doriannegay

[doriannegay]

I won't list right now the things Darren is insecure of, because it would be too long and get too personal and too deep for tumblr.

Darren is a deeply insecure man.

And the fact MHE writers said it with their whole chest, kinda throwing Darren under the bus to save their own ass, all the while dismissing his ethnicity and the impact he has on their show... is truly wild.

But it just shows how the entire creative team and the production -yes i know darren is a co-producer- has been handling this show since the beginning : with little concern and professionnalism

I say that as someone who followed this journey since the first rumours of april 2024.

The Maybe Happy Ending statement saying Darren "doesn’t have a leading man type of voice" is incredibly cruel. Not just because that isn't something you say about the leading man who got your musical a Tony, but this is actually an insecurity Darren has had for years.

In 2012, when cast as the lead role in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Darren said he felt he was underqualified. He never thought that he would be on Broadway because he didn't have a 'big, booming voice' https://www.teenvogue.com/story/darren-criss-interview

This is a sentiment he echoed when cast as the lead role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He negatively compared himself to Neil Patrick Harris. He felt like he wasn't built for being on Broadway, but due to his experience singing on stage, Hedwig felt like he had the best of both worlds. He spoke to Neil Patrick Harris, who originated the role on Broadway, and said he was 'terrible' and 'awful' at singing out, and he doesn't have a 'big voice' like Neil. He also felt like he was bad in comparison to his co-star, Rebecca Naomi Jones, as she also has a big powerful voice https://www.out.com/theater-dance/2015/4/29/darren-criss-hedwig

In musicals, Darren has been incredibly lucky that every role he has on Broadway is a leading role. And for the most part, he got great reviews for the first two. For HTS, he did get slightly negative reviews but he had way less time to rehearse, and many reviewers noted it could have been first night nerves. And of course, he won a Tony for MBE. Furthermore, he ended up being bumped up to being a regular guest star on Glee, to one of the main roles, to joint male lead in s5-6 when he was supposed to be in like. Two episodes maximum. Darren is a leading man. He might not have Alfie Boe level pipes but he has an incredibly strong voice and the acting and charisma that makes him a leading man.

So, for this statement to say he doesn't have a leading man voice, when this is something Darren is insecure about, is very, very cruel. It's burning a bridge and telling him 'yeah, you're right' about his insecurties. All because they can't admit they dropped the ball on casting ABF. ABF is incredibly talented, but he should not have been cast in a role in a musical that was promoted as having an Asian cast. If Oliver wasn't supposed to be Asian, then why was the main actor Asian? Why were the understudies/swings Asian?

Asian represenation is not good on Broadway. Darren is the first Asian actor in his category to win that Tony. For them to cast a white man to replace Darren after that just feels insensitive to me.

[doriannegay]

tylerlain: last batch of tonys

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Darren Criss and his 4 (!) Christian Siriano outfits from the 2025 Tony awards

+ bonus arms from that tea leaf Ad

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Darren Criss photographed by Kevin Sinclair for the June 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines | Source

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Tonys 2025 Predictions: Who Will Win? And Who Should?

Tony voters do not have it easy. As the quality of (some) shows on Broadway improves, so does the difficulty and futility of ranking them. Yet not fully futile, at least for me in my fictional Tonys: A long look back at the 2024-25 season, during which I saw all 42 eligible Broadway productions, offered a chance to recall, reorganize and enjoy in memory the work of thousands of very talented artists. Thus, below, my take on the likely winners (marked with a ✓) and my personal “shouldas” (marked with a ★) in 17 of the 26 competitive categories. I hope your own Tonys, no doubt different from mine, prove as rewarding.

[UHQ] Darren Criss and Helen J Shen in “Maybe Happy Ending.” (Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times)

Best Actor in a Musical

✓ Darren Criss, “Maybe Happy Ending” Andrew Durand, “Dead Outlaw” Tom Francis, “Sunset Boulevard” ★ Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time” James Monroe Iglehart, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical” Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins” Criss, finding his inner robot, is terrific in “Maybe Happy Ending,” a story about future androids that, like humans of all eras, must face obsolescence and the loss of love it entails. I’d have voted for him — or Jordan, delivering the difficult “Floyd Collins” score as if it were his soul itself singing — had I not, in the last hot minutes of the Broadway season, seen Groff play Bobby Darin in “Just in Time.” The show itself is not as good as Criss’s or Jordan’s, but Groff flooded the zone (sometimes literally — he’s a shvitzer) in one of the best pure Broadway performances I’ve ever seen.

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DARREN CRISS - The Kelly Clarkson Show | May 14, 2025

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Darren Criss | The Kelly Clarkson Show | Maybe Happy Ending | May 14, 2025 | 🎥

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It was one of the more charged moments of my life.

DARREN CRISS AND BERNADETTE PETERS - The Kelly Clarkson Show | May 14, 2025 / Tony Awards red carpet | June 7, 2015

+

[doriannegay]

Darren Criss backstage at the Belasco Theatre. (Photo by Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone) | Source

[doriannegay]

Riotting outside the Belasco if BOTH Darren and Helen don't get a nomination.

im suing the american theater wing if helen j shen doesnt get a tony nomination in 10 days

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Darren Criss as Oliver | Maybe Adventure. Maybe Wonder. Maybe Love. Maybe Happy Ending | April 17, 2025 | 🎥 via MHE

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DARREN CRISS ROYALTiES 1.07 Prizefighter | June 25, 2020

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the autistic robot musical got me (its been getting me for the past 6 months)

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Pink Robin (Petroica rodinogaster), male, family Petroicidae, order Passeriformes, SE Australia

Photograph by Deepak Karra

[doriannegay]

Darren Criss performs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Maybe Happy Ending | February 3, 2025 | 🎥 via TTSJF

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DARREN CRISS AND HELEN J SHEN - ♪ The Rainy Day Me Met | Maybe Happy Ending | February 28, 2025 | 🎥 MHE

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Darren Criss | Maybe Happy state of mind 💜🤖 | Maybe Happy Ending | February 27, 2025 | 🎥 via MHE