Ladies and Gentleman....Taye Diggs is your next Hedwig- Page 16

[VotePeron]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 11:46am

Ok can we please get back on topic that doesn't have to do with Darren Criss or Taye's stage door habits?

(Spoilers)

I saw the show for the 8th time yesterday afternoon, having seen all prior Bway Hedwigs. I was in the second row center and was very excited, but hesitant due to reports from friends and this board.

The moment Taye set foot on the car after his descent, he kind of looked petrified. A very different entrance than any of the other Hedwigs, who always are beaming and playing to the crowd. There was no self indulgence with Taye.

Tear Me Down was beautifully sung, and he had about 75% of the moves down. I'm sure he knows 100% of them, but he's just not executing them. He got really into the crowd and more comfortable with himself after the song it seems, as he started to do some improv and settle in. I unfortunately was very distracted during Origin Of Love, because there was something wrong with the cables that hoist the car up, and a crew member with a flashlight was crawling around stage trying to fix it. I'm glad they didn't stop the show though.

For the first half of the show, it really did seem like he was fishing for lines. But right after Sugar Daddy, it became clear to me that a lot of his nuances are exactly that - acting choices. The second half of the show was hugely successfull. The entire show felt extremely intimate and personal, like I was in a lecture with Hedwig and not a performance. I've only ever felt this way with JCM in the role. It was really special. 

It took him for what seemed for EVER to get into the Tommy story line. He does so much improv and tip toes around the stories that it made the 3rd time the door opens very jolting and angry. His "You want to know the story about Tommy Gnosis?" was very powerful. 

I'm surprised to read that people think he doesn't have a good understanding of Tommy, as I think he may have one of the best. If there is one thing I truly believe Taye has, is a really solid understanding of the character (Much more than DC had at this stage in his run, when I saw him). I think in a month Taye may be one of the best Hedwigs we've had. He surely sings and acts the hell out of the part. He is incredible.

 

PS - and YEAH, he sweats, A LOT. Most of the makeup was gone after Tear Me Down. Then he did some pats down on his face with his "Whitney rag." His interaction with the audience is beautifully done. He wipes off all the "melted chocolate" that he gets on an audience members face during Sugar Daddy. Hilarious.

 

PSS- He adds a lot of awesome current pop culture references, such as "Bitch better have my money" and attempting to sing current rap/R&B songs. He turns the "I should be over at the Lion Queen" into like a 3 minute gag of him speaking in the dead Simba's father's voice saying: "Simba...put on the dress."

[Hamilton22]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 12:52pm

I'll be seeing the show in 2 weeks. I originally told myself I was done with Hedwig but the comments on this thread have really peaked my interest about Taye.

I've gotten to see every Hedwig except for Michael C. Hall and I have a sneaking suspicion that Taye will be my favorite. Very excited. 

[SDV]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 1:50pm

VotePeron, thank you so much for that detailed report. Thrilled to hear that he's been able to sink deeper into it after just a few days. Another Hedhead friend who went opening night went again last night (we're a loyal bunch) and said she saw vast improvements. I'm already anxious to return.

[WickedLittleRentHead]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 3:21pm

During the Lion Queen bit did he mention drag during your show? He did during mine and I cringed, a lot. 

 

 

I am glad you personally had a better experience than I did on Friday night. 

[Margo319]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 3:59pm

Stage door isn't a requirement, they NEVER have to do it.  The entitlement here is gross.  They don't owe you an autograph or any bit of attention after the show.  He has a life, and perhaps he wants to get back to it after work.  Nothing wrong with that. 

 

As For Naomi, she explained on Instagram that she is taking a break from the stage door so she can get some much needed rest and relaxation.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:04pm

Why do people keep referring to her as Naomi? Is she the new Stokes?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:08pm

Her really intimate friends call her Omi. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:27pm

I wonder if Diggs' sold-out his entire first week. All six shows were up at TKTS this week at either 50% or 40% off, but only for a limited time. Was anyone able to grab a SRO for any of his shows?

[HedwigInch]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:50pm

Every time I looked at the tkts website this week I saw Hedwig on there, most of the time for 50%, except for one day it was 40%. I think it was Friday? Not sure anymore.

We've only heard of him selling out Wednesday and Thursday. I am assuming if the others had sold out too we would have heard about it.

We will find out tomorrow.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/26/15 at 4:56pm

He was very close most of the week, I believe, and sales are looking just as strong into this week. I don't recall seeing anyone in standing room, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.

Let's keep this little engine going!

[Phan2]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 4:05am

Hedwig and the Angry Inch:  The Little Engine That Could.  :)  I'm glad that Taye's numbers have been strong. 

Updated On: 7/27/15 at 04:05 AM

[Phan2]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 4:31am

Has anyone heard of any audio recordings?

Updated On: 7/27/15 at 04:31 AM

[WickedLittleRentHead]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 8:58am

There is audio floating around on Tumblr from Friday's performance.

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 1:48pm

I'm listening to the audio bootleg from Tumblr now and I have to say, while I am usually a firm believer of giving everyone a chance to prove themselves live, if I had heard this before I bought tickets to see Taye, I wouldn't have bought the tickets.

My issue lies squarely with his interpretation of the music. There are very little, if any, rock moments in his singing. It mostly sounds like he's off-key speak-singing. It's truly painful to listen to.

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 1:48pm

I'm listening to the audio bootleg from Tumblr now and I have to say, while I am usually a firm believer of giving everyone a chance to prove themselves live, if I had heard this before I bought tickets to see Taye, I wouldn't have bought the tickets.

