#hedwig stagedoor

[sillyname30]

I really love that Darren has set boundaries for stagedooring. He didn’t for AB, and I believe he only did it a couple times when he started his little shop run.

I bring it up because I’ve seen SO many tweets lately from people expressing how upset they are with him for not signing anything, like genuine anger, as if it ruined their experience. Actors are paid to do a show, that’s it! When I saw the show a couple weeks ago he mentioned having a back injury and that staying out super late wasn’t something he could continuously do. He’s a short walk home, there’s no way he wants to be out there for hours.

I hoped he’d sign when I saw the show but I never expected it. He ended up just coming out to say hi and thank us and that was honestly so much better than a quick selfie.

I saw a little bit of complains on tumblr too and I don't understand it. As you say people pay to see the show - nothing else. That he comes to the stage door and gives his little speech is more than he has to do.

And Darren's priorities have shifted since Hedwig. He has an almost 2-year-old at home and a pregnant wife. I understand that he wants to get home - back injury or not.

[justmylilblainewardrobe]

Update: Both pieces of Blaine’s wardrobe have been sold! ˵ ´ ˘ ` ˵ ♡ All items in this post have found their new homes. ♡ Hello! ˵ ´ ˘ ` ˵ ෆ｡◌ I’m selling my little set of Blaine outfit from the Glee Auction 2016, and of course I can ship internationally (from Singapore!) to wherever you are! ♡

It’s a set of two from Blaine’s wardrobe in Season 4 Episode 15, “Girls (and Boys) On Film,” from the scene where Blaine gets grumpy with Mr Schue because he did his lil’ cop-out and told them they’re all winners. (”You always do that!” ૮ •ิ ﻌ •ั ˵ა) The sweater is the “Navy Waffle Knit Long-Sleeve V-Neck Sweater with Red & White Stripe,” from Fred Perry. (You can also find Fashion of Glee’s post here, albeit it’s in kid’s size!)

And the shirt is the “Gray Long-Sleeve Button-Down Shirt,” from Ben Sherman.

They also came included with their copy of certificate of authenticity for Lot 341 (the collection they’re from) from Profile in History (I wasn’t sure if it’s safe to post the whole certificate here, so please feel free to message me for the photo of the whole certificate! ˵ ´ ˘ ` ˵). ♡

If it’s alright I’m just hoping to make back what I got them for or at a similar price ($240 USD). ♡

Update: The Hedwig hoodie has been sold! ˵ ´ ˘ ` ˵ ♡ I also have a Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hoodie Sweater from the 2016 Tour when Darren reprised his role as Hedwig in San Franciso!

I don’t remember anymore how much it sold at retail... I think it was more but if I’m wondering if $50 USD would be alright? ; o (\ (But please feel free to message me! ♡)

It had the blessing of being “spat” on by Darren’s Hedwig (the bit when she sips from her sippy bottle and shows us her “Rock and Roll” gesture—but of course it was properly washed and cleaned after!), and hugged by Darren at stagedoor. ♡ 

Thank you for much for reading till the end! ♡ Be kind to yourself and others, and remember to take care ˵ ´ ˘ ` ˵ ෆ｡◌ (Ps. I just made this lil’ sideblog because my main is now filled with bots following me, but my main is @minareirei​ ! ˵ ´  ` ˵ ՞ ՞ They share the same inbox so you can message me on either of them!)

[michaelchallpics]

Found it!

One of the 76555 “Hedwig” stagedoor pictures of Michael. It cracked me up, that´s why I chose it as my avatar. Not mine, though.

[ajw720]

Highly disagree with anons saying darren will OBVIOUSLY stagedoor cause he loves it etc - hedwig stagedoor was almost too crazy and 5 years later theres chances this stagedoor could be even worse. And I’m sorry but lately I haven’t seen the ‘loves meeting fans’ mood he was always in, even at lmdc he was way different during m&g’s than other times

I’m with you nonnie. 100%. A lot has changed in the almost 5 years since h/edwig. He hardly did it during the tour last year. Just a few stops. He didn’t at either show I went to. I can see him waving and giving a general hi on occasion but I don’t see him signing for everyone as he has in the past.

