Have you seen the clips of her performing the role at City Center Encores in 2015? More than 30 years after she created the role and still hasn't aged a day or lost any bot of her power.
I dunno how to explain this but, she's not just generically singing notes, she's emoting the song like she's going through it. Sounds so unique and intimate.
Yes. Glen Close does the same with Sunset Blvd. Lots of people criticize her because she doenst have the voice like Lupone has, but her emotions and to it and her voice does wow at times, but the EMOTING makes any song a winner. Look at Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables!
There's actual tears in her eyes, one even leaks down her left cheek. No one in the audience would ever see that... When she's singing she's actually Audrey.
Very few actors can become their character. I always thought Jean Stapleton and Carroll O Conner became Archie and Edith. Jean told Norman Lear that Edith was fiction when he agonized over her death. Norman told her that Edith was real to him.
Amazing talent! It took me a while to get it, but she's switching from that baby voice to that rich booming sound to show how the baby voice was a mask she used to put on to make herself small, but now she doesn't have to.
She has since the film.... I'm sorry but whatever remake they do... No one on this planet can replace Ellen as Audrey. Even after 34 years absolutely untouchable.
If you were at the encores performance a few years ago you would have sworn the theatre was going to cave in when ellen Greene made her entrance. Every line, every song received incredible responses from the audience and her solo bow was amazing. Jeff backed off the stage so she could receive the praise she earned.
That puts into words what I always felt about her Audrey, but never managed to quite define. It's like she slipped out of a fairy tale into Skid Row and was suffering through a cruel world she couldn't defend herself in.
It's no wonder that Ellen was still playing the part on stage so many years after the movie, no-one else could play the part or sing the songs as well as she can!
Ik i have the same feelings about the role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. Andrew Lloyd Webber really screwed the role over by using Ian Gillian as Jesus on the concept album
I love her interpretation of this song. She brought depth to a very satirical and enjoyable musical. She portrayed a woman with very complex issues, she imited undertones of PTSD and trauma perfectly. Satirising the lower working class lady who falls for the badboy (i.e orin) He is a bad boy with a profession. Perhaps she fell for him due to her own insecurities. She finds a caring and sweet person in Semour, perhaps representing the father figure she never had. She sings in the song that her father left early. She is a tragic figure with a innocent and loveable quality. To think that every appliance she sings so passionately about is taken for granted in the west. She is insecure, naive and has low self esteem. She breaks your heart even in a comedy. She portrayed the character of Audrey brilliantly.
The tragedy of Audrey is so sad I don't know that I've ever seen the show and not cried when she tells Seymour to feed her to the plant. Even when the production is really bad, it always punches me in the gut that she dreamed of just having a comfortable life and was caught in the crossfire.
There are parents who speak with less emotion about their kid's accomplishments than Ellen Greene singing about frozen dinners and plastic-covered furnisher. She must be spiritually beat after pouring her heart into this song every night.
I agree completely with your comments here. When Ellen sings - the unabashed emotion that pours out of her is incomparable. She is a marvel. I only wish more people appreciated her talent.
And that emotion is still so authentic even after how many countless times she’s played this role or sang these songs. She never ‘phones in’ a performance.
After all these years Ellen still slips into Audrey as seamlessly as stepping into your favorite pair of slippers. There is absolutely noone on earth who can even touch her shadow in this role... She lives each & every word, every line she sings.
At 5:28 to 5:36 something happens and Ellen Greene takes her performance to a whole different level. By the time she hits the 5:43 timestamp you can see something physically comes over Ellen and she is all in heart, body, and soul with the character, with the song. It is at this point she rockets her performance (of a song she's sung hundreds of times by then) into the stratosphere of live performances few ever reach and you feel the orchestra, the chorus, and Teddy jump up and go with her. Together they create likely the most powerful finale to the song ever recorded. There's no mistaking it...you can see it, you can feel it. Just 15 seconds later, when they hit the 5:57 mark, listen to Ellen singing at the top of her volume forcing the orchestra, the chorus, and the Teddy to go with her and go bigger and go louder bringing the whole theater to a crescendo of music and emotion that its likely no one saw coming just seconds before! By just six seconds later, at 6:02 to 6:04, listen to the trumpets in the upper brass sail their melody over everyone and everything else, as the song hits its climax reminding us with clear, sharp, upper range brass clarity that this is the point, if you call, in the show where the sun comes out, a new Audrey has arrived, and nothing will ever be the same. The upper brass returns at 6:28 being the only thing other than Ellen you can make out in the cacophony of voices, instruments, and energy. At this point, its all on Ellen. All eyes are on her, all voices are supporting hers, and if you watch the cutoff of the last note, its clear the orchestra's Director is watching her for the cutoff as everything comes to a halt when she brings her arm down. In fact, count the beats...she holds the note two whole beats longer than any Director would. The song ended, she was holding the note, and everyone stayed with her. FANTASTIC! Its very clear this is likely THE performance of her life for this song. Nothing before has come close, and nothing to follow ever will. Watch it carefully...the ending energy and delivery is completely different from its beginning where she almost seems to stumble over her first few lyrics. By the end, she appears to have channeled Audrey, feeling her pain, her moment of self-actualization, and in just a few lines takes us along with her to the most dramatic and spectacular ending the show has ever seen!
