Darren Criss in Hedwig- Page 10

[absolutbitter]

Posted: 5/15/15 at 2:59pm

"Hmmm....
 
http://blindgossip.com/?p=71330"

LOL 

[Broadwaywest]

Posted: 5/15/15 at 3:18pm

So I will be in NY mid-June and I see that broadwaybox has discounts for this, which I was kinda surprised with Darren Criss starring. Now, I'm a huge hedwig fan, never got to see the original unfortunately. However I did go opening night when the movie came out and I met the first guy I dated through a weird Hedwig CD exchange. Desperatly, wanted to see JCM, but unfortunately missed him…so is Darren Criss worth it? I just can't picture him that young in this role. Or should I wait till the possibility of Taye Diggs?

As for the stage door? How has it been is it nuts? 2 hours is kind of crazy, to wait for someone, but if he's cool then it's worth it.

 

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 5/15/15 at 3:54pm

so the 200 posts prior to yours don't tell you if Darren Criss is worth it?

If you are a huge Hedwig fan and you haven't seen it on B'way, then you should see it no matter who is starring.  Criss, Mitchell, Harris, Buddy Hackett.  Doesn't matter.

[skies]

Posted: 5/15/15 at 7:30pm

Buddy Hacket...now that would be a Hedwig!

[SharoninB]

Posted: 5/16/15 at 11:42pm

so how is Mr Criss

[karen24]

Posted: 5/17/15 at 12:30am

I saw the matinee this afternoon. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is my first time seeing Hedwig on stage so I have no basis for comparison except JCM in the film. I thought Criss sounded really good and his voice was strong. I think I've read some opinions that he wasn't as good on the "angry" songs but I actually thought he did a great job on those. I was up in the mezzanine so I couldn't see all of what went on on Sugar Daddy, but he did the expected things. I thought he probably didn't let go as much as N P H did (at least based on what I've read & what I saw on the Tonys.) His accent did kind of go in and out but it didn't really bother me. I thought he did pretty well with the dialogue and he was very funny at times. He seemed to get looser as the show went on and I thought Midnight Radio was excellent. The band sounded great. The audience was respectful, no overly annoying Gleeks at all All in all I felt it was well worth seeing although I do wish I could have seen JCM. Happy to answer any other questions!

[AppleSunday]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 2:04am

It looks like there’s already a bootleg out there and it’s only from his 9th performance (5/7). These are the only clips I was able to unearth because it appears as if at least one person stupidly chose to uploaded clips to YouTube where they were promptly removed.

Angry Inch

Sugar Daddy

All I've been hearing is that he disapears into the role and gets better and better with every performance and that his work with Tommy is increadable. A good deal of it is coming from people with a bias, but a lot of it also seems to be very unbiased, even ranging to people who were skeptical going into it.

Updated On: 5/27/15 at 02:04 AM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 10:19am

First of all, I don't know what "increadible" means.

 

Second of all, "A good deal of it is coming from people with a bias, but a lot of it also seems to be very unbiased..." is one of the most idiotic sentences I have ever read.

 

I saw Mr. Criss 2 weeks ago.  Vocally, his Hedwig is a powerhouse.  Much of the subtle humor is lost, and he doesn't quite get into the character's head; it's slightly more of a caricature than a character, to no great detriment of the play.  The chief thing working against him is his age.  Hedwig has got to have lived...there's little that's overly believable when your Hedwig is 28.

Still, he impressed me and he carries the show nicely.  

But then again, so long as one has charisma and a nice voice, it's quite hard to mess up Hediwg. 

[SDV]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 11:23am

I saw Darren last week. I agree with much of what munkustrap said – he does well with the songs (don’t think I’d go as far as powerhouse) but he doesn’t really get into her head and the subtlety and pain in the text is IMO nonexistent in his performance. Everything is an over the top, badly executed joke. While there is a huge amount of humor in Hedwig, the soul of the show is what lies underneath her sarcasm and I’m not sure anyone clued Darren into that. He is certainly having a lot of fun with her but there’s more to one dimension to this character.

I don’t agree with munk that charisma and a nice voice is all that’s required in this role. While that’s certainly all you need for the superficial elements, the world weariness and pain is where this performance lives and without that you can end up with just a well scripted drag show.

Clearly.

Updated On: 5/27/15 at 11:23 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 11:34am

thanks for posting those two clips, Apple. I just loved both of them. They guy had the right attitude, loved  his voice and his choreography. 

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:01pm

SDV:  I didn't mean to imply that all one needs to portray Hedwig successfully is charisma and a nice voice.

What I intended to say was that, with stage presence and a great voice, Hedwig (the show, not the woman) will never be an entirely unsalvageable experience.  Those two attributes will generally be enough sugar to help the medicine go down and sell the show to the general theatergoing public.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:33pm

I agree with this a little. Same could be said about Rock of Ages. The show is so well written, with a great score, that it doesn't matter much who plays Drew. As long as he can sing the songs and move around the stage.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:36pm

It's nice to see you on here, Jane.  It's been a handful of years for me.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:42pm

Yeah I was wondering how many years it has been since you last posted.

