Darren Criss - Darren Media: News & Appearances #13

soulmatejunkee · 09-22-2016, 09:55 AM

Sources of News
**** Yeah, Glee Club
Daily Darren News

kindness is free · 09-22-2016, 12:59 PM

TFTNT

soulmatejunkee · 09-22-2016, 02:23 PM

I should update the OP

kindness is free · 09-24-2016, 05:49 AM

We do have 2 years to add on to that!

soulmatejunkee · 09-26-2016, 01:27 AM

Actor Darren Criss attends the 2016 Global Citizen Festival In Central Park To End Extreme Poverty By 2030 at Central Park - September 24, 2016

kindness is free · 10-01-2016, 03:38 PM

He looks so amazing

soulmatejunkee · 10-02-2016, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Darren Criss comes full circle

When Darren Criss was starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, he could hear his parents in the audience laughing at one risque joke or another. “And I’d be, like, guys, what I just said was terrible. You should be scolding me.” His parents may be “a little bit old-fashioned,” but after his run as the transgendered rocker had ended, “My mom was always telling me, ‘I miss Hedwig. I miss Hedwig.’ Had you told my 16-year-old self that my mom would be anticipating the next time I got to do this character in this movie I was watching in the basement, I’d say you’re crazy.”

Starting Oct. 2, Criss’ mother will get her wish, and she’ll only have to travel across town to the Golden Gate Theatre, rather than across the continent. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is beginning its post-Broadway tour in his hometown, and Criss made sure that he would be part of it as soon as he got wind of it. He’ll play Hedwig in San Francisco and then Los Angeles before it travels on with another actor as its star.

Read more here

kindness is free · 10-02-2016, 04:54 AM

That is so sweet to hear his Mom say that and yes so true his 16 year old self would not believe that

soulmatejunkee · 10-08-2016, 03:19 PM

Quote:

SFist Interviews: Darren Criss Brings It Home As 'Hedwig'

As Darren Criss prepared to take the mantle — or Farah Fawcett wig, as it were — of Hedwig in a three-month engagement of Hedwig & the Angry Inch on Broadway last year, John Cameron Mitchell, the show's co-creator and the role's originator, expressed his excitement to Out magazine. “[Darren] grew up in the gayest city in the world, and it’s rubbed off,” he said of Criss, a native of San Francisco and an alumnus of ACT's Young Conservatory. Fame first came to Criss for his role as a gay prep schooler on Glee (he himself attended St. Ignatius) and continued as he took over the lead in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying from Daniel Radcliffe. But Criss, who can clearly strut the strut as Hedwig, is in fact straight-identified. “He’s the sweetest, hippest straight queer boy on the block.” Cameron Mitchell added. Now he's a "slip of a girly boy from communist East Berlin," as the genderqueer Hedwig refers to herself, and SFist caught up with Criss to discuss the role and his return to San Francisco following opening night this past Wednesday.

SFist: Hedwig's character is obsessed with music, absorbing all these influences. Was there any musical homework you felt you had to do for the role?

Criss: I'm pretty hip to the rock and roll stuff the show references just by way of whatever I was into as a kid. My brother and I grew up with this ravenous appetite for music, and we just listened to everything. The one pocket that I would have missed wouldn't have been the rock but the '70s female pop, like Debby Boone. I knew names but I couldn't rattle off the hits as easily as [director] Michael Mayer, so that was the education I had to do to become "miss Midwest midnight checkout queen."

SFist: There are some SF jokes and flourishes you made as Hedwig — references to places and neighborhoods, a jab at Marin County. This is your doing, I suspect?

Criss: Those jokes just kind of come out! It helps that I know what might hit with people here. John [Cameron Mitchell] and Michael [Mayer] and I huddled and talked about some local jokes and local flavor. Everyone who plays Hedwig becomes a part of the narrative — When I was on broadway, Neil [Patrick Harris] added his thing before me, and there's a whole hodgepodge of things to collect from. The idea is that this show Hedwig is doing is only happening this one time in front of you, and this is all before your very eyes. So, whether you're doing that here or in South Korea, the idea is to maintain a sense of local urgency.

SFist: What's been your experience coming back to San Francisco so far?