The most amazing thing about Miss Ellen Greene is that she makes 3 types of voices when she sings : - 1 ) Fisrt one > " Inocent and naive cartoon littre girl voice " . ( Her real voice ) - 2 ) Seccond one > " Vocal Deficiency voice " . - 3 ) Third one > " Desperate cry and torture voice " . I just love all the three voices for her UNIQUE way in combining them togheter when she sings a song. ____ A True tallent * * *
Ive noticed her different voice pitches too. I love them all😊. And the fact that she still has her voice is amazing to me. I love her breathy way of singing.
ELLEN GREENE. No one else could possibly embody this part even half as well. Every time I see this video pop up on my timeline - I have to watch it and I cry every single goddam time and her raw emotion and phenomenal voice kills me.
No matter how many revivals open on Broadway, Ellen Greene will forever be Audrey! There may be other who try to copy her performance or voice, but there is only one Audrey...She was the first & the best.
Even at this point, decades ago, Ellen had mastered this role. She could have gone the other way and become resentful of Audrey, but instead she dug herself into this role and perfected every moment of it. This is the most perfect performance I've ever seen and I keep coming back to it time and time again and always will
Her performance here is mesmerizing. I feel like she is trying so hard just to get through the number after learning of her fathers passing- but it make for such a raw, emotional performance that Is just indescribable. I think I’ve been watching this nonstop since yesterday
Her voice at 5:43 is so satisfying. She sounds so raw, I love it. I feel like no one comes close to Ellen when it comes to portraying this character. Also at 5:59 ugh the emotion ?? Wow, She owns it.
I have always admired how she transitions her chest voice into her head voice but not with a vocal flip but more of an internal vibration transition mechanism. It's just amazing. One of a kind voice.
As an adult, I feel Audrey a lot. Abusive relationships, believing I never deserved better, dreaming about average because that’s impossible… this hits hard. I found happiness alone before meeting the love of my life, but I still feel Suddenly Seymour.
Ellen has transcended "performer" to becoming one of the New York City Legends. In our time she has taken her place among the Nyc greats of Broadway and theater. Just as Bernadette Peters. These people live to perform and literally become the characters that they portray. They took a dream and made it real. Theatrical performers are the greatest inspirational people because they take what seem to be impossible dreams and make them real. They live it each time they take to the stage. To carry an entire show on your morale and passion is no easy feat. You MUST believe in yourself to stand in that space. There is no try. You either do or do not. And give your entire self. Ellen Greene = Legend.
Little factoid Ellen wasn't the first choice for Audrey in the film they originally wanted Cyndi Lauper but she turned it down. It went to Ellen by default as she was the original off Broadway Audrey. Thank god for it as no one can play Audrey like Ellen can. It wouldn't have been the film it was if Cyndi had accepted the role. Oh and it was actually filmed in the UK at Pinewood.
I heard in an interview that they also considered Barbara Streissand, but Frank Oz specifically wanted Greene and fought for her to be in the movie. Btw the Suddenly Seymour scene was also filmed on the 007 soundstage (like the name suggests, it's where the James Bond movies are filmed!). I remember hearing that it wasn't insulated for the winter, the season it was being filmed in, and that Greene and Moranis had to suck on ice cubes so their breath wouldn't come out while singing. They also had to kiss each other 36 times, and actually gave each other lip burns because of it. Don't mind me, just a girl obsessed with Little Shop and knows useless things about it 😂😂
@@Dermacrosis I apologize and misread/misunderstood...i was referring to Faith being the first choice for Audrey for the original off-Broadway production, not the film. Sorry to have added incorrect information and I've deleted the erroneous post. The Faith Prince casting is well documented in many theater circle discussions.
