Broadway and Glee fans went wild at the news that Darren Criss would host the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards on May 13, and the reviews are in: He was a hit, both personally and professionally. “Everyone is here to relax and have a good time and to celebrate something we’re lucky to have: the fans,” Criss said after the show. The handsome young star felt right at home singing musical tributes to the Best Actress nominees and poking fun at himself for his three-week run in How to Succeed. “I added some adjectives to the script that maybe otherwise would have been a little cleaner,” he said with a laugh.
Criss’ evening began on the red carpet, chatting with reporters who came out to cover the show, and he remained on the scene with his brother Chuck and other friends long into the night, happily posing for photos with guests, engaging in some lickable moments with Susan Blackwell (video to come!), showing off his award for Favorite Replacement and having fun with props in the Broadway.com photo booth.
Speaking of his Audience Choice Award, “I forgot it was even happening,” Criss says of entering the winners’ circle. “I was focusing on the songs I had to play, so yes, I was surprised [to win]. I was almost bummed that I went up to get it because I would have love to let Jackie Hoffman do it.” The host adored Hoffman’s politically incorrect “acceptance speeches” for actors who couldn’t attend the show. “She is a special lady, and I loved meeting her.”
Looking back on his Broadway musical debut, Criss’ favorite memories are “the little things: walking to work every day and realizing that I get to do this. For me, walking into an empty theater is a majestic, kind of religious experience, and to have that on a daily basis was my favorite moment. During breaks, when no one was around, I would take my guitar out and sit on the lip of the stage [of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre] and just sing out to nobody. It’s a very dear thing to me that I got to do that.”
Asked about the fourth season of Glee, Criss says, “As a fan, I look forward to seeing what happens between Blaine and Kurt [Chris Colfer]. It’s a very common thing when people in love go off to college and have to figure out what happens, so that journey interests me. But listen, I’m just glad to be back at all, so if they have me sitting in the back of the choir room all year, that sounds fine!
As usual, Criss is being too modest, but he has a clear vision of why his star has risen so fast in less than two years. “I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for the fans," he declares. "Even before Glee, Broadway fans have been very good to me.”
source: Broadway.com
Darren Criss charms at Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, talks stage pranks and 'Newsies'
Darren Criss charms at Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, talks stage pranks and 'Newsies'
Darren Criss may have only been on Broadway for three weeks, but he’s already solidified his place in the Broadway community and earned an enviable résumé credit: host of Broadway.com’s 13th-annual Audience Choice Awards.
EW attended the theatrical get-together last night at the Time-Warner Center in New York, where the festivities were merry and the presenters (including Adam Pascal, Brian D’Arcy James, Judith Light and Tammy Blanchard) were even more so. While other theater awards ceremonies can be stuffy affairs, Criss’s self-referential shtick got things off to a lively start. Armed with a guitar and a piano, Criss made his way through the program with musical interludes that poked fun at his short-lived stint in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and skewered some of his Broadway contemporaries — which he was known to do during his prank-filled run as J. Pierrepont Finch.
“Theater’s live and always different, so it’s always going to be fun, and the energy’s always ridiculous,” said Criss on the red carpet before the show began. “I always make sure to try and screw with the people on stage when I’m on stage by doing any variety of distracting gestures. I’m sure they don’t appreciate it, but I certainly do. But that’s not exclusive to Broadway, that’s just any self-respecting goofy actor on the stage anywhere.”
While Criss’s musical numbers were entertaining fare, credit also goes to Jackie Hoffman, Broadway’s Julia Roberts of screwball comedy, who accepted awards for no-shows like Alan Rickman and Andrew Garfield (and won the crowd with “impressions,” if they can be called that). Criss received the Audience Choice Award for Favorite Replacement (for stepping into Daniel Radcliffe’s shoes in H2$), while shows like Newsies and Peter and the Starcatcher dominated other categories, including Favorite New Musical and Favorite New Play. Newsies star Jeremy Jordan won the award for Favorite Actor in a Musical.
“I’ve been public for my praise of Jeremy Jordan. I was pissed I missed Bonnie and Clyde, but I was happy to see him go back to Newsies,” said Criss. “It was cool to hear ‘Sante Fe’ sung by somebody who has real singing chops. No disrespect to Mr. [Christian] Bale. I think he’ll be the first person to say the same thing!”
Criss, confident and able to hypnotize audiences with just a smile, is a hosting natural, and a fan-driven awards show made for a splendid platform for a performer who knows how to reach his fans — maybe better than anyone else on Broadway.
source: EW.com
source: Socialite Life
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