From dailydarrennews:
Nice pic, Darren!
@GodHatesMarge @DarrenCriss thank
you for such an amazing show and being such an incredible, beautiful, and inspiring person
#HedwigSHN dailydarrennews
From DarrenCrissArmy
# Repost
juliarose5678So this happened. And it was basically a dream come true. Fantastic show, incredible cast, and an unbelievably perfect way to finish celebrating my birthday
#hedwigandtheangryinch #shn#darrencriss http://ift.tt/2ddYZCx
A couple of tweets:
For one of the 10/8/16 shows:
I think this was for the Sunday (10/9/16) matinee show.
From the BroadwayWorld Message Board about the tour:
This person (A Canadian in NYC) had seen Darren in
Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway. The name is familiar to me ( I had read posts on the BWW message board, about Darren in Hedwig on Broadway), and I remember this person previously had some negative things to say about Darren's performance. Anyway, he/she wrote this recently regarding Darren in the Hedwig tour.
A Canadian in NYC wrote:In the performance I saw, he was very weak and pitchy with the ballads. Great with the hard rock and his Tommy was pretty close to the best (no-one beats JCM). I won't be seeing him this time around, but great casting for San Fran and LA. He'll draw the crowds out no problem - and have a TON of fun with his San Fran patrons I'm sure!
Posted 5/9/16
The thread of "Darren Criss to lead Hedwig tour"
And then, he/she saw Darren in the Sunday matinee show yesterday (10/9/16) in SF, and said this:
A Canadian in NYC wrote:Well I just got out of the matinee show and I wanted to write this before I see Lena tonight because I really do have to give Darren some love. I've been hard on him and his performance in past posts because I honestly thought he didn't rise to the standard. When I saw him at the Belasco his acting was great. When he sang the rock songs he did it well; but I faulted him on the ballads. IMO he was pitchy and breathless. So I was disappointed.
Well hello Mr Criss and what have you been up to??? Because he was AMAZING today. I don't know what he's done and a part of me thinks maybe the heat is on with Lena starring with him. They have great chemistry. Whatever the reason he really was amazing. He's totally owning the role. Changing up the songs just enough to make it his own. His ballads were strong and emotional. I was so impressed. And I'm happy for him. To perform so strongly in his home town - kudos all around.
He has catapulted up to be my fave Hedwig at the moment... we will see what Lena has in store in a couple of hours!
The set is modest but works really well. They do a lot with the lights. I actually preferred it to Belasco.
Managed to dish out some digs to Donald. Well done. Also the Blue Angels are in town for fleet week. Hedwig noted " I blew angels before; they were never that loud"
Emphasis added.
Posted 10/9/16
In the thread, "HEDWIG TOUR"
Note: He/she also wrote a post highly praising Lena's evening performance on Sunday. I have read a few comments about her performance last night , and it sounds like many of the people in attendance were fans of her (with one person commenting that for the performance she saw with Darren, it was a relatively quiet crowd that seemed to be people who were not familiar with the show, but who patronized SHN Golden Gate Theatre). The person above (A Canadian in NYC) said that in part because of the adoring audience, Lena's performance felt like a party, a celebration of her playing the lead role of Hedwig well, a role that she had expressed wanting to play for a while. Because she is playing a relatively small number of shows, eight (versus Darren's 50 or so shows on the tour), it's more likely that her shows will be more concentrated with her fans, and that fans of Darren will be spread more thinly over his larger number of shows. For
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, audience interaction/enthusiasm is so crucial. (For those Darren fans seeing him in this tour, be sure to try to help him out by being interactive when the rest of the audience is quiet.)
I think for Lena, there will be several reasons why I am sure she will win rave reviews (both from the media and fan-based): Because she had won a Tony for the role of Yitzhak in
Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway (and thus she is highly respected by both the media and Hedwig fans for such a great achievement); because she is beloved by Hedwig fans/Hedheads for having been a talented and constant presence for a year in the Hedwig family on Broadway (longer than any of the male actors who played Hedwig, except for John's presence in the Hedwig family); because she is one of the few women to play the lead role of Hedwig (I think only the second woman, after Ally Sheedy); because for the first time in this show's history, one actor is playing both the role of Hedwig and Yitzhak in the same production; and of course, because her voice is most likely the most trained voice of all the actors who played Hedwig on Broadway, with a large range and great power (as for actors who played Yitzhak, I have to say Rebecca is truly impressive too). I am sure her dramatic scenes are good as well, although I have not had the privilege of seeing her in the show (but I have a Hedwig friend who adores and reveres her). To keep things in perspective as a fan of Darren, Darren continues to get wonderful comments from audience members, as well as good reviews in this tour, just as he did on Broadway. If anything, he sounds like he has fine-tuned his performance, if one is to take the word of this person (A Canadian in NYC) who had mixed feelings about Darren after having seen him on Broadway, yet after seeing Darren in this tour, now reveres Darren's performance to the degree that he is near the top of this person's list of favorite Hedwig actors.
Sorry for being long-winded. I just wanted to comment that this situation of having two different actors play the lead character in the same time period does feel unusual. However, I am going to just enjoy the praise that Darren receives from media and from the audience, as well as enjoy how much Darren is relishing being able to play his dream role just a little longer.
As for Lena, she is so talented and I am sure that the praise that she receives is well-deserved. I am glad for her that she has the opportunity to shine in this role, like the men who played this iconic character on Broadway.