She is amazing. She is still amazing. Something about the way she goes from that whispery voice to those power notes just blows me away. I've never heard her do a bad version, but this one is my favorite. Suddenly Seymour almost sounds like a hymn.
I have been a musical theatre instructor and I tell people all the time that you cannot teach was Ellen greene has. She is so unbelievably uniquely truthful in every moment.
I gotta say, this guy, this nerdy, perfectly cast “Seymour” guy, ALSO blows the roof off his role, coming ever so clooOSe to tapping the peak of perfection reached by the irresistible Rick Moranis. Love this take. 💗
No one can duplicate! The movie is my all time favorite. I know every word and not just the songs but also the dialog! She is one of the reasons.... The way she sings from the depth of her soul! Like everybody in the movie!
When I saw the movie when I wss a kid I didn't really care one way or another about it because I didn't understand it. Now? This song never fails to make me cry. She's so sweet and she wants so little out of life. I mean, she's asking for an existence that is so plain, so poor ro middle class and would consider it a major win if she can have the small luxuries in life. Ellen is breathtaking and it really speaks to how amazing she is that when ever there is a production of it, regional, international and Broadway, have always had Audreys who are 100% basing their characterization one her. From the voice to the level of air headedness and charisma. She's just so fabulous.
I have never ever been as obsessed with a musical so much as Little Shop, but Ellen Greene to me is the most insane talent I’ve ever witnessed in this role - film and theatre. She’s pure joy. The voice, the acting to emotion. Nobody compares
She is a star!!! I've seen Little Shop idk how many times now, I stopped counting and she still manages to get me crying! Underneath all of the silly comedy, Audrey is very tragic.
I love love LOVE Ellen Greene's character! She pours real emotion into everything she does in Little Shop and it never fails to pull a smile across my face. She's the best Audrey EVER!
I always come back to this performance, Ellen Greene is the blueprint. Pure camp, but imbued with the fullness of herself. So many people play camp as straight shtick nowadays, but she really understood what it's about: seeing your character in this world, but living in it truthfully and with empathy. A total knockout performance.
tcpanthers that's why i said We're crazy enough that only we can see those stuffs and not people who only criticize and know nothing about musical acting like you
I’ve heard somewhere that’s green and suddenly Seymour many many times before this, but I was today days old when I realized what these songs are supposed to be, mean and sound like! Ellen brings a depth of profound experience that I’ve never seen or heard before with these songs
Howard Ashman wrote this play, directed it, wrote the song lyrics, and the screen play for the movie. When hired later at Disney, he wrote the lyrics, guided story telling, and had the guiding vision behind The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast before his passing of AIDS on March 14th, 1991. He was truly a genius and most Disney employees at the time would tell you he was most responsible for the Disney Renaissance. /salute Howard!
Her voice is insane. I can’t understand how she does it. I’m like flabbergasted by her talent. Everyone says she owns this role, no she is Aubrey. She’s literally becomes the character absolutely beautiful! And can we give this Seymour some love? He is fantastic!
Ellen Greene is simply out of this world. Walking that fine line of acting ditzy, overacting for effect and nailing every note on the head when appropriate is something they will teach in theater school for centuries to come.
I saw the play when it was premiering in Westwood, CA., and she was starring. I sat in the front row. The play was wonderful and she was/is a revelation. It has lost nothing in all these years. Wonderful music and lyrics.
Her performance here has had a chokehold on me for years. The power. The emotion. The technique. The way she flips the vocal all over her range adds so much... Even though she had been playing this same role for so many years at this point, you wouldn't know it by watching this... It still feels fresh. So thankful this was captured, and especially on video. The audio recording of this concert must have been done in a studio or something and is different to this, it's just not quite as magical for some reason, maybe they told her to tone it down or something but I'm so glad she really went there in this especially at the end of suddenly Seymour...... She blows me away.
Wooooooow!!!!!! Brava, brava, bravisima!!!!! Pure theatre, what a lesson! I've seen the movie many times but never saw her on stage, it is absolute amazing! Ellen, a big hug from Spain. I
051823. After many yrs, I heard this again - and was shaken to my core. Ellen Greene, what you created through Audrey still feels titanic and cross-generational. Many years past LITTLE SHOP, I appreciate your artistry and voice.
This is just....UGH....! I´ve got goosebumps all over.....! Done Chrystal once in 2006 and it was my favorite musical theatre job ever...I really wish to play this role someday. This show is so much fun!
