Last night, I got to see Glee’s Darren Criss on Broadway in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying! Find out what special people got me the ticket for my birthday and what I thought about Darren’s performance as J. Pierrepont Finch!
So you may have heard of this little podcast I host called Glee Chat right? Well there are 6 other amazingly insightful and talented co-hosts that rotate in on a weekly basis with me. On Episode 15, Natalie, Mitch, Jessica, Coty, Megan and Roxanne surprised me by telling me they all chipped in and bought me a ticket to see Darren Criss in How To Succeed for my birthday (which is Tuesday)!! How amazing are they!?
Not only that but Natalie flew all the way across the world from Sydney, Australia to see the show as well. With our schedules we were able to meet up last night just before the show. It was really exciting to meet up with Natalie and share the excitement of not only meeting each other and the show but being able to speak to Darren afterwards at the stage door.
As for the show, there is so much to say. How To Succeed is a really fun, upbeat, feel-good show from start to finish. For the last week I’ve been singing the Dan Radcliffe soundtrack non-stop in anticipation for the show, which actually lead me to realize the very strict differences in Dan’s voice compared to Darren’s. While Daniel Radcliffe is a great singer and his quirky voice fits the character really well, Darren’s voice was simply much more soothing and comfortable, in my opinion. Dan’s voice (on the soundtrack) was great but much more nasal and more along the lines of the quirkiness of the character. Darren’s interpretation was less quirky and more sarcastic, if you ask me. They both seemed to make the music fit their character and as they say on some of these talent shows on TV, “they made it their own.”
There were a few numbers that left the entire theater clapping and cheering for a few extra seconds. “Coffee Break” was one that seemed to get everyone pumped up and ready to go for what would be a high-energy 2 hours. “Grand Old Ivy” showcased a lot of intense dancing and choreography while highlighting Darren’s sarcastic mannerisms that would be very familiar to fans of Glee. Finally, “Brotherhood of Man” was quite a show-stopping closing number. There’s a moment in the song where the dancers flip Darren up to the front of the stage from the back of the group, and when he landed the entire theater instinctively screamed and cheered. It was a moment of musical theater that sent chills and shivers down everyone’s back.
Seeing Darren perform as someone other than Blaine Anderson made me realize how much of Darren is in these characters. Though I do love Darren on Glee, his live vocals tied with his unmatched comedic timing made every moment of the show tonight extremely exciting and interesting! Saying that Darren thrives in front of crowds is very much an understatement as showcased in this show tonight. StarKid fans probably know exactly what I’m talking about.
All of this being said, there were other talents on the stage last night that really blew me away – not just Darren. Mary Faber as Smitty was a witty and fun character. Ellen Harvey as Miss Jones was absolutely amazing. Her feature in “Brotherhood of Man” was one of the best parts of the entire show. Christopher Hanke as Frump made every moment of his stage time laugh-out-loud hilarious. Beau Bridges, who replaced John Larroquette, had a charisma about him that was impressive and fit perfectly alongside many of his numbers with Darren.
After the show, I met up with Natalie who was saving me a spot at the stage door in the front row! I found my way through the hundreds of people waiting and waited for about an hour and a half before Darren made his way out to sign autographs and talk to the fans. Natalie and Darren shared a special moment before she introduced me to him. He was very kind and gracious as we talked, in particular about a mutual friend that he and I have. Oh and did I mention he has the softest hands in the entire world! I told Darren that Natalie and I host a podcast called Glee Chat, to which his response was, “Glee Chat? Holy shit, I’ll have to check it out.” You’ll be able to see this video on Hypable in the next couple of days. Darren signed my Playbill and we waited for him to give his thank you speech at the end of the signing before Natalie and I went on our way.
In conclusion, it’s a sad fact that Darren is only doing this show for 3 weeks because he is truly a talent to behold. Not only him but the entire cast makes How To Succeed a really fun show worth every dollar the audience pays for their ticket! Darren’s run will end on January 22nd before Nick Jonas takes over.
John and Natalie will be detailing their experience further, including an announcement of an exclusive Hypable giveaway on an upcoming episode of Glee Chat that they are recording live together with another Glee Chat host, Mitch Clow! Be sure to follow Glee Chat on Twitter @Glee_Chat for all the exclusive details!
Did you see How To Succeed with Darren or Daniel Radcliffe or both? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and maybe we’ll read it on one of our next episodes!