Hear Sarah Michelle Gellar Reprise Her Cruel Intentions Role for Sly Musical Adaptation
Sarah Michelle Gellar is stepping back into the shoes of her cunning Cruel Intentions villain Kathryn Merteuil for one special cause: to tell audience members to turn off their cell phones.
The 40-year-old actress has recorded the pre-show announcement for Off-Broadway’s Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical Experience — the sly send-up of Roger Kumble’s 1999 teen classic that’s now playing at New York City’s (le) Poisson Rouge.
In the announcement, exclusive to listen to on PEOPLE, Gellar doesn’t waste any time tapping into her character’s biting tongue. “It’s not that difficult, morons,” she tells fans when asking them to quite their cells. “Take out that second-rate phone and hit the silent button.”
She doesn’t stop there. “For all of your tourists out there who think it’ll be swell to take a photo or video of the show and bring it home to bum f— nowhere? Well guess what — that’s not permitted either,” Gellar says. “Please obey or I will cyber-shame you into oblivion.”
Gellar ends the speech by reciting one of Kathryn’s most memorable from the film. “Happy hunting,” she says, adding “and enjoy the show!”
As fans of the film remember, Geller’s Kathyrn made up one-half of a dynamic duo of step-siblings in Cruel Intentions looking to rule their Upper East Side prep school. By her side was Ryan Phillippe’s Sebastian Valmont, who — responding to a bet from Kathryn — sets out to deflower the new headmaster’s virginal daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon) before the start of term.
The dark comedy also included stars like Selma Blair, Sean Patrick Thomas, Joshua Jackson, Tara Reid and Christine Baranski.
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Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical Experience infuses the story of the original film with a soundtrack of guilty pleasure pop hits from the last decade of the 20th century — making it the ultimate night out for those looking for a ’90s throwback.
Among the songs used in the show are The Goo Goo Doll’s “Iris,” No Doubt’s “Just a Girl,” Ace of Base’s “The Sign,” Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle,” ‘NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” In addition, two iconic songs used in the film — “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve and “Colorblind” by Counting Crows — are also featured.
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Starring as Kathryn is Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 alum Lauren Zakrin. Wicked’s Constantine Rousouli and Carrie St. Louis, meanwhile, tackle the roles of Sebastian and Annette, respectively. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Jessie Shelton (Hadestown) as Cecile, Alex Boniello (Spring Awakening) Blaine, Brian Muller (The Good Wife) Greg, Matthew Griffin (The New Yorkers) Ronald, and Home Improvement star Patricia Richardson as Mrs. Caldwell. Direction comes from Lindsey Rosin.
The show debuted in Los Angeles in 2015 — where Gellar, Witherspoon, and Blair all popped up to see it. In February 2017, the musical played a “pop-up” engagement at (le) Poisson Rouge.
Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical Experience is open through Feb. 19, 2018.