I think the number one issue remains the lies have escalated to a degree that people feel they can speak to him about m and it forces him to lie to their faces. That’s emotionally trying on him. And the weight on his shoulders increases.

Add there is a group of fans that will go to the stage door repeatedly. I think that annoys him and it interferes with those fans, who are there for one show, ability to interact. And those fans are rude and shove their way to the front with no care for anyone else.

And people feel entitled to it. They aren’t. That’s not what you purchase when you buy a ticket. You purchase the performance. And the only thing d and the other 2 gentlemen owe us is giving an brilliant performance each and every night. Nothing more.

And all of this aside. I don’t think people realize the physical burden of an hour stage door night after night after a performance. Add this isn’t a rock concert. And it’s not h/edwig. I think some are in for a real wake up call.

I want d to do what he wants and what’s best for him. Not what he feels obligated to do.

[migleefulmoments]

Hey, so colfersunicorn has never struck me as a tinhat. She is a struggling Italian actress living and working in New York. I have been vaguely aware of her since the time D came to the restaurant where she worked and was his usual charming self. When she finally got the money together to do meet and greet at Elsie, he remembered her from restaurant and Hedwig stagedoor and asked about her career. She seems sweet to me. Also I saw her answer an ask about insider info saying she doesn't have any.

Ok...I didn’t read through her posts but I didn’t see anything particularly tinhatty in the few posts i read.   

[thezfc]

(1/2)The Stagedoor for this will be very interesting. On Broadway the stagedoors are almost always right next to the main entrance so there is no way they can adapt the London system. The Jacobs is right next to the Booth and the Golden Theatre. Having people form a line would block the entire sidewalk and probably the road. And I’ve never seen ticketed Stagedoors on Broadway. When I saw Hedwig they marked one side of the barricade for people with tickets and the other for people without.

(2/2) They sent people to one side before the show had ended but when it ended nobody checked tickets anymore. There were maybe 3-4 meters of barricade to line up to. The Jacobs has a similar SD layout as the Belasco. And I’m pretty sure a car will be parked on the road to pick Tom up. So expect that to be veeeery crowded. Even tho London was madness, it was quite orderly. Broadway will be a whole different level...

[souly]

It's so hypocritical that they mock the fans who are paying for his and HER career (and house, trips, vacations in Italy, France, Bali...) and all the fancy events they go. That wouldn't be possible if he wasn't a popular artist with fans. Honestly, if we believe in Crisscolfer is bc D does things like the Colfur joke. No one forced him to do it, so God forbid we believe that M is a beard! It's so unfair. If CC isn't real then is not nice to queerbait your fans, then mock them for believing it!

In general, I would say you’re right. But that requires believing that this is what really happened. You see, what this rumor did was to upset several fans and getting angry at D for “being such a jerk” - and that is exactly what the purpose of this was.

We don’t know what was really said or if anything at all was said about this in the end. I’ve seen similar things happen in other fandoms before. One fan claims to have been told something by the star and it upset other fans when the rumor spread - and it turned out that it was never even said. So, getting upset about these things is only playing into their hands.

I can only repeat what I said yesterday. If D really said anything in that direction, it was because he had to. I don’t think he is an innocent angel, don’t get me wrong, but almost all the fans who have met him at one point, said that he is this incredibly nice person, who truly cares about all of his fans. I’ve met him a few times myself and I can only confirm that. He was nice to every single person around him and even let them do weird stuff. He never once complained about anything. Let’s look at the stagedoor after Hedwig. He was exhausted after every show, but he still went outside and talked to every single person there, which often took about two hours. Honestly, if he hated his fans and only mocks them behind their backs, he wouldn’t do these things. Further, he knows that every single thing gets posted online, so even getting close to saying anything negative would be bad for him - and he knows that. So, why would he do that?

