Ladies and Gentleman....Taye Diggs is your next Hedwig — Page 14

I saw NPH twice and I know many aren't a fan but I thought his Hedwig was incredible and you could tell he put so much work into his role.

This role requires a lot of training and homework. It seems as though Taye could use a lot more.

I can't speak about any other Hedwig's preparation but Darren certainly got into shape for Hedwig. While he was never chubby or anything you could tell his legs, arms and upper body in particular were more trained than they were before.

In an Instagram post he thanked Tony Horton and P90x3. That means nothing to me but it looks like he did some serious cardio and stuff.

Just because someone has muscles doesn't mean their cardio is good so maybe that was underestimated in Taye's case? Not sure.

He will get better throughout his run since the show itself is a work out but it's a shame his body isn't already there now so he can focus on the other stuff he has to work on.

Someone just posted on Twitter that the Belasco doesn't have any AC today? Does anyone know if there is any truth to that?

it is usually colder than a witch's teat there but if Taye is already having heat related issues...

"I can't speak about any other Hedwig's preparation but Darren certainly got into shape for Hedwig. While he was never chubby or anything you could tell his legs, arms and upper body in particular were more trained than they were before."

In a radio interview Darren taked about specifically working out the muscles he needed to safely bring Hedwig fully to life. He was the first guy in after John had his onstage injury so he really prepped his body for what the role entailed. The flexibility, climbing, dancing, jumping, standing, and running, all done in heels.

I'm honestly shocked by these reports of Taye's performance. I was excited to see what he'd bring to the part and he's the second Hedwig I'd have a chance to see,but now I'm feeling a little bit let down. He had just as much time to prep as the other guys who have come in but he doesn't know/isn't comfortable with his lines and can't handle the physicality? I'm pretty sure Darren was even working full time on Glee until the month or so before he opened but from the audio of his opening night it sounded like he had all the components down from day one.

I hope Taye gets it all together soon but I'm not sure if I'll make the trip to see him. Knowing he went into his opening night underprepared is a turn off I'm not sure I can come back from.

I'd definitely still give it a shot. I don't know how much in advance you would have to plan a trip but maybe wait a few weeks and see what people say. If he has improved significantly or not. I am sure he will get better.

"I still think you should go see him -- try not to be that discouraged. His learning curve may have been steeper than either he or the creative team realized and it's not like they had much flexibility in terms of timing."

That picture of him with the script which set off the rumors before he was announced was posted on 5/14. He had the same exact amount of time to prepare as Darren Criss did. If Darren had any of these issues on his opening night (and he was also a very sweaty Hedwig), and in the following performances as well, he would've been torn apart and no one would be saying to give him some time and a shot later down the line. To me this comes down to professionalisim. Prepping for this part can and has been done in the same amount of time by an actor who is nearly two decades younger and only had less than a full month of Broadway experience going into it. So much of the work for this part is memorization and introspection. There are no excuses in my book.

Updated On: 7/25/15 at 10:33 PM

JCM and many other Hedwigs have said that you can only prep so much without an audience for this role, so at some level, no one will be amazing out of the gate. Interacting with, and responding to, the audience is a huge part of the role and something many actors have less experience doing.. so there is definitely a learning curve. Aside from JCM, I've avoided seeing any Hedwii until they've had a few weeks under their skirts...

My issues with Darren's performance never had anything to do with his memorization skills. He certainly knew all his lines, lyrics and choreography. His problem IMO was that in spite of all of that he could never find the soul of this character. I was at Taye's opening night. I saw him struggle through some of the text and I will still watch him any day of the week over Darren. There were moments, more than a few, when I could see her pain under the bravado. The quiet moments after WLTR when Hedwig sort of comes out of her trance and sees what has just happened were beautifully played. His singing voice throughout was lovelier and richer than I remembered it.

For me, the taller order for any actor playing this role is that s/he understand Hedwig's struggle and pain. I believe Taye does. I think that once he has a few more performances under his belt and feels his feet underneath him, he'll be giving a beautiful performance.

"My issues with Darren's performance never had anything to do with his memorization skills. He certainly knew all his lines, lyrics and choreography. His problem IMO was that in spite of all of that he could never find the soul of this character."

I saw Darren three times over his run along with the bootleg. The soul of his Hedwig is what kept me going back. It you don't like his Hedwig that's totally fine, everyone responds to each actors interpretation differently and it's totally within your right to declare Taye's five performance old and and still under prepared Hedwig as being superior, but you can't truthfully say that Darren's Hedwig was lacking soul.

And as for the stage door even if hey did make a time limit I can't image it would be as little as 10 minutes. That's unrealistic and crazy for a name this big in what is essentially a one man/woman show.

""It you don't like his Hedwig that's totally fine, everyone responds to each actors interpretation differently and it's totally within your right to declare Taye's five performance old and and still under prepared Hedwig as being superior, but you can't truthfully say that Darren's Hedwig was lacking soul.
. "

Did you somehow miss the "IMO" in the same sentence of mine that you're referencing?

And as for the stage door even if hey did make a time limit I can't image it would be as little as 10 minutes. That's unrealistic and crazy for a name this big in what is essentially a one man/woman show. "

"Also, I really don't think they've put a time limit on the stage door, but rather Taye just doesn't want to sign for very long? Bobby Devlin, the previous bodyguard for all of the other Hedwigs, told a fan that each actor would tell him how long he wanted to sign for and he would make sure they wrapped it up within that timeframe - Darren just signed for longer than most."

I was hoping that wasn't the case, that it wasn't just Taye - maybe it's new? Did the old bodyguard leave? Maybe Annie has just had enough.

I haven't the foggiest idea how long Darren stayed, but I know John stayed quite long a few times and was basically the cutest muffin the whole time he was there.

I know DC's Tommy was for many their favorite part of his performance. Unfortunately, the show is not called 'Tommy.'"

I didn't say Darren's Tommy was my favourite part of his performance. It wasn't. I just said that nailing that portion of the show is integral to one's understanding of the role, and that Darren happened to do a great job with it. But, agree to disagree, because I know we very much do not agree.

@ChildofEarth - There is a new bodyguard for Taye, but I have no idea if that has impacted things. Darren stayed probably 1 1/2 hours (ish?) each night, and tried to get as many people as possible. I imagine some actors like that part of it more than others.

"Darren stayed probably 1 1/2 hours (ish?) each night, and tried to get as many people as possible. I imagine some actors like that part of it more than others."

1.5 hours?! That's like doing the show again. I can't imagine - but hey, good on him - that's the way to create fan loyalty.