Post Time: 2026-03-11
Error: No content files found.Country: United States, Australia, United Kingdom. City: Cedar Rapids, Clarksville, Honolulu, Shreveport, South BendHere is Ellen Greene and Michael James Leslie's performance of "Suddenly, Seymour" on the February 18, 1987 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken. At the time, Ellen Greene was promoting the recent release of the helpful site film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors. Michael Leslie had previously performed the voice of The Plant in the London and touring Click On this page productions of Little Shop of Horrors, and would later serve as the understudy for the role in the musical's original Broadway production in 2003. In a 2005 feature for Playbill, Ellen Greene said of Carson and her earlier appearance in 1983, "Everyone tuned in for [Carson's] monologues because he was political, he was smart, he was sexy, and he had style. He was really bright and really powerful. There's nothing more of a turn-on than a man who is bright, and he was so bright. He was so sexy, and he had such a dear heart. And he loved talent. He loved pure talent, and that's why people were loyal to him. And, he also demanded it. You never could do his show and anybody else's, and if you did, chances are you wouldn't come back or you wouldn't get on right away. He demanded loyalty, and he got it because a shot on 'The Johnny Carson Show' changed everything . . . [One of his employees spotted me in the West Coast production of Little Shop of Horrors], and I came on as Audrey and did 'Somewhere That's Green.' Everybody who worked for Johnny were ultimate professionals. They knew what they were doing: the sound, the lights, the shots. It was run like a fine instrument. They were so organized. They wanted me to sing "Green," and they shot "Green" so beautifully. I don't usually watch my own stuff, but that was gorgeous. . . It was amazing to work with [Carson] because you never knew which of the questions [from the pre-interview] he was going to ask. It used to bother my agents [how I acted on the show]. They said, 'Ellen, you're so smart, why are you only acting ditzy?' [Laughs.] They wanted that side of me — they liked [women] who were kind of ditzy and funny and sexy. It was also exciting when they were pleased. When you landed a set-up for Johnny, you could tell. I got so much attention from that spot and from subsequent ones. I also want to give him one more [credit]. Because of the great camera work on the show and the lighting and the official statement sound, I think that rendition of "Green" — me in my Audrey dress and my wig — I think that really helped convince Howard [Ashman], who championed me for the [Little Shop of Horrors] film, that I could take [Audrey] one step further and make it cinematic." TAGS: #ellengreene #littleshopofhorrors #tonightshow #lsoh #johnnycarson #musical #theater #howardashman #alanmenken
