Can’t afford to go to NYC to see this wonderful musical (college student on the west coast), but I really loved the film version. I didn’t know too much about Darren until he was cast in Hedwig. Since he went on just before Taye (and I’m a fan of Taye), I started following how Darren was doing during his term in Hedwig. I watched what bootlegs I could find, and saw JCM off-Broadway and in the Broadway role, and NPH, Andrew and Darren in the Broadway musical. Thought they all were wonderful in their own way. John is the master of course. But every one of the actors in the Broadway version was great, including Darren. Based on the bootleg video and the audios of Darren, his performance is hardly “embarrassing,” IMO. He sounded great, and I thought his acting was very good, especially the last 20 minutes or so of the show (which is the part of the show that I especially love). And I understand that the bootleg video was taken only about one week after he started. If I were to actually see him on stage, versus just relying on a video taken early in his term, or relying on an audio, I’m sure he would be even more wonderful.
I’ve seen a few of the reviews listed by HedwigOnBway, and they talk about Darren’s performance in such a positive way (some of them are extremely positive). Even the twitter mentions by some Hedwig fans and by people who love theater are mostly positive. Again, hardly “embarrassing,” IMO. There are always going to be negative comments by some, here or at other sites. So my advice to fans of Darren, don’t let it upset you. You can’t please everyone. The majority of what I’ve seen is positive in regard to Darren’s performances.
And as a Taye fan, I am incredibly excited about Taye’s term, and am so looking forward to it. But I would never say to fans of the preceding Hedwig actor that he can’t get out of this show fast enough. I also would not phrase my words, by saying that I am so excited Darren is no longer Hedwig. However, I would say (and am saying) that I am so excited that Taye is now having his opportunity to play this iconic character in this very important show!
As for the attendance figures or the amount of potential gross Darren brought in, it seems that since the early part of the year, the show is trending toward lower numbers. Except for his final week, since every Hedwig actor’s final week has sold well, the last few weeks of John’s run reflect this slowing trend. (Michael’s numbers were higher as a whole than during John's run, especially during/after March 2015 in John's term.) I believe there were 13 new shows on Broadway in 2015. Seven of the 13 new shows made their first appearance on Broadway in March, which is also the same month during John’s run that there was a significant drop in gross percentage potential and attendance. Two of the new shows began on Broadway in February, one in May (“An Act of God"), one in June (“Amazing Grace") and two in July (“Hamilton" and “Penn &Teller on Broadway"). Darren and Taye (and also John for part of his run), as replacements (putting quotation marks around "replacements" in John's case) in a show that is on its second year, face the challenge of competing with new shows that are younger. It’s reasonable to expect that it is going to be harder to get the higher numbers as this show goes on.
I wish Darren the best. He seems to have done well during his run. I’m looking forward to hearing about Taye’s run since he’s now up as the next Hedwig! As a fan of both Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and of Taye, I couldn’t be more excited!
Updated On: 7/21/15 at 03:09 AM
