Teenyboppers on Broadway

We went and saw Darren Criss (from "Glee") in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on Saturday. When they announced the casting, I convinced my mother to buy tickets right away, which was good, we had fabulous seats on an aisle so my poor 6' father could stretch his legs. (Side note: most of these old theaters were not meant for tall people to attend shows. The worst was the time we saw Finian's Rainbow at the St. James - lots and lots of ridiculously tall Irish people crammed into tiny seats and absolutely no room between rows.)

I clearly misjudged what was going to happen that night. First off, the line wrapped around the block just to get IN. It was crazy enough that people were stopping to ask what was going on. And they didn't open the doors until almost quarter till, so it was a mad rush to get in, use the bathroom, and get to your seat before curtain. The theater was packed with 2 types of people: teenage girls (there for Darren, obviously) and their parents, who were all super excited to see Beau Bridges. When Darren Criss appeared on stage it was like I'd gone back to 2000 and was seeing an NSYNC concert again. Every time he said or did anything remotely funny, the entire theater would go ape-shit. Thankfully my parents and Kate found that almost as amusing as the actual show, so everyone was entertained.

It was pretty much the perfect part for Darren to play, although a couple times I wished he had more of a musical theater-type voice, as he tended to be too quiet in some of the group numbers, especially when there was dancing involved. The real show stealer was Christopher Hanke, who played the "villain." Every single thing he said or did was absolutely spot-on perfect. The only time I ever saw Daniel Radcliffe play the part was on Thanksgiving before the Macy's parade started, so I really didn't have a gauge on how much better or worse things were, and of course everything online is so skewed depending on whether they're a Harry Potter fan or a Glee fan, so it's easier to just take it for what it is in front of you.

I had also intended to go to the stage door, but as everyone can see from the photos I put on Facebook, there was no freaking way that was happening. There was police tape everywhere, and girls were climbing trees in order to get a better view. Absolutely nuts. I think I prefer it when the actors are just "Broadway famous", but it was still a fun night.