There’s something I learned many years ago and we should all do this, but we often forget it for some reason: Don’t believe everything you’ve read on the internet. I mean, I could say that I had lunch with D twice when I was in LA the last time, and he told me a few very interesting things. I can guarantee you that some people would believe it right away. Not because they are naive or “dumb”, but because it’s often easier to believe what you are presented with, especially if it fits your dreams or fears. And just for the record, no, I did not have lunch with D. 😉

I say ignore all this and keep on looking at what you really see him doing and not what some nasty rumors are painting him as. People who spread such or similar rumors do not have his best interest at heart. Plus, it is often done to drive the “bad crop of fans” away, because we are destroying the perfect image they have created around him - or so they think. So, don’t give in to them! 🙂

[no-sleep-till-bklyn]

Really missing Hedwig and the Angry Inch right now! These photos are from stagedoor 3 years ago cant believe it's been that long ago. Also Happy Belated birthday to JCM

[stuff-and-shenanigans]

Highlights of Spongebob opening night:

Tom Kenny remembering me from a single interaction at a comic con I forgot I went to, and complimenting my cosplay

talking to John Cameron Mitchell during intermission about Hedwig

getting a hug from Tina Landau

David Zinn dropping his drink after seeing my cosplay

shaking and crying through all of Bikini Bottom Day and spending the rest of the show wiping tears from my eyes while laughing at every joke

the 3 minute standing ovation for I’m Not A Loser!!! yay Gavin!!!

THE FIDDLER JOKE GOT A HUGE RESPONSE AND I YELLED

most of the non-Ethan leads sneaking out the stagedoor after the crowds left and comforting me when they saw me crying (I was overwhelmed with emotions due to this show being the main outlet for my happiness this past month, which was the roughest I’ve had in two years)

long story short I love Spongebob the Musical and would die for the cast and creatives

[bastardtetsu]

since i already spread my Heathers agenda in that JD! Kuroo ask...

talkback: what are your top 5 musicals?

and congrats again on 100 followers!!

thank you for dropping by again sweet nonny !!!! 💞💞 ok this is a tough one but here goes (in no particular order bc i’m indecisive 😖) :

natasha, pierre, & the great comet of 1812 — i first heard of this show when they taught it in my freshman survey of theatre class, so when it moved to bway i simply had to go see it <3 genuinely one of the best theatrical experiences i’ve ever had. deserved WAY more clout than it got

miss saigon — my guilty pleasure,,, problematic asf i could truly write essays on everything wrong w this show smh. but i still cry whenever i listen to it bc emotional attachments ;-;

hedwig & the angry inch — it’s a gay rock concert meets drag show meets exploration of queer identity that will make u cry by the end whats not to love??? also every woman who’s played yitzhak is so hot

mamma mia — one of the first musicals i ever saw live ! grew up jamming to the soundtrack CD & i just love it for being the ultimate self-indulgent fantasy for moms that it is <3

cabaret — the way this show was written in 1966 based on a film from 1951 which was based on a book from 1939, and is still just as poignant & socially relevant (if not even more so) in 2020 ??? chefs fucking kiss

stagedoor event

[darriness]

Does anyone have ‘Safe Mode’ on their dash turn on even though they specifically turned it off? Like a little while ago I noticed posts being hidden because they had ‘adult material’ (the most adult my dash ever gets is Darren’s ass and most of the hidden posts were just random Darren pictures or gifs) so I turned it off and then every few days it turns back on by itself. This morning it hid a gif set of Darren at the Hedwig stagedoor, nothing ‘adult’ about it.

What the fuck?

[justfollowmyhansel]

October 13th – By the Gold Light of Your Halo

And the end of this sentence has never been truer. I was almost close enough to touch him…. (Not quite, but I sort of tried to a couple of times since I was literally second row aisle seat.) But I’m getting ahead of myself. Or is that a-Hed? You decide.

I was actually awake when Miya’s alarm went off the first time. Pretending to be asleep, but I’d checked my phone a time or two already.

Shortly after, my mom texted saying she’d talk with my favourite person at the bank about my debit card. I had more than enough to cover what I had tried to buy with it and yet…. Both she and Vicki were going to try to get down to the bottom of this because clearly, this wasn’t good.

I decided to answer the message when I actually got up. Which as it happened was about an hour later when John posted.

