From Gilead to Skid Row: Handmaid’s Tale Star Madeline Brewer Blooms in Little Shop of Horrors

Since opening at the Westside Theatre almost six years ago, the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors has established itself as a celebrity magnet, with Evan Rachel Wood, Constance Wu and Sarah Hyland signing on to play the lovelorn flower shop clerk Audrey. Now, Madeline Brewer, Emmy-nominated star of The Handmaid’s Tale and the final season of You, is giving a sweet, sexy and beautifully sung performance as the heroine who longs to escape Skid Row for “Somewhere That’s Green.”

Fans of Brewer’s dramatic (and often traumatic) TV work might be surprised to learn that she is a graduate of NYC’s American Musical and Dramatic Academy and starred as Sally Bowles in the London production of Cabaret during a 2022 hiatus from The Handmaid’s Tale. She began rehearsals for Little Shop less than a month after marrying British film producer Jack Thompson-Roylance in a dreamy outdoor ceremony in Somerset, England. Brewer reflected on her busy career and “most wonderful summer ever” in a chat with Broadway.com.

Congratulations on making a terrific New York stage debut. We love seeing a young, enthusiastic audience embracing the show and your performance.
They’re having fun, which makes us have more fun. [Even] people who don’t know or don’t love musicals love this one. Audrey is an iconic character, and the show spans decades as an iconic musical, so I’m honored to step into the role and the legacy of Audrey.

It’s smart of you to introduce yourself to the New York theater community in this role.
Thank you. I’ve had my eye on Little Shop since they brought it back in 2019. I’ve seen so many Seymours and Audreys come through, and it just keeps getting better and better. Maude Apatow went from Audrey to Sally Bowles on the West End, and I did the opposite. There’s a legacy to this character, and everybody brings something unique to it. I’m from South Jersey, so I think I bring a little bit of my Long Island cousins and a little bit of a South Philly, South Jersey attitude.

You look like a film noir heroine in Audrey’s black dress, stilettos and red wig.
I think the red is such a powerful statement. It’s a shade of red where you get the sense that she’s been dyeing it. I like the idea that Audrey is this sensitive, emotional person, but she’s kind of wearing a costume.

It must have been reassuring to make your debut opposite an experienced Seymour [Nicholas Christopher, who returned for three weeks prior to beginning Chess rehearsals] before Thomas Doherty joined the cast.
I feel so blessed to have spent time working with Nick Christopher, who’s a truly special performer. He has this incredible physical ability, which brought that out in me. This is my first time on stage in New York, and I was feeling a bit trepidatious. I went to school for musical theater, but it’s been a long time, so to have performers like Reg Rogers [as Mushnik] and Jeremy Kushnier [as Orin] and Nicholas Christopher—I feel so elevated and supported.

Speaking of feeling supported, can we assume your groom was on board with you accepting this role a month after your wedding?
Yes, my gorgeous, gorgeous man—he’s a dream. We did have to have a mini-moon instead of a full honeymoon, but he knows that doing a musical in New York is something I’ve had my sights set on for a long time.

Is it true he fell in love after seeing you play Sally Bowles in Cabaret?
He totally did, and on some days, I think he fell in love with Sally. [Laughs] That’s the kind of actor I am—even in my day-to-day, a part I’m playing is alive in me somewhere. It just so happens that Sally was a very interesting person for him to fall in love with.

What’s your favorite memory of starring in Rebecca Frecknall’s immersive production?
In a lot of ways, I was exorcising some demons every night. Maybe “demon” is not the way to say it, but every night I was able to just let it rip, let whatever inside me that wanted to come out, come out. It was emotionally and physically and artistically fulfilling, but also physically, emotionally and psychologically taxing. It was a difficult one to leave onstage. Audrey has her moments, but she’s easier to pick up and put down.

You were a vibrant presence in The Handmaid’s Tale as Janine, who endured a lot of trauma before getting a happy ending. How did you navigate that?
The first couple of seasons were pretty difficult. She was elusive to me, especially because as a secondary character you’re not shooting every day. But after six seasons and nine years, I feel lucky that our brilliant writers gave Janine the opportunity to grow and change. They didn’t try to keep her stuck as the comic relief/“crazy” one. They allowed her to process the trauma inflicted on her in season one, having a child and losing a child. They allowed all of us to breathe life into these human beings and make them as real as possible. It was the gift of a lifetime as an actor. I’m happy to be moving on because you can only do that for so long, but I grew up with Janine. I started that job before my frontal lobe was done cooking.

Then you outsmarted a serial killer in You!
I had a great time on that set. Penn Badgley is a wonderful person to work with, and I created what I thought was a very interesting, different kind of character. It was also my first time living and working in New York, which was priceless after so many years away.

What were your goals when you were playing Dorothy at Pitman High School in New Jersey?
I wanted to be on Broadway. I wanted to be Kristin Chenoweth, I really did; I wanted to be Glinda. What’s crazy is that my dream has been exactly the same since I was seven years old. It’s not like the dream has changed, it’s just shifted. I don’t think I’ll play Glinda, but I know there are other roles out there that are meant for me and I’m meant for them.

Well, you’ve set yourself up nicely to combine stage and screen work.
I have so much respect for both mediums, and I feel lucky that I don’t have to make a choice. I love to be on stage—I love collaborating with writers and directors and musicians and other actors—it’s just the dreamiest thing I can think of, and now I get to do it eight shows a week. I spent the first 10 years of my career exclusively on screen, and now I’m excited to see where this takes me. I hope Little Shop is just the beginning of my love story with the New York stage.