Ethan Slater Extends Run in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS as T.R. Knight Exits Production

Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk winner Ethan Slater (Wicked film, SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway) has extended his run as Seymour in Off-Broadway’s long-running production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Emmy Award nominee T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”, Stranger Things: The First Shadow), who was previously announced to take over the role later this month, has departed the production. Tony Award nominee Hannah Cruz (Chess, Suffs) will still take over the role of Audrey on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, and star opposite Slater in the musical.

“Although I will no longer be joining Little Shop of Horrors, I celebrate the magical legacy created by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and send my brightest wishes to Hannah, Michael and the beautiful community that keeps feeding Audrey Two!” said Knight.

“We’re sorry that T.R. won’t be making his debut on Skid Row, and we all wish him the very best on his upcoming projects,” said the producers.

Tony Award nominee Betsy Wolfe (Death Becomes Her, & Juliet) will play her final performance as Audrey on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Continuing on in the cast are Drama Desk nominee Claybourne Elder (HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” Company) as Dr. Orin Scrivello D.D.S., Stephen DeRosa (The Queen of Versailles, Boop!) as Mushnik, Christian McQueen as The Voice of Audrey II, Christine Wanda as Ronnette, Savannah Lee Birdsong as Crystal, and Morgan Ashley Bryant as Chiffon, alongside Teddy Yudain, Weston Chandler Long, Mecca Hicks, Jeff Sears, Aveena Sawyer, Mike Masters, Alloria Frayser, Chani Maisonet, Johnny Newcomb, Jon Hoche, Jonothon Lyons, and Noel MacNeal.

The hit production of the landmark musical — featuring book and lyrics by Grammy and Academy Award winner Howard Ashman (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast), and music by Tony and Academy Award winner Alan Menken (Aladdin, Newsies) – is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spring Awakening), and now in its eighth year at The Westside Theatre (407 W. 43rd Street). The musical celebrated a major milestone this past September, becoming the longest-running production of the show in history, with over 2,210 performances and counting (the record previously held by the original 1982 Orpheum production, directed by Ashman).

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS began previews at Westside Theatre on Tuesday, September 17, 2019 and opened to widespread critical acclaim on Thursday, October 17, 2019.  Ben Brantley of The New York Times deemed the show a “Critic’s Pick,” declaring that “a certain carnivorous plant has been repotted in Hell’s Kitchen, and I am delighted to report that it’s thriving there. Michael Mayer’s delicious revival…summons the shivery elation I felt seeing the musical at the East Village’s Orpheum nearly four decades ago. It restores the show to its original scale and sensibility, reminding us of the special potency of grisly things that come in small, impeccably wrapped packages.” The Hollywood Reporter describes the production as “wildly exuberant and irresistible. This terrific revival will only deepen the devotion for those lucky enough to catch it.” Time Out gives the musical “Four Stars! A deeply satisfying revival… with a marvelous cast. What kind of deal with what kind of devil are you willing to cut to see it?”  Several seasons later, the musical continues to play to sold-out audiences hungry for the thrill of live musical theater in an intimate setting. Three years into its run, Washington Post critic Peter Marks wrote, “I’m back at Little Shop of Horrors because, friends, I needed to laugh today. Hearing the glorious Menken/Ashman score sung by this cast fills the prescription. [A return trip] is WORTH IT.”  

This production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS won the 2020 Drama League Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revival, in addition to several honors for its cast and creatives, including: Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor (Jonathan Groff), Outstanding Featured Actor (Christian Borle), and Outstanding Director (Michael Mayer); a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Borle), and several additional award nominations throughout its opening season, including a 2021 Grammy Award nod for Best Musical Theater Album.

Seymour is a down-on-his-luck florist with a crush on his co-worker Audrey. When he discovers a mysterious – and voracious – plant, suddenly Seymour and Audrey are thrust into an epic battle that will determine the fate of the entire human race. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS first premiered Off-Broadway in 1982, where it made audiences laugh, scream, and give up gardening for good. The musical has since catapulted into a global phenomenon, with productions across the world from Broadway to London’s West End, to Asia and Australia – plus a hit 1986 film adaptation directed by Frank Oz that starred Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin. Now, the musical has made its highly-anticipated return home to Off-Broadway, in an intimate new production directed by Michael Mayer that offers an unprecedented opportunity to get close — maybe too close — to an incredible plant with an insatiable appetite.   

The LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS design team features Tony-nominated Scenic Designer Julian Crouch (Hedwig and the Angry Inch); Two-time Tony-winning Lighting Designer Bradley King (Hadestown, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812); Emmy-winning Costume Designer Tom Broecker (Everyday Rapture); Tony-winning Sound Designer Jessica Paz (Hadestown); Emmy-nominated Puppet Designer Nicholas Mahon (Pyeongchang Olympics Opening Ceremony) and Hair and Makeup Designer Tommy Kurzman (My Fair Lady). Original puppet design is by Martin P. Robinson, Puppets are by Monkey Boys Productions, and Grammy nominee Will Van Dyke (Pretty Woman) serves as Music Supervisor, Orchestrator & Arranger.