instagram this morning and you posted a very interesting picture with you and behind you were several, I want to say puppeteers. Is that something that is that something you can talk about?

[2:52] George Salazar: Yeah. Without giving too much away. We, you know, usually Little Shop is, you know, there's a small plant that he sings to during Grow For Me that is oftentimes a hand puppet that grows at the end a little bit and he like stretches a bit. And then there's another plant puppet, where Seymour's in a jacket and he's manning that puppet, and then you get the big plant, and then there's one more big plant. And in our show, we have a couple of different plants, a few more than that. And at its fullest, at its bloom, Audrey 2 is manned by a team of five puppeteers.

[3:38] Will Armstrong: Wow.

[3:39] George Salazar: Well, in a really exciting way. And they're all incredible. I've really fallen in love with working with them because somehow the five of them kind of merge and it feels like I'm doing something with one person. And that's kind of the that was the goal. And so I feel like we're succeeded in that sense. But it's kind of yeah, it's very thr it's it sounds like it's a small version of King Kong on Broadway.

[4:12] Will Armstrong: Yeah, yeah, something like that.

[4:14] George Salazar: That is incredible, and I cannot wait to see this production. Like, I love that you are taking so many liberties and doing something, a fresh interpretation to a classic, but I just love all the rules that you guys are breaking as far as like having a female Audrey, Audrey Two, and having the incredible Mj Rodriguez playing the actual Audrey. How is it working with such incredible talent?

[4:42] George Salazar: Um she's amazing. We, you know, I hear horror stories about like romantic leads hating each other. And that's just not the case here in Pasadena with MJ. I fell in love with her so quickly, and we are crafting together a Little Shop that feels like it's rooted in reality, you know. Like I feel like there's a trap. I wouldn't necessarily even call it a trap. It's a proven recipe for this show to have it performed the way that it was originally performed. This kind of spoofy like a B movie.

[5:27] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah, yeah, like exactly, exactly.

[5:29] George Salazar: And we together with the rest of our amazing cast and under the guidance of my Don at you who it has quickly become one of my favorite directors I've worked with, we've found a way to kind of investigate what would happen to these people who are living in, you know, poverty-stricken Skid Row, right? Where like their ceiling for dreaming is so low that the idea of even leaving Skid Row is this novel and new idea that's like, you know, it's undreamable. What happens when these people are faced with this plant that comes in and turns their world upside down, and specifically how that helps Audrey and Seymour's relationship blossom into from co-workers to lovers. And so, you know, it's been a dream working with her and we've gotten the chance to kind of dig deeper into the text and find more nuance and find more detail to work around this work with it almost sounds like this is the story that wanted to come out but hasn't until now.

[6:01] Wendy Rosoff: I love how you described that, George, and it's so fascinating to hear you talking about this creative process, how you guys are doing this together, and I was so excited to see the show. I know Will is like jumping up and down because he wants to know if you can tell us who plays the dentist.

[6:57] George Salazar: Matt Wilkes is our dentist and he's hilarious and creepy.

[7:03] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[7:04] George Salazar: Creepy when he needs to be. Yeah, no, it's um you know, this musical, if you strip the puppet and you strip the kind of cult classic nature of it away, this is a show that's really about capitalism and greed, right? If we want to like just look at the bare bones of it.

[7:26] Wendy Rosoff: Absolutely.

[7:29] George Salazar: And this Faustian kind of premise. And so what's been particularly challenging but also rewarding has been we've been kind of approaching this show as if this is the first production of Little Shop ever to be produced. And so what's been challenging about that is taking everything I know about Little Shop, Rick Moranis' line deliveries and Hunter Foster's line deliveries and Lee Wilcox's line delivery, taking all of that and the characters that they created and throw them out the window and start from scratch, you know. And so it's been both challenging but also quite liberating to approach a musical that's so beloved by so many, myself included, you know.

[8:23] Wendy Rosoff: Absolutely. I'm so excited for the audiences in Pasadena because I feel like they're the right audience that can really appreciate and accept this and take something and flip it on its ear and give us a new interpretation. I love the last time I was in Pasadena was to see Ragtime, and they took a fresh new approach, and what they did with it was so visually beautiful and understated and just perfect. And but it just to see all of the patrons just really appreciate good theater, and I feel like giving them something new and fresh, it's just perfect. I'm so excited.

[8:57] George Salazar: Yeah, I'm excited too, and I'm happy to hear that you are as well. It's yeah, it's gonna be great. You know, MJ, Amber and I got to spend a couple of hours on stage on Sunday night with the puppeteers, you know, kind of working with a lot of the puppet work is partnered with some really clever lighting, so that the puppet pieces are visible and the puppeteers themselves are less visible. And so what we're putting together is it really feels like a very, very new production of Little Shop. And so my hope is that people come in with open hearts.

[9:44] Will Armstrong: Well, I mean, because I know that George purists do exist, and I can be one of them at times. But George, I mean, I think everyone is going to have you coming off of Be More Chill. I think that there is going to be a house full of people that are just so excited to see you and MJ and Amber. I mean, you're already gonna have a house full of fans, so we're all on your side, so I just can't wait for this experience. It's gonna be incredible.

[10:05] George Salazar: You don't have to wait much longer, Will.

[10:07] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[10:08] George Salazar: September 17th through October 20th, PasadenaPlayhouse.org for tickets and more information.

[10:14] Wendy Rosoff: And then after this, George, like, do you have a Halloween costume? What happens after you finish the run of this show?

[10:19] George Salazar: After the run of this show, I take the vacation that I was planning on taking. You know, it's been a whirlwind, truly, but you know, we closed and then a week later I came out here and we started rehearsals, and I couldn't have asked for a better chapter two post Be More Chill and then to work on this with this amazing company. It's incredible. What a dream.

[10:43] Will Armstrong: I'm so happy for you. So deserve all of the success and more, and we're just so excited to be a part of this, and we can't wait to cheer you on at the Pasadena Playhouse.

[10:53] George Salazar: Yes, thank you for joining us.

[10:54] Will Armstrong: Alright, back to rehearsal. Take care, George.

[10:56] Wendy Rosoff: Thanks, George. Bye.

[11:00] Will Armstrong: Wow. That was awesome.

[11:01] Wendy Rosoff: I know, it's so cool. I mean, you were saying he's an it boy right now, and that's kind of an inside look. It's like you go from one project to the next. Yeah, you take some rest when you can, but you could just hear his love for the whole creative process just coming out in his voice.

[11:16] Will Armstrong: That was so cool.

[11:17] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah, no, I am thrilled about this, and I think we're gonna see our friend from our very first episode of West of Broadway, Charles Chateline, he'll be there because he's always at the Pasadena Playhouse, like for the big opening nights and stuff. But I mean, I just can't wait to see and Becky Lithgow will be there, and it's just gonna be incredible.

[11:33] Will Armstrong: I can't wait. It's a wonderful place to see a show, and will you touch on that as we were talking to George? Like just the choices they're making and sort of the chances they're taking with this, I think is really exciting. And I think is another reason why LA is getting some respect for musical theater. Thank you, Pasadena Playhouse.

[11:52] Wendy Rosoff: Well, thank you so much for joining us on another episode of West of Broadway. You can connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at Lariscott Media.

[12:00] Will Armstrong: Feel free to like all of the photos I post on Instagram at Will Armstrong PR.

[12:04] Wendy Rosoff: And I do, especially the doggy ones, or anytime you're at a theme park. And if you're looking for us, you can find us just west of Broadway.