Darren: It's been lovely for obvious reasons. I don't often get to spend an extended period of time here, so to know that I'm going to be here for longer than a weekend is nice enough. And, of course, San Francisco Indian summer is great. And hearing the Blue Angels flying around, too — it's very much attached to my childhood, but all my New York friends who are here, they're terrified!

SFist: Not your co-star, Lena Hall, another San Francisco native. What's it been like to work with her?

Criss: So she ended her run as Yitzhak right when I began my run as Hedwig in New York. She'd done it for a while, and we were ships passing in the night. We were very friendly, and we had a lot of fun nights out together, and it blew my mind when I learned she was also from San Francisco. There's a lot of ties that we share. Like, I was like, "wait, you're part Filipino? I'm part Filipino!" She's really the best singer ever — it's such a joy, and a real privilege to be singing with her. Doing "Origin of Love" with her, I have her singing in my monitor, and it's so great.

SFist: And for weekly performances, Hall will take over the role as Hedwig, correct?

Criss: I can't wait to see her do it. The cool thing is the way Hedwig is constructed, especially the gender fluidity, makes a woman playing that role so complex. What I love about the show is it's so strong dramaturgically: It starts and you meet Hedwig, guns blazing. When I first started doing the show for the first night or two on Broadway, we had a joke about my age — at the time I was the youngest person to do Hedwig, at least on Broadway, and we had a line about it that we thought might get a laugh. But it quickly became apparent it didn't matter.
In fact, it didn't matter that you're short or tall or black or white or gay or straight, or even a man or a woman. The audience is invested in whoever is playing Hedwig, whoever is carrying the torch. Actors, no matter who they are, will gravitate toward this role. You know it's a damn good part — It's one of the greatest roles I may ever play.

Source

soulmatejunkee · 10-08-2016, 03:19 PM

Quote:

SFist Interviews: Darren Criss Brings It Home As 'Hedwig'

As Darren Criss prepared to take the mantle — or Farah Fawcett wig, as it were — of Hedwig in a three-month engagement of Hedwig & the Angry Inch on Broadway last year, John Cameron Mitchell, the show's co-creator and the role's originator, expressed his excitement to Out magazine. “[Darren] grew up in the gayest city in the world, and it’s rubbed off,” he said of Criss, a native of San Francisco and an alumnus of ACT's Young Conservatory. Fame first came to Criss for his role as a gay prep schooler on Glee (he himself attended St. Ignatius) and continued as he took over the lead in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying from Daniel Radcliffe. But Criss, who can clearly strut the strut as Hedwig, is in fact straight-identified. “He’s the sweetest, hippest straight queer boy on the block.” Cameron Mitchell added. Now he's a "slip of a girly boy from communist East Berlin," as the genderqueer Hedwig refers to herself, and SFist caught up with Criss to discuss the role and his return to San Francisco following opening night this past Wednesday.

SFist: Hedwig's character is obsessed with music, absorbing all these influences. Was there any musical homework you felt you had to do for the role?

Criss: I'm pretty hip to the rock and roll stuff the show references just by way of whatever I was into as a kid. My brother and I grew up with this ravenous appetite for music, and we just listened to everything. The one pocket that I would have missed wouldn't have been the rock but the '70s female pop, like Debby Boone. I knew names but I couldn't rattle off the hits as easily as [director] Michael Mayer, so that was the education I had to do to become "miss Midwest midnight checkout queen."

SFist: There are some SF jokes and flourishes you made as Hedwig — references to places and neighborhoods, a jab at Marin County. This is your doing, I suspect?

Criss: Those jokes just kind of come out! It helps that I know what might hit with people here. John [Cameron Mitchell] and Michael [Mayer] and I huddled and talked about some local jokes and local flavor. Everyone who plays Hedwig becomes a part of the narrative — When I was on broadway, Neil [Patrick Harris] added his thing before me, and there's a whole hodgepodge of things to collect from. The idea is that this show Hedwig is doing is only happening this one time in front of you, and this is all before your very eyes. So, whether you're doing that here or in South Korea, the idea is to maintain a sense of local urgency.

SFist: What's been your experience coming back to San Francisco so far?

