And That's What You REALLY MissedTalk about living the dream! One of McKinley High's finest is starring in a new hit musical on Broadway, and no, it's not a Glee episode, it's real life!
Darren Criss joins Jenna and Kevin to talk about why he is so happy with his role in 'Maybe Happy Ending!' He shares his hopes for the future of the show, the games the crew plays backstage, all the Glee friends who have come to New York to see him, and Jenna reveals she auditioned for the show! Plus, news on Elsie Fest 2025!
For more information on 'Maybe Happy Ending' visit maybehappyending.com and the cast recording is available March 14th!
And That's What You Really Missed with Jenna.
And Kevin An iHeartRadio.
Podcast Welcome to You and That's what You Really miss podcast. He have the one and only Darren Chris here today to talk about Glee, but most importantly about his newest venture on Broadway. He's an original broadwaycast member of Maybe Happy Ending. Everybody we've talked to is just said how refreshing this show is, how joyful and sweet. And for the record, I did audition for it and I listened to the music and was like, oh wow, I love this. So I'm super happy to talk to him today and you will.
Get a vibe for how how he's doing.
Yes, it sounds like you and I have not seen it. Sounds like the most wonder full show. Everybody and who has seen it has absolutely loved it. And get ready because Darren tells us all about it. So this is Darren Chris.
Hello, Darren, Welcome back, my friends. We had to have you back because you are now starring on Broadway in a hit musical that made its way from South Korea. And we're very I personally am very happy about we hear it's wonderful. A lot of Glee friends have gone to see it and had spoken people speak volumes about it.
We're so proud of you.
Congrats, thank you. I feel so lucky. It's crazy, you know, these things are It wasn't part of the itinerary for people to take to it. You hope for it, mantra. I've said many, many, many times in many venues. It's like my general like mantra, and life was like, you know, hope for everything, expect nothing.
So right.
I did this because I thought it was beautiful. I had the good fortune of being available, and usually those two things don't always line up right. And this, this experience has been just a polite reminder of the value of of how following your heart is sort of a zero loss game. Michael Arden, who Kevin knows and Janet you has both known. I talked about both of you do Michael Arden. Yeah, there's an old friend of mine via our mutual buddies. You know. His husband is my classmic from Michigan, Andy Mienttez, and so we've been friends for years and his career as a director has blossomed to like a huge degree in the past several years. And so anytime you have friends that are smashing on that level. There's this thing in the back of your mind of like, really cool to do something, but that's not why your friends and yeah, yeah, you're praying that the happy quin and having something that you could do would come up. But you know, again, that's not why I hang with him. But it happened to come up at a very fortuitous, serendipitous time. And I'm so so grateful because I kind of balk at the alternate dimension where I'm like watching the show, going what I wouldn't give to be in this.
What a gift?
It is such a gift.
That's the dream I think for everybody is to and I've heard that the amount of people who I've talked to about the show, people who know that I know you, and people who don't, who just are telling me about like, oh, I'm going to happen this weekend, Like I'm going to New York and everyone says, I have to see is it? Maybe? I'm like maybe happy end? Like everyone came and I was like, oh, what did they say about it? And everyone says the exact same thing, which is how you know it's real. Yeah, I'm the most special thing they've seen. They go they win in not knowing much about it and left feeling like so warm and feeling like they had just seen yeah inspired.
Like I mean, I've said this like after every show, to every guest, to every person. I've said this in every possible interview, and I will say it again until I go horse. This show is the most remarkable, most singular thing I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Sorry sorry Glee, but also I also joined Glee, so it's a different thing. Like I'm a part of this in the way that you guys are a part of Lee. You were there from the beginning, like you didn't know and then suddenly you did, and you're kind of part of the very nucleus of what it started as, barring it's it's inception in Korea, which obviously was not part of as far as the Broadway version of this goes forever and ever, Amen, I'm like now baked into and that is such a remarkable I've never gotten to do that before. But on a personal note, this whole thing is the greatest possible thing that could be happening to me personally, professionally, mentally, spiritually, emotionally at this point in my life from me and my family. There is no higher rung in the ladder. I am just dripping with gratitude and an overwhelming joy and I cannot believe.