Of course 4G in Japan is still super slow and it takes forever to load, but whatever. It’s still John.

The previous afternoon, it was announced that there was no stagedooring. A little disappointing, but the stagedooring aspect was making nervous. What if I said something stupid to him like ‘You were great except for .“ Or "What the fuck is up with your wardrobe? Don’t you know how to dress yourself?” What if I lost the ability to speak my first language? (“John, ich lebe dich. Du bist der Hellstestern, meine Schöner.”)

I mean…. That’s the sort of thing that he might appreciate more if he actually KNEW me and knew that I was meaning that as teasing and that I wouldn’t actually want him to change the way he dresses or that I’m not actually all that fussed about whatever line changes there were (that weren’t supposed to be there.) I know it must be frustrating as hell for him when he forgets his lines or loses track of where he is in the script, but I think it’s cute. Very Hedwig. Very rock n roll. Very…. Robbie Williams. That man sold out STADIUMS and still would forget the lyrics to his hits. (Now he has a teleprompter XD)

Miya and I had breakfast. I had bought a waffle-thing at the store the previous night, but instead I tried some of the raisin sandwiches that I had purchased the night before. They were a sort of hard biscuit cookie with a soft, almost whipped, crème with raisins in it. And tea made with the lactose free coffee creamers that Miya had generously bought for me the night before.

We packed up our stuff to go to the theatre and ride the train. On the way down, I photographed every few stops so that I know where I’m going. On the way in, I saw an ad for a record store. Tower Records. I briefly daydreamt about running into John there. I know we probably wouldn’t if we went, but…. Still. Records. John. Not only two things I love, but things that actually go together.

The station we arrived at was actually under construction, the usual signs in English and Japanese having either been covered or taken down because of the diversions. In their place were signs reading only in Japanese and with arrows. I took photos of the ones I needed to remember to either turn at or follow.

Miya showed me around the Hikarie a little. In the back of my mind, this word sounds familiar to me, but it’s not until the next day that I can begin place it. The tour is more or less just walking by the various shops, occasionally discussing what they are, but more often discussing what’s likely going to happen with the show or Japanese culture questions. We actually went to lunch shortly after arriving.

For lunch, we picked the sushi 🍣 place on the 6th floor. The entire 6th floor is restaurants. Some of the other floors have restaurants and cafes too, like the 11th has a cafe right outside of it, but I wouldn’t know that for a few more hours.)

We go in and are seated.The restaurant has a very Deep Space Nine ordering system. You can click for your own language on the wall-mounted menu, there’s pictures, you tell it how much of everything you want, and the food comes on a short little track thing that looks like one of those short train things you used to see in westerns. And there’s a sushi conveyor belt. Very cool.

Miya remembered that sometimes shops in the Hikarie give discounts if you have a ticket to that day’s/that night’s show at the Orb. She calls it up on her iPad and then calls over the waitress. We get free drinks because we’re seeing Hedwig! I ordered tea, Miya stuck with the water and matcha powder.

We cancel the drink order off of our digital menu and then get down to actually ordering lunch. Miya orders one of the lunch specials, whereas I go a la carte. 

The first things I picked were a tuna roll and two pieces of salmon avocado. I miss avocado. I miss when avocados didn’t cost $5 per fruit…. The food arrives and is incredible. The best salmon with avocado I’ve ever had…. It was one of the few times in my life that I have ever had avocado that was light and melt-in-your-mouth and the salmon was So. Fresh. just… so fresh. 

I then opted to try some of the conveyor belt, pre-made sushi that was circulating around the restaurant. I grabbed the first thing that looked interesting – some small fried shrimp on top of a small pad of rice that was then all wrapped in seaweed. It had a nice, surprising yet mild heat to it. Feeling less certain in my ability to put the whole thing in my mouth, I picked some of the shrimp off of the first piece with my chopsticks. I also tried squid with a little bit of rice.

What I had forgotten about squid from the other time I had it at Wasabi is that it’s a very chewy piece of fish that’s hard to break pieces off of. Which in turn, makes it very hard to eat any of without putting the whole thing in your mouth. And when you swallow it, gives the unpleasant sensation that the whole thing is about ready to come back up.