One of my absolute favorite moments in musical history. Somewhere That’s Green is to Ellen as Somewhere over the Rainbow is to Judy for me. Perfectly emoted and inimitable performances. Can’t help but shed a tear.
![Lea Salonga - On My Own (Les Misérables) [720p]](/img/n.gif)
This woman was 35 when the film came out and this was 12 years later and she looks like she has not aged a day. Howwwww
Have you seen the clips of her performing the role at City Center Encores in 2015? More than 30 years after she created the role and still hasn't aged a day or lost any bot of her power.
I dunno how to explain this but, she's not just generically singing notes, she's emoting the song like she's going through it. Sounds so unique and intimate.
Yes. Glen Close does the same with Sunset Blvd. Lots of people criticize her because she doenst have the voice like Lupone has, but her emotions and to it and her voice does wow at times, but the EMOTING makes any song a winner. Look at Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables!
That's the thing that I love when she and Rick Moranis sing this, they both give such emotions to the song.
Harlan Krissoff then you have those who can both emote and have great vocals Lea Salonga and Sam Barks
You’re so right, Jennifer. Night after night, year after year, she’s totally knocked it out of the park!
I think its called "acting". She's really good at it.
Her voice is ridiculous. In the best way. No matter how many times I hear her sing I'm always surprised at her talent.
The talent is obvious, but the control and range is just...something else. She obviously worked hard to master her voice in such a way.
"SIAHDENLEI-SEE-MOEEEE!!"
@@Doorhenge calm down lol ^_~
You do realize that she speaks and sings the way she does as part of the character...she has a normal voice in life.
@@taylorbanaszak4105 Uh, yes? What's the point of your comment? Try harder next time.
There's actual tears in her eyes, one even leaks down her left cheek. No one in the audience would ever see that... When she's singing she's actually Audrey.
Very few actors can become their character. I always thought Jean Stapleton and Carroll O Conner became Archie and Edith. Jean told Norman Lear that Edith was fiction when he agonized over her death. Norman told her that Edith was real to him.
from my understanding, her father died that day
@@TheGapboynokc Wait. What?
yep she just found out her father had died
It's insane the amount of emotion that woman can put into one note. Simply beautiful.
She does it so effortlessly as well
I have always loved Somewhere That's Green. Ellen always gives me chills. She sings it beautifully. I also love Suddenly Seymour!
the way she sings is so strange but its so different and creative i love it
She’s great. She’s singing in character. It’s not how she sings, it’s how Audrey would sing.
I don't know if I'd call it creative... That's just her voice. The emotion is amazing, though. But this is her voice naturally
It's scaring me
She's amazing.
It's how the character is suppose to sound. Anything else would be awful
Amazing talent! It took me a while to get it, but she's switching from that baby voice to that rich booming sound to show how the baby voice was a mask she used to put on to make herself small, but now she doesn't have to.
She does not portray Audrey... she becomes Audrey
She IS Audrey
She is Audrey just like Glenn Close is Norma Desmond
MJMcD seriously
She has since the film....
I'm sorry but whatever remake they do...
No one on this planet can replace Ellen as Audrey.
Even after 34 years absolutely untouchable.
@@WelshHomo87 And Patti Lupone is Evita
Ellen is brilliant. No one can top her as Audrey.
She also never ages. She’s in her 50s/60s and she still looks like how she did in Little Shop Of Horrors
Amen!🥲she’ll always be Audrey
Ellen Greene IS Audrey!
@@richardharoldmeddows728 Greene was born February 22,1952 in Brooklyn,NY. Making her 71 as of 2023.
16 yo me: She sings weird. I don't get why everyone loves her.
37 yo me: I'M NOT CRYING. YOU'RE CRYING!
yup. exactly.
I'm 22...and I'm still in that first stage!
i know right?
@@98jdk you'll probably get there, I was still at the same stage at your age. not everyone's the same tho...
Wow you're so handsome!
Her street wise survive at all costs persona while remaining innocent at heart, the way she moves her body, the poses, are pure Broadway at its best.
If you were at the encores performance a few years ago you would have sworn the theatre was going to cave in when ellen Greene made her entrance. Every line, every song received incredible responses from the audience and her solo bow was amazing. Jeff backed off the stage so she could receive the praise she earned.
She fell out of a fairytale and is pure magic. Ive always been so jealous of people who can do something so beautiful it makes you cry.
She has always reminded me of a sylph - An elemental air spirit.