My issue lies squarely with his interpretation of the music. There are very little, if any, rock moments in his singing. It mostly sounds like he's off-key speak-singing. It's truly painful to listen to.

[skies]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 3:56pm

Poor gross sales for the first week.  Yes, there was almot 93 % percent attendance but that was negated by an average ticket price of only $72 which negated the high number of seats filled.

It will be interesting if they can find a sweet spot where they maintain a good level of attendance will increaseing ticket prices somewhat to boost revenues.

Updated On: 7/27/15 at 03:56 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 4:01pm

his first week had a lot of give-aways & it was only 6 shows. We'll see over the next few weeks how he'll do & if his fans show up. Plus, I'm curious as to how the show will do in September, typically a very slow month for Broadway shows.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 4:09pm

My hope is that he has a very devoted fanbase - which saved not only Darren, but I suspect John's numbers as well.

We have to remember that Hamilton is likely stealing some tickets - people who would typically pay higher prices are waiting until the day of to see if they win Fun Home/Hamilton tickets and then do TKTS.

[HedwigInch]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 4:19pm

I know I got side eyed the other day when I talked about checking Telecharge but it was good for something. Taye had HUGE same day sales. For the Saturday evening performance it was like 400 tickets. Something like that. Of course Telecharge is never 100% accurate but it gave me a good impression at least of how many tickets were available the night before and then how few were left before the show.

So I think one reason why his average ticket price is so low is the amount of tickets being sold for 50% off at the tkts booths.

We'll see if that stays the same, if the average ticket price goes up significantly next week, how the capacity develops in case there were really a lot of give aways during his first week.

Updated On: 7/27/15 at 04:19 PM

[Phan2]

Posted: 7/27/15 at 11:08pm

WickedLittleRentHead, thanks for the tip about an audio floating around in tumblr.     Yes, ChildOfEarth, I hope Taye's fans come out and are willing to pay higher ticket prices than his opening week.   He's pretty well-known, so that's a positive.   And good point about Hamilton, whose Broadway previews started Darren's last week.  I've been concerned about how the new shows are affecting the numbers during 2015 for Hedwig, ever since some of the numbers took a significant dip after four new shows made their first appearance on Broadway during the week of March 15, during John's run.  Some of the numbers (the gross amount, the gross % potential, and the average price paid) did not really return to the pre-March 15 levels during John's run, except for his final week.   Now, in addition to the twelve shows that appeared on Broadway since February/March 2015, there is Hamilton.   Just a bit worried how Taye's numbers will be affected, but I'm sure they will raise the average ticket prices slowly so that the gross amounts and gross % potential go up, and given how well known Taye is, hopefully capacity is maintained.  

Updated On: 7/28/15 at 11:08 PM

[crazynovelist]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:15am

"My issue lies squarely with his interpretation of the music. There are very little, if any, rock moments in his singing. It mostly sounds like he's off-key speak-singing. It's truly painful to listen to."

Honestly, that's a big issue I had while listening, too. Taye has a very lovely, smooth voice, but I'm not sure it really works with Hedwig. It seems like he's trying to make every song more soulful and almost blues-y. Which might work on say, Wicked Little Town, but the harder songs definitely suffer from it (he was even being drowned out a little by the electric guitar in Midnight Radio, because it is a rock number above anything else). Also, Hedwig grew up with rock and roll and that's what inspired her, and that's the music she wanted to create. I enjoy and encourage people putting their own unique spins on songs like Taye's doing, if they're covering the song elsewhere-- but I don't think it should be done in the musical itself.

For the sake of the musical though, I really do hope they're able to fine-tune things to a degree where the fans are satisfied and the sales keep coming.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 10:43am

""My issue lies squarely with his interpretation of the music. There are very little, if any, rock moments in his singing. It mostly sounds like he's off-key speak-singing. It's truly painful to listen to."
Honestly, that's a big issue I had while listening, too. Taye has a very lovely, smooth voice, but I'm not sure it really works with Hedwig. It seems like he's trying to make every song more soulful and almost blues-y. Which might work on say, Wicked Little Town, but the harder songs definitely suffer from it (he was even being drowned out a little by the electric guitar in Midnight Radio, because it is a rock number above anything else). Also, Hedwig grew up with rock and roll and that's what inspired her, and that's the music she wanted to create. I enjoy and encourage people putting their own unique spins on songs like Taye's doing, if they're covering the song elsewhere-- but I don't think it should be done in the musical itself.
For the sake of the musical though, I really do hope they're able to fine-tune things to a degree where the fans are satisfied and the sales keep coming."

 

 

He has a lovely voice, but his phrasing throws me off. He just doesn't seem to be able to follow the melody correctly and he's always behind the band. Even in Origin of Love, which is his strongest song IMO, I found myself worrying that he was going to forget the next word because he didn't say it with the music.

I truly think he wanted to come out and surprise people, but didn't take into consideration that this isn't his wheelhouse. 

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:03pm

cause there's too many wheels in there.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:19pm

"cause there's too many wheels in there."

 Didn't say there wasn't. If you could quantify it, he's likely the most talented person to play the role (other than JCM because let's be real) - but it isn't coming together. To me, the songs were painfully ruined - I'd be so mad if I was Stephen. But I'm not, so I'm going to assume he's working on it.

I'm going again this week, so I'm hoping I see improvement. 

They all struggled with certain areas and they all got better. I'm sure Taye will as well.

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/28/15 at 1:26pm

just making fun of the phrase