Darren: It's been lovely for obvious reasons. I don't often get to spend an extended period of time here, so to know that I'm going to be here for longer than a weekend is nice enough. And, of course, San Francisco Indian summer is great. And hearing the Blue Angels flying around, too — it's very much attached to my childhood, but all my New York friends who are here, they're terrified!

SFist: Not your co-star, Lena Hall, another San Francisco native. What's it been like to work with her?

Criss: So she ended her run as Yitzhak right when I began my run as Hedwig in New York. She'd done it for a while, and we were ships passing in the night. We were very friendly, and we had a lot of fun nights out together, and it blew my mind when I learned she was also from San Francisco. There's a lot of ties that we share. Like, I was like, "wait, you're part Filipino? I'm part Filipino!" She's really the best singer ever — it's such a joy, and a real privilege to be singing with her. Doing "Origin of Love" with her, I have her singing in my monitor, and it's so great.

SFist: And for weekly performances, Hall will take over the role as Hedwig, correct?

Criss: I can't wait to see her do it. The cool thing is the way Hedwig is constructed, especially the gender fluidity, makes a woman playing that role so complex. What I love about the show is it's so strong dramaturgically: It starts and you meet Hedwig, guns blazing. When I first started doing the show for the first night or two on Broadway, we had a joke about my age — at the time I was the youngest person to do Hedwig, at least on Broadway, and we had a line about it that we thought might get a laugh. But it quickly became apparent it didn't matter.
In fact, it didn't matter that you're short or tall or black or white or gay or straight, or even a man or a woman. The audience is invested in whoever is playing Hedwig, whoever is carrying the torch. Actors, no matter who they are, will gravitate toward this role. You know it's a damn good part — It's one of the greatest roles I may ever play.

Source

kindness is free · 10-09-2016, 11:05 AM

Thank you for that I love the images and loved the article

soulmatejunkee · 10-18-2016, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Actor, musician, Emmy-nominated composer and San Francisco native, Darren Criss, will make his Feinstein’s at the Nikko debut with a selection of songs from his upcoming album as well as favorites from throughout his career. Criss is reprising his critically acclaimed Broadway performance as “Hedwig” in the San Francisco and Los Angeles engagements of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Criss made his Broadway debut in 2014 as J. Pierrepont Finch in the 2014 Tony Award winning Best Musical Revival How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He is best known for his breakout role as Blaine Anderson on Fox’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning series “Glee.” Most recently Criss appeared on the Emmy Award winning FX series “American Horror Story” and will be seen in the upcoming Indie comedy “Smitten” directed by Academy Award winner Barry Morrow. He starred opposite Annette Bening and Kristen Wiig in “Girl Most Likely” and guest starred on “Michael Feinstein’s New Year’s Eve” on PBS. Criss is the founder of NYC’s annual show tunes music festival. “Elsie Fest.”

soulmatejunkee · 10-18-2016, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Actor, musician, Emmy-nominated composer and San Francisco native, Darren Criss, will make his Feinstein’s at the Nikko debut with a selection of songs from his upcoming album as well as favorites from throughout his career. Criss is reprising his critically acclaimed Broadway performance as “Hedwig” in the San Francisco and Los Angeles engagements of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Criss made his Broadway debut in 2014 as J. Pierrepont Finch in the 2014 Tony Award winning Best Musical Revival How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He is best known for his breakout role as Blaine Anderson on Fox’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning series “Glee.” Most recently Criss appeared on the Emmy Award winning FX series “American Horror Story” and will be seen in the upcoming Indie comedy “Smitten” directed by Academy Award winner Barry Morrow. He starred opposite Annette Bening and Kristen Wiig in “Girl Most Likely” and guest starred on “Michael Feinstein’s New Year’s Eve” on PBS. Criss is the founder of NYC’s annual show tunes music festival. “Elsie Fest.”

kindness is free · 10-19-2016, 01:44 PM

OMG new songs!!! I cannpt wait

soulmatejunkee · 10-20-2016, 05:06 AM

But...

It's already been said that someone asked him at stage door and he was shocked and said it wouldn't be true


Fan Forum > Archived Celebrities > Darren Criss > Darren Media: News & Appearances #13