That puts into words what I always felt about her Audrey, but never managed to quite define.
It's like she slipped out of a fairy tale into Skid Row and was suffering through a cruel world she couldn't defend herself in.
It's no wonder that Ellen was still playing the part on stage so many years after the movie, no-one else could play the part or sing the songs as well as she can!
Ik i have the same feelings about the role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. Andrew Lloyd Webber really screwed the role over by using Ian Gillian as Jesus on the concept album
I don't think anyone has "owned" a role like she does Audrey since Channing in Hello Dolly
Jennifer Hoilday as Effie in Dreamgirls
💯💯💯
Glenn Close as Norma Desmond
Tim Curry as Franknfurter in RHS / RHPS
I was JUST THINKING THAT! She is the Audrey standard the model
Ellen Greene OWNS this role!
Yes
I love her interpretation of this song. She brought depth to a very satirical and enjoyable musical. She portrayed a woman with very complex issues, she imited undertones of PTSD and trauma perfectly. Satirising the lower working class lady who falls for the badboy (i.e orin) He is a bad boy with a profession. Perhaps she fell for him due to her own insecurities. She finds a caring and sweet person in Semour, perhaps representing the father figure she never had. She sings in the song that her father left early. She is a tragic figure with a innocent and loveable quality. To think that every appliance she sings so passionately about is taken for granted in the west. She is insecure, naive and has low self esteem. She breaks your heart even in a comedy. She portrayed the character of Audrey brilliantly.
The tragedy of Audrey is so sad I don't know that I've ever seen the show and not cried when she tells Seymour to feed her to the plant. Even when the production is really bad, it always punches me in the gut that she dreamed of just having a comfortable life and was caught in the crossfire.
@@tfolkedahl have you seen the alternative ending?
@@casasanimations7048please, DO tell!!!
There are parents who speak with less emotion about their kid's accomplishments than Ellen Greene singing about frozen dinners and plastic-covered furnisher. She must be spiritually beat after pouring her heart into this song every night.
I agree completely with your comments here. When Ellen sings - the unabashed emotion that pours out of her is incomparable. She is a marvel. I only wish more people appreciated her talent.
And that emotion is still so authentic even after how many countless times she’s played this role or sang these songs. She never ‘phones in’ a performance.
After all these years
Ellen still slips into Audrey as seamlessly as stepping into your favorite pair of slippers.
There is absolutely noone on earth who can even touch her shadow in this role...
She lives each & every word, every line she sings.
At 5:28 to 5:36 something happens and Ellen Greene takes her performance to a whole different level. By the time she hits the 5:43 timestamp you can see something physically comes over Ellen and she is all in heart, body, and soul with the character, with the song.
It is at this point she rockets her performance (of a song she's sung hundreds of times by then) into the stratosphere of live performances few ever reach and you feel the orchestra, the chorus, and Teddy jump up and go with her. Together they create likely the most powerful finale to the song ever recorded. There's no mistaking it...you can see it, you can feel it.
Just 15 seconds later, when they hit the 5:57 mark, listen to Ellen singing at the top of her volume forcing the orchestra, the chorus, and the Teddy to go with her and go bigger and go louder bringing the whole theater to a crescendo of music and emotion that its likely no one saw coming just seconds before! By just six seconds later, at 6:02 to 6:04, listen to the trumpets in the upper brass sail their melody over everyone and everything else, as the song hits its climax reminding us with clear, sharp, upper range brass clarity that this is the point, if you call, in the show where the sun comes out, a new Audrey has arrived, and nothing will ever be the same. The upper brass returns at 6:28 being the only thing other than Ellen you can make out in the cacophony of voices, instruments, and energy. At this point, its all on Ellen. All eyes are on her, all voices are supporting hers, and if you watch the cutoff of the last note, its clear the orchestra's Director is watching her for the cutoff as everything comes to a halt when she brings her arm down. In fact, count the beats...she holds the note two whole beats longer than any Director would. The song ended, she was holding the note, and everyone stayed with her. FANTASTIC!
Its very clear this is likely THE performance of her life for this song. Nothing before has come close, and nothing to follow ever will.
Watch it carefully...the ending energy and delivery is completely different from its beginning where she almost seems to stumble over her first few lyrics. By the end, she appears to have channeled Audrey, feeling her pain, her moment of self-actualization, and in just a few lines takes us along with her to the most dramatic and spectacular ending the show has ever seen!