The last unique thing I ordered was a couple of pieces of red fish on top of rice. I think this one was also tuna, but I’m not sure. And another salmon with avocado.

After we ate, Miya and I went to Bic Camera.

What necessitated going to Bic Camera was getting printer ink. And what necessitated the ink was that Miya wanted to give me maps to help with the getting around. At this point, I was just happy to be along for the ride. I’d never been to any of these places and possibly wouldn’t get a chance to go to them again anytime soon so why not? Just because it’s seemingly mundane, doesn’t mean comparing the differences isn’t interesting. We arrived at Bic Camera and were told that we actually needed to be in a different building for Bic Camera. Later, looking at the map of Shibuya that the Hikarie had for tourists, I learned that there are actually three buildings for Bic Camera in a relatively short amount of space. Who would have guessed!

Once at the correct Bic Camera, we went upstairs to get the printer ink. This building of the BC was set up like a department store, but entirely for computers, cameras, phones, and other electronics with a single floor dedicated to laptops, a different one for printers, a different one for phones, and phone cases hanging off of the edges of the levels as you rode the escalator up. This is the one of the stores I would love to have had the time to truly explore, but this was one of the few days where everything didn’t seem like it was going in such a rush to go here or go there or get this and get that.

We bought the ink and returned to the initial building for Bic Camera. Miya showed me some of the shampoos on offer since I had mentioned wanting to buy some the previous night. I explained that I had meant that I would buy her more of her own shampoo as a thank you for letting me stay with her! (They didn’t actually have her kind of shampoo and then we both forgot about it before I left Japan.)

The next thing on our list of things to do was to pick up the movie ticket for How to Talk to Girls at Parties. About two weeks before the start of the trip, it was announced that John was going to have his Japanese premiere of the film at the end of the week he was performing Hedwig. Of course, the tickets were again done by lottery and while we had won tickets to all of the Hedwig performances, I wasn’t certain that our luck would hold out enough to substantiate changing the plane ticket and extending my hotel reservation on the off chance that this would be the thing we weren’t lucky on. As a sort of consolation, when it was announced that fans could buy advanced tickets for when the movie actually opened in Japan, Miya offered to buy a ticket and give me the promotional pins that came with it. I had thanked her and offered to buy the ticket for her, again as a way of thanks. She had that said she did want to see the movie, that wouldn’t be necessary.

What was interesting then and what’s interesting to me still now is how many buildings in Japan have that department store structure. Where either it’s a multi-floor building that all of the shops belong to one business and you pay on at each floor or where it’s multiple businesses that are still interconnected and you have to walk through a shoe store to get to a dollar store. Being from the midwest where department stores are kind of the sole purview of malls and most businesses only get a single, possibly up to three levels, of their own, this was a fascinating anthropological difference. It wasn’t until I got to Osaka that I started to see more stand alone single story businesses.

We picked up the ticket, and I picked up some flyers for the movie. Miya stuck the pins and the ticket into her bag so that they wouldn’t get lost in my relatively huge Hello Kitty duffle bag that I had brought with me to carry my things and then we went back to the Hikarie. We still had over three hours before the show was supposed to start and had exhausted all of the errands that we had to do that day. 

Miya asked what I wanted to do, if there was any shops that had caught my eye, or if there was any particular type of store that I wanted to visit and I remembered seeing the billboard ad for Tower Records on the way in. Off of the prompt ‘record store’ (cos I couldn’t remember the name), Miya found where we needed to be and we set off again, past Bic Camera, and arrived at the record store.

What I was looking for most was David Bowie or Queen things. Both musicians are ones that I have numerous antidotes and stories both from and about in Japan. Freddie in particular absolutely adored Japan and had his house decorated in a Japanese/Victorian England style and David, well Japan was the first time that David felt like a success. (In addition – the story that he told in one of Mick Rock’s books about how he was given a beautiful cape that had writing on it, that he used in his Ziggy shows a lot, but didn’t know what it meant for over 20 years. It was his name.)