My looking luck.
It is so extraordinary, and I'm glad that it's something that people can come to it times a week because I need witnesses.
Right. It's a beautiful put it. And also, like you, you've always been very present and like very aware of what was going on. But I also think you're at a different place in your life than when we were all working together to where like you do have kids, that schedule is not easy on its own, and now you're doing this show, but you're also aware of the gift of the show and that schedule and the gift.
And the and the the show is like a living, breathing hug. That hug comes home with me, and the hug from home goes to it. Now. Don't get me wrong, I love me a three hour you shout fest like you did American Buffalo like two years ago. But I'm not missing bedtime six to you know seven, you know five or six seven times a week or whatever the math is on that, I'm not missing bedtime several times to leave and like spread like negative energy for three and a half hours. Yeah, it's a tight, hopeful, resilient, cute, funny, beautiful under two.
Hour god bless.
Like like pa. It's just really really sweet and it's a political It's for everybody of any age group. And it sounds like I'm just giving, like you know, the the bullet points of like a but it's it's just true. It's like I've never been part of something. You know, even when Glee was on, there'd be people like, oh, can my kids watch it? I'd be like maybe, Like I'm still careful with how I there's things that I've been in where I'm like, maybe not for you. Maybe Auntie so and so won't be so into it. Uncle so and so will love it, your girlfriend might not be into Like I have to make kind of concessions and qualifications. This is like unanimously oh yeah, absolutely no, you'll dig it. You can know everything about theater and find something in it hopefully and no, absolutely nothing. There's no requirement. You know, you can just go and be like wow. And again that's why it makes it so singular and remarkable, like we now know too much everybody knows too much. We've experienced too much, either because of age or just because of your phone, having the access to everything everywhere, all at once. So when you can have the thrill of getting to experience something genuinely new and me on stage having the frankly glee, the sheer glee, which was a word before was the show, the glee of getting to witness or feel people in real time, go yeah, yeah, you know that is such such a privilege.
I'm just curious because of likely, like we were part of that nucleus where like you didn't know what was going to happen when I read this and listened to the music, and I've heard you know, I audition but some of it like I was crying when I was learning it, Like it's it's very.
Very moving.
It's a very pie.
You know that, right, we know that piece. You just hope that other people take to it as well.
Were advertising this or we're letting people know that you auditioned for it.
Yeah, no, it's fine. I auditioned for it. I was like, let's work together again.
Michael didn't show you like, I mean it's been around for a while.
It.
Yeah, I mean, who knows who knows it's really beautiful, and I thought like, oh, wow, this is going to be something special, especially with you attached with Arden, attached with the music the way it was. I was like, Wow, this is going to be something I have a feeling about it.
I'm glad that you were still moved because that's how I felt too. Yeah, when I I was like, this is crazy.
So what was the rehearsal process like leading up to like the to preview to opening night? Like, what was the talk or the feeling? Did you think it was gonna do well?
Did you not? Did you ignore it for a second?
I forgot that this is a podcast and there are app to interview questions we have to have. We're not just going to talk, but we are talking. First of all, I for anybody listening to this, uh and you guys, I would encourage people to to know as little as pop possible going in. I think the show rewards anonymity.
That's what I'm doing. I don't you just think I'm a bad friend. I have intentionally because I don't look at it intentionally blocked trying to see and in general for theater, I like to do that.