The most amazing thing about Miss Ellen Greene is that she makes 3 types of voices when she sings :
- 1 ) Fisrt one > " Inocent and naive cartoon littre girl voice " . ( Her real voice )
- 2 ) Seccond one > " Vocal Deficiency voice " .
- 3 ) Third one > " Desperate cry and torture voice " .
I just love all the three voices for her UNIQUE way in combining them togheter when she sings a song.
____ A True tallent * * *
Pedro Barbieri couldn't have said it better!
youve heard her real voice?
Ian Smith he means her voice in the show
She gives me chill every time
Ive noticed her different voice pitches too. I love them all😊. And the fact that she still has her voice is amazing to me. I love her breathy way of singing.
She lives every word of this song.What an amazing performance and voice. Much love.
ELLEN GREENE. No one else could possibly embody this part even half as well. Every time I see this video pop up on my timeline - I have to watch it and I cry every single goddam time and her raw emotion and phenomenal voice kills me.
So good to finally come across this as I am the one on the left as the bridge comes down with the three of us singing "Little Shop".
30+ years later, still moves me to tears.
emma duncan uhhh it was 1998
Indeed !
@@vhgr875 The original off-Broadway version was in the mid 1980s.
I'm crying like a baby. She's livin' the dream.
3:07 And your not the only one... :)
Imagine... an ironing machine!! 😭
she is crying when singing the first bit, i think she gets totally in to it. She is awesome!!! What a voice!!!!!!
Thought I was alone in noticing this. Her passion makes my heart melt.
No matter how many revivals open on Broadway, Ellen Greene will forever be Audrey! There may be other who try to copy her performance or voice, but there is only one Audrey...She was the first & the best.
I've watched this w my mama when I was 9 and I'm still watching at 46 best Broadway musical I will always cherish..
Ellen Greene can blow the freaking roof off! What a performance!
Even at this point, decades ago, Ellen had mastered this role. She could have gone the other way and become resentful of Audrey, but instead she dug herself into this role and perfected every moment of it. This is the most perfect performance I've ever seen and I keep coming back to it time and time again and always will
I love Ellen Greene. She can sing so soft, and then in the next moment just belt it out. She is amazing.
She's crying as she's singing it. Damn. She made me feel it too.
She learned her father died right before she went on stage
Sometimes whenever I get the note that perfectly fits my voice, I tear up. I have no clue why
Her performance here is mesmerizing. I feel like she is trying so hard just to get through the number after learning of her fathers passing- but it make for such a raw, emotional performance that Is just indescribable. I think I’ve been watching this nonstop since yesterday
still such a legendary performance. 😍😍
Her voice at 5:43 is so satisfying. She sounds so raw, I love it. I feel like no one comes close to Ellen when it comes to portraying this character. Also at 5:59 ugh the emotion ?? Wow, She owns it.
I have always admired how she transitions her chest voice into her head voice but not with a vocal flip but more of an internal vibration transition mechanism. It's just amazing. One of a kind voice.
As an adult, I feel Audrey a lot. Abusive relationships, believing I never deserved better, dreaming about average because that’s impossible… this hits hard. I found happiness alone before meeting the love of my life, but I still feel Suddenly Seymour.
Ellen has transcended "performer" to becoming one of the New York City Legends. In our time she has taken her place among the Nyc greats of Broadway and theater. Just as Bernadette Peters. These people live to perform and literally become the characters that they portray. They took a dream and made it real. Theatrical performers are the greatest inspirational people because they take what seem to be impossible dreams and make them real. They live it each time they take to the stage. To carry an entire show on your morale and passion is no easy feat. You MUST believe in yourself to stand in that space. There is no try. You either do or do not. And give your entire self. Ellen Greene = Legend.
Little factoid Ellen wasn't the first choice for Audrey in the film they originally wanted Cyndi Lauper but she turned it down. It went to Ellen by default as she was the original off Broadway Audrey.
Thank god for it as no one can play Audrey like Ellen can. It wouldn't have been the film it was if Cyndi had accepted the role.
Oh and it was actually filmed in the UK at Pinewood.
I heard in an interview that they also considered Barbara Streissand, but Frank Oz specifically wanted Greene and fought for her to be in the movie.
Btw the Suddenly Seymour scene was also filmed on the 007 soundstage (like the name suggests, it's where the James Bond movies are filmed!).
I remember hearing that it wasn't insulated for the winter, the season it was being filmed in, and that Greene and Moranis had to suck on ice cubes so their breath wouldn't come out while singing. They also had to kiss each other 36 times, and actually gave each other lip burns because of it.