We entered on the second floor, and like I usually do in record stores, I found the clearance/discount section on the floor I wanted and started looking through. I didn’t find anything for David, but I did find some Beatles and George Harrison. It wasn’t until we started looking through the aisles that I found David. His section had the last photo that was ever taken of him as the header section – it’s by Jimmy King, it was taken on his birthday, I was not expecting to see that photo on that day. I started looking through the collected CDs, finding a few that I took photos of for later purchasing or eBay searching. (At this point, I was still using the money converter to estimate about how much each thing would cost.) All the while, I’m telling Miya little antidotes about David or about the recording of each particular album, session, or concert. It’s the first time this trip that I nearly start crying…..

Eventually, we leave the section – or rather, I decide that we have to leave the section – and go looking for Queen. It occurred to me in the process of making that decision how silly it would be to be crying on the day that I was seeing Hedwig for the first time.

Along the way, I found Freddie’s solo section. The price for his singles was just a little too high for what I was willing to pay at the moment, but I took yet another photo of the back for later research when I had the time and wasn’t anticipating potentially buying a lot of merchandise at the show. So far, the only things that had been announced were the t-shirt and the program, but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking that more things might have been announced. And of course, dropping a LOT of money on Hedwig merch was the reason I had come out to Japan right now anyway. Well, that and seeing John.

Unfortunately, the Queen section was the same story – I either already had it or didn’t want to pay as much as the asking price for it. According to Miya, it’s because of the import charge. I found this highly ironic since in the US, it’s usually the Japanese things that have the extreme import charges. 

Since that was it for that floor, after a brief flick-through of the clearance section up front, I purchased a David interview CD, a small magazine for my mother with The Smiths on the cover, and a bag of record sleeves since they were cheaper to buy here than to wait to get in the US.

We walked back down to the floor that we thought Ataru’s music would most likely be on and outside, I picked up some more flyers and booklets for things that I thought sounded interesting or cool. I ended up buying one of Ataru’s CDs – her most recent – before we moved onto the last floor we visited that day: soundtracks and movies.

That particular Tower Records had nothing for Hedwig nor RENT on the day that we visited, but I was able to snag some photos of the press for Trainspotting 2 (my favourite film with a US release this year) before we left.

We headed back to the Hikarie again and still had about an hour and a half before the show was going to start. Miya asked if I wanted to go get something on one of the lower levels or at the cafe outside the theatre, but since re-entering the building, it was all about Hedwig. Every part of me was focused on Hedwig. And like I usually am before seeing a show I’m highly anticipating or talking to a crush, I was trying not to vibrate out of my skin. Definitely too nervous to eat.

We went to the convenience store outside of the theater, this time a Lawson and not a 7/11, and I bought a pack of something that was shoved into my bag for later and a hot bottle of tea. The flavour of the tea was what I’d imagine hot barley to taste like, not bad, but not really….flavoured at all. Not that it mattered. Not that any of it mattered since it was getting down to ACTUALLY seeing the show.

A few minutes of nervously waiting outside the theatre passed and Miya opted to take another swing around the building again. We take some photos out of the windows at the now, very night time, Tokyo and then literally walk around the building. When we return, the doors have opened to go upstairs. We take the escalator, show our tickets, and are allowed into a room with posters advertising the program, a tv screen showing the currently static stage, the merchandise booth, and the many, many cosplayers for the evening. (While we had been waiting, I had looked up to one of the upper levels and very, very briefly mistaken one of the cosplayers for John.)

I bought the merchandise for myself and for Risa, Miya bought a program for herself, and then we went to find our seats. Our SECOND ROW seats.

They were playing Love Will Keep Us Together as we sat down and I was trying not to completely freak out since it’s one of the songs mentioned in the script! And then immediately after, Young Americans by David Bowie. Another song referenced in the script!! When they played Lust for Life by Iggy Pop, I figured the show would be starting since it was traditional that Iggy was usually the last artist played before the show started. In Japan, it wasn’t. Light My Fire by The Doors was.

