Lee Wilkof — who starred as skid-row schlub Seymour in the original Off Broadway company of Little Shop of Horrors — is in negotiations to play plant shop owner Mushnik in the musical's upcoming Broadway premiere. A spokesperson for the show confirmed the news to Playbill On-Line Nov. 12.

Wilkof, who received a 2000 Tony Award nomination for his work in the revival of Kiss Me, Kate, has also starred on Broadway in She Loves Me, The Front Page and Sweet Charity as well as the City Center Encores! production of Do Re Mi. Off-Broadway, the actor singer was seen in Mizlansky/Zilinsky and June Moon, and he received Drama Desk nominations for his work in Assassins and The Present Tense. He nabbed an Obie Award for his work in the latter as well. Wilkof's screen credits include "Ally McBeal," "Law & Order," "Addicted to Love," "Private Parts," "This Boy's Life" and "Everything's Jake."

Wilkof is married to director Connie Grappo, who will helm the Broadway debut of Little Shop.

Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman's Little Shop of Horrors, which debuted in 1982 at the WPA Theatre, will play Coral Gables' Actors' Playhouse before heading to Broadway. Previews will begin at the Florida theatre on May 7, 2003, with an official opening scheduled for Friday, May 16. Broadway previews will start July 22 and open Aug. 14 at a theatre to be announced. Others in negotiations to star in the musical include Alice Ripley, Hunter Foster and Billy Porter, who have been offered the roles of, respectively, Audrey, Seymour and Audrey II.

The Little Shop score boasts such tunes as "Suddenly Seymour," "Downtown" and "Somewhere That's Green."