Don't mind me, just a girl obsessed with Little Shop and knows useless things about it 😂😂
I don't picture Cyndi Lauper as Audrey, either, but I didn't even know they considered her for the role when making the movie.
@@EntertainmentFan11 I think Cyndi might've been able to pull it off. I'd sure like to see her sing the songs now.
Where did you get that information from? Everything I have read it was Cyndi Lauper who was originally approached to play Audrey in the film.
@@Dermacrosis I apologize and misread/misunderstood...i was referring to Faith being the first choice for Audrey for the original off-Broadway production, not the film. Sorry to have added incorrect information and I've deleted the erroneous post. The Faith Prince casting is well documented in many theater circle discussions.
She is amazing. She is still amazing. Something about the way she goes from that whispery voice to those power notes just blows me away. I've never heard her do a bad version, but this one is my favorite. Suddenly Seymour almost sounds like a hymn.
Tears every time I hear Ellen Greene sing this
I have been a musical theatre instructor and I tell people all the time that you cannot teach was Ellen greene has. She is so unbelievably uniquely truthful in every moment.
I gotta say, this guy, this nerdy, perfectly cast “Seymour” guy, ALSO blows the roof off his role, coming ever so clooOSe to tapping the peak of perfection reached by the irresistible Rick Moranis. Love this take. 💗
No one can duplicate! The movie is my all time favorite. I know every word and not just the songs but also the dialog! She is one of the reasons.... The way she sings from the depth of her soul! Like everybody in the movie!
She truly manages to capture that feeling of having big dreams that seem so far out reach. 😢
Why do I cry like a baby every time I hear her sing somewhere that's green?
Empathy
When I saw the movie when I wss a kid I didn't really care one way or another about it because I didn't understand it. Now? This song never fails to make me cry. She's so sweet and she wants so little out of life. I mean, she's asking for an existence that is so plain, so poor ro middle class and would consider it a major win if she can have the small luxuries in life. Ellen is breathtaking and it really speaks to how amazing she is that when ever there is a production of it, regional, international and Broadway, have always had Audreys who are 100% basing their characterization one her. From the voice to the level of air headedness and charisma. She's just so fabulous.
I have never ever been as obsessed with a musical so much as Little Shop, but Ellen Greene to me is the most insane talent I’ve ever witnessed in this role - film and theatre. She’s pure joy. The voice, the acting to emotion. Nobody compares
She is a star!!! I've seen Little Shop idk how many times now, I stopped counting and she still manages to get me crying! Underneath all of the silly comedy, Audrey is very tragic.
Ellen Greene raised the bar so high on this that nobody can follow in this role.
It's Ellen Greene's world. We're all just living in it.
This is so captivating in a way that is hard to explain.
I love love LOVE Ellen Greene's character! She pours real emotion into everything she does in Little Shop and it never fails to pull a smile across my face. She's the best Audrey EVER!
That ending. SHE IS AMAZING
Anytime I see a video of her singing live, I jump to click. Her voice gives me the shivers
Ellen Greene isn't just a singer. She isn't just and actress. Ellen Greene is a star
Still gives me chills every time. This is simply one of the most honest, raw, and beautiful performances of a Broadway song I've ever seen.
Ellen Greene owns this role -- in the movie, on stage, anywhere she performs!
I always come back to this performance, Ellen Greene is the blueprint. Pure camp, but imbued with the fullness of herself. So many people play camp as straight shtick nowadays, but she really understood what it's about: seeing your character in this world, but living in it truthfully and with empathy. A total knockout performance.
Her use of dynamics is so incredibly on point it's almost scary. Such talent!
without disparaging other actresses, but there is no one who is so perfect playing the role of Audrey as Ellen Greene, she is unique!
I can't stop watching this! Ellen Greene is a marvel!
Also such control in her voice. AMAZING!
Holly Fogel are you crazy? She's so bad. All she does from 5:40 on is scream. It's awful.
tcpanthers yeah we who loves her voice are crazy enough to see the emotion pouring out from her singing and acting
B- Great there is no emotion is screaming as loud as you can and sounding terrible in the process.
tcpanthers that's why i said We're crazy enough that only we can see those stuffs and not people who only criticize and know nothing about musical acting like you
The emoting!! Her innocence from Some where that's green to feeling that Seymour is really her friend!!! Bravo! Wish I could see it in person.
Now thats how you fill a stage.
