Ellen Greene has one word for Little Shop of Horrors: magical.
Forty years after the beloved 1986 film about a carnivorous plant took root in pop culture, Greene - who originated the role of the sweet and beleaguered Audrey - is keeping the movie’s legacy alive with a national screening tour. The run includes a stop at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 21.
For Greene, the character of Audrey was more than a comic foil in a campy musical.
“She’s endearing. She’s very honest. She’s very truthful. And she does hide an awful lot of pain,” Greene said during an appearance on Live in the D. “So, she’s a deep character, even though she seems very simple in this complex world.”
The film, directed by Frank Oz and featuring an ensemble cast that included Steve Martin, Bill Murray and John Candy, was shot at Pinewood Studios in England with a largely British crew. Greene recalls the set itself as a formative creative experience.
“Sandy Simo’s set was the most remarkably romantic set I’ve ever been on,” she said. “There was grass growing through the floor. Cobblestones and everything. It was just beautiful.”
Greene described the atmosphere on set as one of mutual respect and shared purpose - no room for star egos.
“Everyone was so talented, so no one’s talented,” she said. “You leave your ego at the door. The star is the work. The star is the piece.”
She credits Oz as the driving creative force behind the film’s enduring appeal, calling him a genius who built “a magical land full of whimsy and silliness, but it’s got a moral with deep underpinnings.”
“People love this because they see themselves in all the vulnerabilities and the imperfections,” Greene said. “And well, everybody wants a home.”
At the Detroit screening, fans can expect a meet-and-greet, a Q&A - and a live performance from Greene herself.
“I’m going to sing,” she said. “And I haven’t sung in public for a while. So, this is all going to be thrilling and new and exciting for me.”
The screening tour marks a full-circle moment for a film that has only grown in stature since its release, cementing lines like “Feed me, Seymour” and “Don’t feed the plants” into the American cultural vocabulary.
Little Shop of Horrors screens at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 21.