And the show started with Ataru coming from one of the side doors and announcing “Ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, Hedwig!!! Hed-wig! Hed-wig! Hed-wig!” getting the audience to cheer and chant for Hedwig, clapping for her arrival into the venue. I was turned, looking at Ataru, clapping of course, chanting for Hedwig’s arrival when the show started.

On Broadway, Hedwig had descended from the ceiling; Off-Broadway, she had come from the back of the venue, sauntering up to the stage…. but here, here Hedwig was standing behind the screen projecting an image of the Berlin Wall with graffiti on the Western side and stark nothing on the East. As the audience chants, the wall develops cracks in the middle, eventually exploding from the middle with Hedwig standing triumphant, beautiful…. in the sudden divide between East and West. I… had been looking in the wrong direction.

I whipped my head back towards the stage so quickly you’d have developed second-hand whiplash watching me.

Part of the performance, I’m watching the show completely amazed that this is happening, that this is real. That I’m actually in the same room as my favourite show being performed. I’m not sure I blinked the entire time I was watching the show. The other part of the performance, the part that features Yitzhak more than Hedwig, I’m still looking at John, looking to see how he is reacting to Yitzhak as Hedwig or simply being Hedwig without speaking and without making grand movements at that point. Mostly just…. being. To me, it’s fascinating, being in the second row. Being able to see all of the little reactions, expressions, costume alterations behind semi-opaque screens. In a way, it’s like a “How It’s Made” of my favourite show. Sometimes, during these moments I feel like I should probably actually be watching Yitzhak since she’s the one driving the action at that point….

The show was staged completely different from any version of Hedwig I’d ever seen before with new lines, new alterations to the script and to the format. For the first time since the movie, I’m seeing a production that doesn’t either actually have Emily Hubbly’s drawings or someone imitating her style. The design of the animations is specifically more Japanese than the other versions, which of course makes sense being as the show is set in Japan.

The show was also basically a public dress rehearsal; something that annoyed some of the people on Twitter later (apparently), but I found completely wonderful. Again, this is a show that I know so well that I can follow international versions where I don’t speak the language just based off of intuiting a few words, of course I want to see a messier version of the show. A less polished version in terms of performance. My two favourite differences that weren’t in the script were 1.) where Hedwig is talking about masturbating Tommy in the bath and her wig completely popped off. She looked very surprised for a moment before picking up her wig and continuing perfectly. And 2.) the line change that Hedwig had in Wicked Little Town Reprise? She sang it so confidently for being the absolute wrong lyrics…. And of course, a million other little improv things stood out, like Hedwig calling Yitzhak her “oto” and then asking “what’s the other one again? [Yitzhak supplies word] Oh that’s right.” And the golden Hello Kitty patch on her ass (up towards her hip more than centered like the handprints were on Broadway.)

At the end of the show, I felt like I had probably smiled through 90% of the show it was performed so well. John, of course was amazing. And Ataru was completely incredible. I had anticipated loving her from the things that I had seen of her on YouTube and she blew away any expectations that I had had of her, she was so good.

Afterwards, as Miya and I walked out of the venue, she asked what I wanted to get for dinner/snack after the show. I said I didn’t care; wherever she wanted was fine because I had literally just had one of the best experiences of my life.

We opted to go back to the sushi restaurant, this time actually sitting at the bar/lunch counter. She ordered some a la carte sushi this time, I took more things off of the sushi conveyor belt. Since we had seen the show now, we were technically entitled to more free drinks. I opted to go for a not-free option of cold sake and Miya had…. I think iced tea? Maybe more matcha.

Honestly, cold sake tastes exactly like hot sake, but just a little bit smoother. While I liked the smoothness of it, I think the hotness of the hot sake helped it out a little bit more. I definitely would not drink sake on a regular basis, but it is interesting to me to see how that strong of a taste when blended into a sauce for Chinese food is completely minimized outside of an afterburn when you swallow. Miya had a sip or two of it too and I don’t think she was all that impressed with it either. I accidentally knocked over my glass at one point, getting the menu and the counter wet and sake-covered. I think the waiter thought I was drunk, but truly, I was just that clumsy.