Ellen makes me cry every time
15 years later and still a knockout. Especially in that outfit.
One of the best performances by anyone I have ever heard in the 40yrs I’ve been on this earth.
Legendary woman. Legendary movie....just awesome. :) Will always be my fave movie until the day I die. Go Ellen Greene. :)
I’ve heard somewhere that’s green and suddenly Seymour many many times before this, but I was today days old when I realized what these songs are supposed to be, mean and sound like! Ellen brings a depth of profound experience that I’ve never seen or heard before with these songs
Howard Ashman wrote this play, directed it, wrote the song lyrics, and the screen play for the movie. When hired later at Disney, he wrote the lyrics, guided story telling, and had the guiding vision behind The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast before his passing of AIDS on March 14th, 1991. He was truly a genius and most Disney employees at the time would tell you he was most responsible for the Disney Renaissance. /salute Howard!
Her voice is insane. I can’t understand how she does it. I’m like flabbergasted by her talent. Everyone says she owns this role, no she is Aubrey. She’s literally becomes the character absolutely beautiful! And can we give this Seymour some love? He is fantastic!
Ellen Greene is simply out of this world. Walking that fine line of acting ditzy, overacting for effect and nailing every note on the head when appropriate is something they will teach in theater school for centuries to come.
I saw the play when it was premiering in Westwood, CA., and she was starring. I sat in the front row. The play was wonderful and she was/is a revelation. It has lost nothing in all these years. Wonderful music and lyrics.
Her performance here has had a chokehold on me for years. The power. The emotion. The technique. The way she flips the vocal all over her range adds so much... Even though she had been playing this same role for so many years at this point, you wouldn't know it by watching this... It still feels fresh. So thankful this was captured, and especially on video. The audio recording of this concert must have been done in a studio or something and is different to this, it's just not quite as magical for some reason, maybe they told her to tone it down or something but I'm so glad she really went there in this especially at the end of suddenly Seymour...... She blows me away.
Ellen’s performance of this song always brings me to tears a little. She performs it with such sincerity and such skill.
Omg. Woaw. The finale of the song was so good I had goosebumps. I agree. Has to be one of her best performances!
I bet those tears were of memories of filming the movie… The one and only Audrey, never to be beaten 🥹💞
After all the years have gone by, I still LOVE watching and listening to Ellen Greene... She is one of the best performers ever....
I remember seeing the film way back in 1986 when it first came out, WOW, Ellen could sing. Seeing this, she is truly a fantastic woman all around!
I loved her in the movie. I'm glad I got to find this clip of her on stage. Shes amazing
Wooooooow!!!!!! Brava, brava, bravisima!!!!! Pure theatre, what a lesson! I've seen the movie many times but never saw her on stage, it is absolute amazing! Ellen, a big hug from Spain. I
I get so emotional everytime I see this performance
051823. After many yrs, I heard this again - and was shaken to my core. Ellen Greene, what you created through Audrey still feels titanic and cross-generational. Many years past LITTLE SHOP, I appreciate your artistry and voice.
Ellen is a gifted, singing powerhouse. I apologize for my description of her, I so admire & appreciate her talent.
Killer! This is the only video Ive been able to watch for years and years of this song.
Ellen is simply the best ever and moves me to tears every time. So great.
Everytime i hear Ellen Greene sing this song, I am right there dreaming with her.
Don’t know anyone who can sing in character and never break it. And her normal voice is great too!
Phenomenal performance by the original and the only Person who can do this role justice......Take a bow Ms Greene ❤️❤️❤️
Her vocal control is out of this world.
the way she goes back and forth between voices.....simply amazing.
This is just....UGH....! I´ve got goosebumps all over.....! Done Chrystal once in 2006 and it was my favorite musical theatre job ever...I really wish to play this role someday. This show is so much fun!
One of my absolute favorite moments in musical history. Somewhere That’s Green is to Ellen as Somewhere over the Rainbow is to Judy for me. Perfectly emoted and inimitable performances. Can’t help but shed a tear.
I cannot listen to Somewhere that's Green without crying, it's just impossible.
Maybe not after hearing Herbert sing the song.
Seen this about 50 times now. This is one of the best performances of a Broadway song I've ever seen. It's PERFECT. Well done, Ellen Greene.
I cry ever fing time
she really does bring the song to life, no other woman could give that song the character and voice that ellen gave it.
That voice coming out of that small body never ceases to astound me, love watching and hearing this woman.
That woman was made for that part and can flat out sing! Awesome!