Many musical theater fans were furious at the cast of an off-Broadway revival of the classic show Little Shop Of Horrors.
Euphoria actress Maude Apatow, the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, makes her stage debut as lead actress Audrey.
When the ad appeared on Playbill’s Instagram account, the comments were filled with scathing remarks alleging she was hired out of nepotism.
Legacy: Judd Apatow (right) and Leslie Mann’s (left) daughter Maude Apatow (centre) has angered many musical theater fans with her latest casting
One Instagram user declared the start of ‘baby nepo season’ while another quoted scene legend Patti LuPone: ‘Broadway is becoming a Disneyland for the rich’.
‘Nepo baby strikes again,’ one commenter sneered as another joked, ‘I had to check it wasn’t a meme’, and yet another wrote, ‘you kidding, ain’t- this not”.
“Oh well, I was worried that someone working for the role would get it,” one social media commenter said.
Another sneered, “Good to see nepo babies thriving when so many people can’t find jobs,” and yet another noted, “Cast casting AND nepo baby.”
Incoming: Maude, who previously starred on hit show Euphoria, makes her stage debut in an off-Broadway revival of the classic musical Little Shop Of Horrors
‘Whyyyyy is that the choice?!?’ one Instagram commenter wondered as a young actress wrote in exasperation, “Yeah let me rip my diploma.”
“Can she even… you know what, never mind,” one social media user scolded in the comments. ‘Forget I almost asked.’
Maude also had a handful of defenders, including one who claimed that casting a TV personality helped “the whole cast and crew” to “keep their jobs a little longer.” It’s never really just one person.
Broadway has a long history of hosting showbiz legacies from the famous Barrymore dynasty of actors, including John, Ethel and Lionel.
‘Just suck’: While a swarm of Instagram commenters slammed the decision to launch a ‘baby nepo’, Maude also had a handful of defenders
Carol Burnett became a star on a show called Once Upon A Mattress with music by Mary Rodgers, whose father was Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Oscar Hammerstein himself was the son of an impresario who opened a series of operas and is now the namesake of New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
Since 1965, the youngest winner of the Tony Award for Best Actress has been Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and famed director Vincente Minnelli.
Liza was just 19 when she brought home her Tony for Flora, The Red Menace, the first-ever Broadway show scored by Kander and Ebb of Cabaret and Chicago fame.
Remember When: Ellen Greene, who originated the role of Audrey off-Broadway in 1982, is portrayed in the classic 1986 film adaptation starring Rick Moranis
In recent years, Ben Platt, the frontman of the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, is the son of film producer Marc Platt.
Jonah Hill’s little sister, Beanie Feldstein, debuted in a revival of Barbra Streisand’s former vehicle Funny Girl last year, to stellar critical response and being replaced by Glee star Lea Michele, who began his career on Broadway.
Maude is one of a huge glut of rising starlets with celebrity parents, from Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, to Andie MacDowell’s daughter, Margaret Qualley.
Maya Hawke, whose parents are Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, and Kaia Gerber, whose mother is Cindy Crawford, have also risen to fame in recent years.
Reminder: Ellen is pictured at an encore! production of Little Shop Of Horrors alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role of Seymour
Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon, Heidi Klum’s daughter Leni Klum and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough are also in attendance.
The online chatter surrounding “nepo babies” reached a fever pitch in December after the New York magazine ran viral coverage of the phenomenon.
Dakota Johnson, whose parents are Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and whose grandmother is Hitchcockian blonde Tippi Hedren, was one of the faces on the cover.
Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Psycho actress Janet Leigh and Some Like It Hot idol Tony Curtis, then got into the debate.
Showbiz legacy: Judy Garland’s (right) daughter Liza Minnelli (left) is pictured backstage at Flora’s Tony-winning 1965 musical The Red Menace
Calling herself “OG Nepo Baby”, she complained, “The current conversation about nepo babies is simply designed to try to belittle, denigrate and hurt.”
Little Shop Of Horrors is a 1980s musical with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken – a duo who became major players in the Disney renaissance writing the songs for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
The show follows a mild-mannered florist called Seymour who simultaneously yearns for the love of his life Audrey while dealing with a gigantic talking Venus flytrap in his care that survives by eating people.
Before Seymour discovered the plant’s man-eating tendencies, he named her Audrey II due to his feelings for the leading lady.
Pedigree: Liza, pictured at Flora, the opening night of The Red Menace with her famous director father Vincente Minnelli, became the youngest best actress ever to win a Tony for the show
Little Shop Of Horrors first opened off-Broadway, then moved off-Broadway for a five-year run that began in 1982.
Based on a 1960 film, the musical features a beloved score heavily influenced by 1960s music, especially Motown.
A runaway success, Little Shop Of Horrors became the highest-grossing off-Broadway show, but Howard Ashman resisted the idea of a Broadway transfer because he felt the project was home off-Broadway, according to the New York Times.
Connections: In recent years, Ben Platt, the frontman of the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, is the son of film producer Marc Platt
Little Shop Of Horrors shot to new heights of fame when it was adapted into a 1986 film directed by Frank Oz, who played Yoda in the Star Wars films.
Ghostbusters actor Rick Moranis led the cast as Seymour, while Audrey was played by Ellen Greene, who originated the role off-Broadway.
The musical finally hit Broadway in 2003, in a revival that during its run featured names like Billy Porter and Joey Fatone.
Audrey was played by Alice Ripley, who a few years later won the Tony Award for Best Actress for the Pulitzer-winning musical Next To Normal.
Family business: Jonah Hill’s little sister Beanie Feldstein opened in a revival of Funny Girl last year (pictured), to meteoric critical response and being replaced
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