While we ate, I searched for that one video I had remembered John posting about being worried about a lot of serious things and then his ass. I thought it would be a good idea to say “I don’t know about the other things, but your ass looked amazing from the second row!” I swear to you, I came up with that before I even thought about ordering the sake.

We paid and left both the restaurant and the Hikarie. I was feeling very optimistic. And a little sleepy.

The journey back went very smoothly and unlike the previous night, we did not stop at the 7/11 before going back to Miya’s.

Back at her apartment, I flipped through my own copy of the program by cell phone flashlight before falling asleep. Only a few Instagram posts by John of various backstage photos and rehearsal video keeping me awake.

[michaelchallpics]

Triple Threat

[hostjohncameron]

[  SO! I was off for a bit because I was generally having muse problems, but I had been planning on relistening to the show and starting writing here again on June 28th after I relistened to the show. BUT! that morning I found out that John Cameron Mitchell; my faceclaim, John Cameron’s voice claim, my general favourite person; is going to be playing my absolute favourite character of his in Japan later this year!

LONG STORY SHORT:  I was looking for a job. (or two. or five. however many I need to make enough money to go.) And now that’s sorted. So, this October the week around the 14th-17th, I will not be writing here because I will be in Japan seeing lovely JCM in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And hopefully/possibly meeting him at the stagedoor after one or more of the shows.  ]

[ajw720]

Do you think Darren will be on Elsie this year? I remember on one of the Hedwig stagedoors last year, one fan asked Darren about Elise, and Darren said he might not join this year.

Possibly he only be. His schedule is full. But if they are having it. An announcement would be nice.

[lady-divine-writes]

In Journey what would happen if during some of the performances of Sugar Daddy, someone pushed Blaine or tried to kiss Blaine way longer than it should be or didn't let him go if Kurt is in the theatre? I mean it must be hard for him as a dom to witness that without being in control? And also when it comes to stagedooring and fans does Blaine have the first word or is it Kurt?

Hey, nonnie :) The one thing that I think people sometimes don’t take into account, from a performer point of view, when you are in a production that requires you to interact with the audience, along with practicing your role in the play/musical, you also practice how to handle difficult situations that might arise. Darren, for one, knows how to handle people. He is very good at controlling situations and making people listen to him. As Hedwig, on stage, he was fearless, then afterwards, he was able to maintain that control. When you talk to him, he controls the conversation really. I have to admire that about him. I personally don’t have time or patience with a lot of people as a performer, believe it or not xD. When I have on my performance clothes with my instrument in hand, I am actually more Domme than at any other time. And this Domme needs distance. But Darren has an exceptional amount of patience. I see Blaine in Taking a Journey as being like Darren when he performs. In an earlier installment, the first one I think, in Blaine’s inner monologue he says that he knows how to control a crowd. His public persona, in my eyes, is a lot like Darren. When he has to be “in the public eye”, that, in itself, is a performance. He can be someone else, and that someone else handles those setbacks that might come up very well. But after the fact, Blaine the submissive has to turn those things over to Kurt so that Kurt can take control again, and give Blaine back his peace. Because Blaine doesn’t know how to let negativity go, and it backs up on him. That’s why he needs Kurt. Kurt helps him handle the negative. That said, I think that Kurt’s reactions would be mixed. I think, on the one hand, he would be excessively proud at how Blaine handles himself in public. On the other hand, I see him getting a little uptight and annoyed when anything negative happens to his sub. I mean, me myself (and I write Kurt like myself most of the time) sitting in the audience during Hedwig and seeing that guy in the front row take a swing at Darren - man, was I pissed! Blaine has autonomy where his career is concerned, not only because Kurt believes in him, but it’s the most practical thing. Blaine can’t continually go to Kurt over every little thing. At home, they talk, hash out their feelings, come to conclusions over the way things should be handled, but aside from that, Blaine has to have that control over this part of his life. Everything else will be managed in sessions later. And you’ll see how some of that is handled in another one-shot I’m writing. I hope that all makes sense, nonnie :) Thanks for dropping me a line