The Hedwig and the Angry Inch Tour in SF and L.A. (Promotion, Pre-Performances & Miscellaneous Information)

mypatronusisklaine:

Via Darren’s snapchat

Poppy wrote:And now I'm curious.  What was that gif taken from?  What was it that was gong to make Darren cry?  Was it being in Hedwig?  Or was it playing at the Fillmore in SF for his Listen Up Tour?

Lilikoiluv wrote:Thank you so much for your kind words of excitement for my upcoming Darren/Hedwig date Poppy, Lin, and dusty! 

Lilikoiluv wrote:Poppy, that gif was from an E! News report promoting Darren's 2013 Listen Up Tour.  He's talking about playing at The Fillmore in his home town of San Francisco.  He had mentioned earlier how he had gone to many concerts there and how he was thrilled to be playing there. I couldn't find the HQ video of the interview, but here's a LQ video taken while someone watched it on their tv: 
daxterdd.tumblr.com

Lilikoiluv wrote:
I've been trying to remain calm, but Darren's recemt pics and videos in front of the Golden Gate theater in San Francisco have gotten me even more excited!  I'm glad that he seems to be looking forward to bringing Hedwig to life again.    I can't wait to see how they adapt Hedwig's comments and references to reflect both San Francisco and L.A.!  With San Francisco being his hometown, and him living with all of the craziness of L.A./Hollywood, Hedwig will surely have a goldmine of comments/references to choose from!

New Bear Republic Facebook wrote:Come join us for an amazing night of theatre - Darren Criss starring in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH! $10 from every ticket sold will benefit the New Bear Republic and their fundraising efforts for AIDS/LifeCycle 2017!

You must use Promo Code ALC1 when booking your tickets at www.shnsf.com/online/article/hedwigandtheangryinch. BE SURE TO SELECT LGBTQ (ALC1)* WHEN SELECTING YOUR SEATS FROM THE SEATING MAP.

-Facebook New Bear Republic

Wow! How cool is that!

— Stephen Trask  (@stephentrask), August 23, 2016

The Mercury News wrote:Fall arts 2016: 'Hedwig's' back; so is Tom Stoppard and ... Donald Trump on stage?

Pull the wig down from the shelf and fluff up the Farrah hair!


"Hedwig" is back, and the Bedazzled One is as badass as ever in Michael Mayer's glittery revival of the '90s indie-rock musical. Indeed, the return of the uber diva personifies the star-power tone for the entire fall season, which features the latest works from beloved artists from John Patrick Shanley and Tom Stoppard to Cirque du Soleil.


"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" devotees have been waiting eagerly for the return of "the internationally ignored song stylist" and her glam minions.

[. . . ]

Consider this a cheat sheet for the new theater season. Here are five shows you must see this fall.


"Hedwig and the Angry Inch": Darren Criss, of "Glee" fame, launches the national tour of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" in San Francisco. A high-gloss revival of the '90s cult classic, this is a habit-forming tribute to a ragtag drag diva who scoffs at all the tired tropes of gender and narrative. Criss, a San Francisco native and ACT alum, stars in a role previously played by stars such as Neil Patrick Harris, Taye Diggs and John Cameron Mitchell. Another Bay Area native, Lena Hall, is also in the touring cast. Details: Oct. 4-30; SHN Golden Gate Theatre, San Francisco; $45-$212; www.shnsf.com.

8/23/2016

San Francisco Chronicle wrote:'A huge homecoming' for S.F. 'Hedwig' stars


 Photo: Michael Noble Jr., The Chronicle
Darren Criss, who will play the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, poses for a portrait.



On the road to stage and screen stardom, San Franciscans Darren Criss and Lena Hall studied, auditioned, danced, sang and trod the boards from the Eureka Theatre to Feinstein’s at the Nikko. In October, they’ll finally debut at the Golden Gate Theatre, reviving their marquee Broadway roles in the gender-fluid, tragicomic, in-your-face rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” and launching its first national tour.

“For me and Lena, it’s a huge homecoming,” said Criss, 29, by phone from a drive into the city. “It would have driven me mad if someone else had done Hedwig” in San Francisco.

He relishes the title role in John Cameron Mitchell’s crossover cult musical, the story of a young gay man in 1980s East Germany who undergoes a sex change in order to marry an African American GI and escape to the West. The botched procedure leaves Hedwig with the titular inch — and a lot of anger. “San Francisco theatergoers have a real soft spot for the show, the celebratory nature of the show, the grit and the rock ’n’ roll,” he says. “It’s a very San Francisco show.”

A musician and actor since childhood, Criss debuted with 42nd Street Moon in grade school, joined ACT Young Conservatory at age 7 and starred in plays and musicals at St. Ignatius College Preparatory. After earning a bachelor’s degree in theater at the University of Michigan, he broke out as Blaine Andrews
on Fox’s hit musical series “Glee.”


“I was raised backstage,” he says, “hanging out with thirtysomething theater hopefuls. They were taking me out for hamburgers after the show. That was so exciting for a kid. And the Young Conservatory is the very foundation of everything I’ve ever built.”

“He was a bright light from the get-go,” says Craig Slaight, Criss’ acting mentor at ACT. He also took advantage of his protege’s singing talent: “At one of the galas, I had him in a tuxedo as a strolling musician amongst the diners. I don’t know whether that gave him the edge he has now,” he muses wryly.

Even then, Criss had an edgy curiosity. He was 14 when the “Hedwig” movie came out, and “my brother and I would watch it in the basement. Every time we put it on, I felt like a delinquent,” he says. “Like, if my mom came in, how the hell would I possibly explain what I’m watching? I never dreamed in a million years it would be something I would do later on.”

As fate would have it, Criss became one of a succession of high-profile Hedwigs, taking up the role after Tony winner Neil Patrick Harris, Andrew Rannells, Michael C. Hall and John Cameron Mitchell, who created the show as an off-Broadway experiment in 1998. He joined the show just as Lena Hall was leaving the supporting role of Yitzhak, for which she won the 2014 Tony Award for featured actress in a musical.

“It’s a great way to cap off this long journey that I’ve been on in the musical theater world,” said Hall, 36, of their shared return. “This is where it all began.”

Born Celina Carvajal, she was raised in the Upper Haight and nurtured in the arts by her parents, choreographer Carlos Carvajal and ballerina Carolyn Houser, who met at San Francisco Ballet.

Hall started in musicals at the Young People’s Teen Musical Theater Company, in Duboce Park, and graduated from the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. At her father’s urging, she chose New York over college, quickly landing roles in “Cats” and “42nd Street” before originating Nicola in “Kinky Boots” and finding stardom in “Hedwig.”

“It’s such a juicy story, and the music is amazing,” she said by phone from a vacation in Miami. In an intriguing twist, Hall will also debut in the title role, wearing the wig and glitter for one show each week. A veteran rock and cabaret singer who has both fronted her own band and toured with Josh Groban, she can’t wait to sing with the original Broadway band, who will play backup on tour: “‘Hedwig’ showed me that theater could be edgy, musical theater can be rock ’n’ roll, theater can move you in a way that you had no idea.”

It’s hard to know who is more excited about Hall and Criss bringing “Hedwig” home, the actors or their friends and families. Their parents, who saw the show over and over in New York, will be fixtures in the orchestra section; their former teachers plan to attend with groups of theater students (the show is recommended for ages 13 and up).

For everyone, it will be a uniquely San Francisco experience. “As a child, I used to go to the Fox Theatre with my dad,” remembers Carlos Carvajal, who grew up in the Fillmore. “To see Celina coming back as the star of a show at the Golden Gate, it’s such a thrill.”

-San Francisco Chronicle