A FEW MINUTES WITH AUDREY II (MICHAEL JAMES LESLIE)

After conquering the LA audiences, he and Ellen Greene (the original Audrey) went on to the London production, winning audience approval, critical kudos, and industry awards.

His love for the show has never wavered over the years: “It’s simply about what one will do for love,” he says, “and we all know what a strong pull that is!” He loves the music, finding the score fun, meaningful and “accessible to all ages. It’s the kind of musical that appeals to young and old, even to the people who think they hate musicals.”

The combination of pop styles, doo-wop, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, and oldies references all add up to a terrific WOW factor. “Often, folks come to the theater not knowing what to expect, and they find themselves excited.” And, as much fun as the music is to the audience, it’s actually deceptively easy-sounding. “Everyone works really hard,” and he goes on to explain that he must have a range of a low E to a high A in his own musical numbers as the people-eating plant Audrey II.

Leslie grew up on the Jersey shore in Brielle, NJ, and got his first taste of singing in church. In grade school he was asked to perform two numbers in a St. Patrick’s Day production, but feared that he would be laughed at as a black student dressed in shamrocks and a bowler hat, singing Irish standards. He decided to “own the performance,” and found to his surprise that the audiences loved it, giving him cheers and a standing ovation. He performed throughout the next years of school, but it was actually in law school where his epiphany occurred.

After graduating from Rutgers, he enrolled in Cornell Law School. While it is well-known that law students spend 99% of their time with classes and studying, Leslie found his way into the Cornell Savoyards, a Gilbert & Sullivan performing group. He won the role of Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, and garnered cheers and ovations never before seen at Cornell. “I felt the arms of the audience around me,” he says—and he was hooked.

He hasn’t forgotten his legal past, and finds in it an amusing reference to his current stardom. “There is no difference between a man-eating plant and a lawyer,” he says with a laugh in his voice. But it’s the man-eating plant that’s keeping him ultra-busy these days.

Eight shows a week is a grueling schedule for any Broadway performer, but they’re in New York all the time. A touring production does eight shows a week as well, but there is travel time between cities, too.

Leslie always works to protect his voice on the “off” days, but still manages to take a vocal lesson each week. He prides himself in reporting that he has only missed two performances in the past 14 months. “I’m from the old school,” he shares, “and you get out there and give them their money’s worth!”

Different cities produce different problems for singers, and they must adjust quickly to the different conditions. The tour was in New Orleans three weeks before Hurricane Katrina, and Leslie said the humidity was difficult on his pipes. Each stop on the tour brings “new and different challenges, with changes as the tour continues. But that’s one of the beauties of live theater: it’s always evolving,” Leslie explains.

Playing the “star” of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, yet never being seen is not a problem. His voice work as the diva Audrey II emanates from a Plexiglas booth with a microphone, monitors with four different camera views of the orchestra conductor, the stage and two views of the plant itself, and a console that allows him to adjust the volume of the orchestra and audience reaction—so he knows when to hold for audience laughter or other reactions.

“While it is all high-tech,” he explains, “I expend the same amount of energy in that booth as I would if I were onstage.” All of his stylizing and nuances must be coordinated with the puppeteers/manipulators of the Audrey II onstage, as well as with the rhythms set by the orchestra conductor. When he takes his curtain call after each performance, some audience members seem to recognize him, while others think he is part of a street scene in the early part of the show. “It doesn’t matter,” he says, “since I have that I-know-what-I’ve-done satisfaction after each show. It’s always a bolster to the ego to know how much this show depends on me.”

Leslie loves to talk about the tentative opening of the current tour when it started in Los Angeles. “There were problems galore with backstage stuff (the plant, etc.), thereby causing a 14 minute opening curtain delay. Once we began, though, we were off and running—and winning! The thunderous curtain call applause was like the second coming, and we were sure the Muse was with us then and there—and has been with us on every leg of the tour since!” The only low points of the tour are the sad times when cast and/or crew members leave, for whatever reason. “We’re a family, and even if we’re slightly dysfunctional at times, it’s always hard to say goodbye to a family member.”

Michael James Leslie is excited to be performing at Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland. “Those beautiful theaters are some of the finest in this country!”

We agree. Welcome to Leslie and to Audrey II—they’re not the same, but they have so much in common!!