Teddy Yudain Reflects on Over 1,000 Performances Inside — and Across From — Audrey II
Yudain is the only remaining original cast member in Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway. He’s spent most, but not all, of his 1,000+ performances puppeteering Audrey II.
Yep, he’s in there! Photo by Evan Zimmerman.
At Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre, Teddy Yudain has been around the block. Since day one, he’s been one of the puppeteers orchestrating the masterful movements of the carnivorous plant dubbed Audrey II — and he’s been understudying the role of Orin Scrivello, DDS while he’s at it.
And just a reminder that day one of this production was September 17, 2019, four years and a whole pandemic ago. So when the show — and every show — took a break in March of 2020, there was no guarantee it was coming back.
But 18 months later, Little Shop began to find its feet again, and Yudain and the company had to relearn everything.
When casts change over, as Little Shop has several times, institutional memory becomes critical for continuity. Though Yudain has it in spades, he’s selective about when to speak up. “I try not to step on the toes of anybody whose actual job it is to set the show,” he says, shouting out the team of stage managers, choreographers, and directors. “I’ve probably butted my nose in where it was not wanted, where I've said, ‘Well, actually we've always done it like this.’” But occasionally, someone like Bryce Pinkham, the production’s current Orin Scrivello, has turned to him to ask for clarification — often about minuscule details like the degree of an angle he faces.
“It’s a funny, delicate thing,” he says, “because there are things that I remember from originally setting the show that weren't necessarily written down — little tiny things. But they're still, to me, part of the show.”
And given Yudain’s 1,000+ shows of experience, all those little tiny things are embedded in his mind and body. So much so that he pretty much knows the whole thing by heart. When he was recently given the opportunity to become the understudy for the lead role of Seymour, learning the part actually wasn’t that hard. “As somebody who is there every night, I have the show running through my head all the time,” he said. “And so, it's just kind of a matter of when I'm speaking up.”
Yudain as Seymour. Photo courtesy of Teddy Yudain.
The more difficult adjustment was believing he was right for the part. “Seymour felt far off for me,” said Yudain. “I didn't think that the hero of the story was my place necessarily.” He felt much more comfortable inside the puppet or in an over-the-top character role like Orin. But people kept telling him he’d be perfect for the role. “I figured it was just because I'm a dorky guy who wears glasses,” he said. “But then the more different people I saw stepping into the role and seeing what they brought to it, I started seeing myself in Seymour a little bit more.” He’s had the chance to go one as Seymour a handful of times, and the role has become emblematic of his journey with the show. “It really felt like a full circle moment of taking the helm of this production that I have loved,” he said. “To be at the front of it, I was really honored.”
It also gave him a new perspective on the role he plays night in and night out. As an Audrey II puppeteer — one of three — he often doesn’t get to see much of what goes on onstage. “It's kind of funny being in the scenes on the other side of it, especially as Seymour looking at the plant,” he says. “I'm like, ’So that's what that looks like!’”
There’s no view from inside the plant. All he and his fellow puppeteers can do is rely on sound and instinct. They have in-ear monitors, but syncing the puppet’s mouth movements to the live voice of Aaron Arnell Harrington, who plays Audrey II, can be challenging. Months and months of repetition have made things a little easier. “Consistency is key. Aaron is very consistent,” says Yudain. “If he all of a sudden decides to do a new riff or add a couple of words or something, we're left in the dust.”
But every once in a while, things can get a little hairy. Maybe Harrington gets something caught in his throat or another actor drops a line, and the timing is thrown off. “Those are the moments where it gets really exciting — when all three of us are just kind of listening and reacting,” says Yudain. “It's like those theater school games. You all move as a group but with this huge puppet.”
Syncing up with other cast members and moving as one has been the key to Yudain’s success, whether inside or outside of the Audrey II puppet. Throughout his time at Little Shop of Horrors, he’s had to adjust to many new scene mates over the years, always tweaking and learning something new to make the show shine.
Though he’s grateful to have become the elder statesman, it’s not always an easy role. “One of the hardest things about our work is the partings,” he says. “You create a family, and you get really tight and you're in the trenches together and then people go. That's been one of the hardest things for me — saying goodbye a lot and accepting the change that comes around me. If you have trouble with change, being in my position is not an easy thing.”
It’s an experience that’s made him more appreciative of the ephemeral nature of theater. “You have to be grateful for what you have in that special moment,” he says. And though there’s been so much change around him, he’s been grateful to be a constant. “It’s a special position, and I'm honored to be bringing that energy,” he says. “I know that someday I will eventually be gone. I'll eventually leave the production, and hopefully, it'll still be running strong.”