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 12:50pm

I've decided, after observing and participating in these conversations and reading the various Hedwig threads, that if you have a pre-existing relationship with the character and the material, you most likely go into the theatre wanting to get something in particular from the experience. You want your Hedwig to deliver on a promise. And I think everyone's expectations are different. For whatever reason, NPH gave me exactly what I was looking for - what I wanted and needed from Hedwig - that the other ones did not. After being almost downright angry about the casting of Darren Criss (stunt TV star, too young, not enough theatre experience, cheesy), I went to see him and was absolutely shocked when he was able to give me exactly what I wanted as Hedwig. I left the theatre completely fulfilled. We can look at things objectively and analyze the technical aspects of the performance. But in the end I think, especially with this particular show, it comes down to a visceral response. 

[snl89]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 1:06pm

Just figured I'd throw in my thoughts, since I have now seen the full video (not live yet, but then, I haven't seen the show live at all yet so I feel like it's a fair place to judge the different Hedwigs from haha): 

I first want to make the point that, although I am a big fan of Darren's, I've also fallen deeply in love with Hedwig as a show and JCM's performance in it. In fact his performance (in any iteration) is probably one of my top favorites of anything I've seen. So make no mistake, I went in fully wanting to love Darren, but also fully prepared that it was prooobably going to feel a little bit underwhelming after my having become so attached to John!Hedwig.

But coming from as honest a place as I possibly can? Darren's Hedwig, for me, is very easily my favorite right behind JCM's, and that's mostly because of his acting of it (although I also love his voice so much on the songs), because he brings such a new energy and approach to the character that I can appreciate it totally independently of any comparisons with John's performance. 

It's true that the world weariness isn't much there, but I found that with Darren's performance it didn't really need to be because there was plenty of very genuine emotional depth in other ways to make up for it. I feel like this post would get waaaay insanely long if I tried to explain my thoughts on his take on the character right now, but suffice it to say, I just never felt any lack of depth at all, I just think he chose to have it come through in new ways, and that's WHY I was so impressed by it. He took the same character at the core, and yet presented her in a way that I found wholly yet uniquely engaging. 

Now, that said, I will say that probably the weakest spot I saw (that has been mentioned in this thread) is that, yes, the anger at/about Tommy at times does ring a little bit false. Definitely not anything in the END with Tommy (I think the whole ending from Wicked Little Town-Midnight Radio is probably his strongest work of all), but at the points when the door opens... it at times felt a bit screamy and just not quite believable in a performance that I otherwise found VERY believable. 

But yes, overall, it's surprising even to myself how easily he is my second favorite Hedwig behind JCM. Because I love NPH and Andrew and MCH as well, so I was honestly expecting to feel about Darren more or less how I felt about their performances- great, but I don't necessarily feel the need to watch it more than once when there's John's to watch. And yet I keep finding myself watching Darren's video again... which tells me it's not out of any feeling of "obligation" to love it because I'm a fan of his, but because I just genuinely love his take on the role. 

And once May is over and I finally have some free time again, I cannot wait to hit up the Belasco and see it live!! :) 

Updated On: 5/27/15 at 01:06 PM

[Alex M]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 3:39pm

I got to see Darren last week and was very surprised! After seeing every other broadway Hedwig i have to say i think Darren was the best singer out of all of them (dont hate me). It was also my first time seeing Rebecca in the show and she was incredible!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/27/15 at 9:53pm

I actually do not like Neil Patrick Harris' voice at all.  I found it very "Broadway" and I didn't think it suited the score at all.

[AppleSunday]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 1:49am

^

I was actually just about to say this. I was never able to get into his Hedwig because I just found such a "Broadway" voice to be a very jarring and disconnected thing for this character/score. And this is exactly why I had high hopes for Darren. In addition to not having a "broadway" voice, he comes from a long background of performing pop/rock with live bands, and apparently he even dabbled in punk in his teenage years. From what I've heard in recordings his vocal take is exactly what I was hoping for. It justice t clicks for her to me.

Updated On: 7/31/15 at 01:49 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 7:59am

I thought NPH's entire performance was "Hey look at me, I'm a broadway star" let alone just his voice.It was very Vegas.  He never approached the character of Hedwig, to me.

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 9:51am

Which is why he was perfect to be the first Hedwig, and not the second or third, since most of us had never had a Hedwig before.  We loved NPH . . . and then we saw MCH and then JCM and realized what Hedwig really was all about.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 10:00am

^ Your argument doesn't make sense. Harris was "perfect" because he didn't delve into the character and gave a surface-level "star" performance without finding the character? If I wanted "An Evening with Neil Patrick Harris," I'd buy tickets to his one-man show; if I buy a ticket for Hedwig, I want to see the actor lose himself in the role and be true to the material.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 11:30am

"Which is why he was perfect to be the first Hedwig, and not the second or third, since most of us had never had a Hedwig before."

No, that isn't why he was the first BROADWAY Hedwig. He was the first because he was well known all over the USA, would be a draw for tourists, and put the show on the map. Brilliant producers.

[timisimaginary]

Posted: 5/28/15 at 12:19pm

i thought NPH sounded fine when i saw him in the show, but the official cast recording he sang on is borderline unlistenable in places.

[Jane2]

Posted: 5/29/15 at 9:22pm

This is just a test to see if I could post an image.( M. Cerveris as Hedwig)