Yeah, And God knows, we're like pushing a lot of material because that's the way we have to promote things and people, you know, need to have something to glob onto, and it's it's smart marketing, and you know, it's the twenty first century, so I get it. But for those that really come in blind, I think they're rewarded with the satisfaction of truly getting to experience and this is a line that we always use and anything we ever promote, but this is actually true something unlike they've ever experienced before, Like that is such a rarer and rare experience. So maximizing that for yourself is advantageous, I think, but also knock yourself out. No matter what you see, it won't compare it to seeing the real thing. So to your point of what I was talking about earlier about following your heart, like did I know is going to be like take you know, catch a wave in the way that it has. I didn't really think about it. I didn't really know. I will say there was a point in rehearsal where Michael this is this really wonderful thing that I think he's somewhat infamous for now, which is every rehearsal we kind of have circle time that will be as short as five minutes or as long as an hour and a half, and it's like a pretty you know, I keep saying the word extraordinary. I'm being careful with that adjective, but it is kind of an extraordinary way to galvanize a creative effort because suddenly everyone is being seen and voicing things, anything for the mundane to the profound, or everything's being shared, and so everybody kind of feels connected at all times in the making of something, which is so like not required, like great directors don't do that. He's not a great director because he does that. He's a great director because he's smart and he's good instincts and knows how to direct. But the fact that he has this other thing that really gives everybody a left. So there was a circle time that we had before we moved into the theater, right before things started getting out of our hands. When tech, you know, become kind of takes over and the kind of creating, the cooking in the lab kind of you know, starts cross fading into the real. Nitt degree John you and are one of our our music our music director and conductor said something that I totally loved, which was He's like, I feel impenetrable. He's like, I've fallen in love. I'm using his words, but it's voicing how I feel or how I felt. I feel impenetrable because what we've done and what we've made here, I am so in love with that. I don't if people don't necessarily agree or don't feel the same way, it doesn't It doesn't bug me because I will still have felt this way no matter what, and will continue to feel this way, and no one can take that away from me. So that is kind of how I felt. I mean again, I was available, and I thought it was beautiful exponentially as every day rehearsal by I was like this, wait, this is like this is really something else. Then I listen to myself and listen to the cliche of the actor just sniffing his own farts and being like, oh, yeah, it's so great. Everyone's so wonderful. It's such a unique, interesting piece, you know. And people would ask me, you know when I I see friends on the street, Oh, how's that thing you're doing, And I go, it's really that's kind of good, I think, And you're careful with that kind of optimism because you just sound like there's it just sounds like a cliche. So the fact that it has taken on into other people's minds with such enthusiasm and appreciation that matches that of which we were feeling in the room is incredibly encouraging and validating because now you're like absolved a feeling like a cliche, right, and now co signed by other people where you're like, oh, I'm not crazy, So yeah, a little. It was crazy because I heard the music. I'd seen a version at the at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, and just every day like just tables, and like the show has a dazzle effect, it has a dazzle not effect, has a dazzle factor that is very much a Broadway spectacle and is in its own right its own wonderful piece. But without all those bells and whistles, tables, shairs, binders, piano. I was like on the floor so moved. And so that means that like in basements and universities, in a black box with a piano and four actors to you know, giant production in Iceland twenty years like it. The meat and potatoes are all there, like all the primary colors, the basic numbers, it's all cooked. So it was like this turnkey thing. When we show up and we just read, we're like, wow, this is good. And then they're like, okay, well here's the design ideas and you're like, whoa, be sure, okay, good luck and then they actually do it, and then then I hear the orchestrations like whoa, and then I hear it just again exponentially has gone wow, this is way more incredible than I had imagined. Wow. So anyway, you guys tell me. I'm not one for short answers, especially I'm passionate about.
But I think like the dream is to be able to work on something that you genuinely do, like yes, and then of course yeah, you hope other people feel the same way about it, but you can't ever hope for and or like expect and as like a third party sort of watching you know, the internet or word of mouth from friends, see the actual word of mouth spread about your show has also been like as a friend of yours. So nice to see, thanks man, Because people, it's so hard to make a show, last original show, last on that I know, I mean, things get in now, so they're closing openingly.
Yeah, it's there.
It's brutal, and it's expensive, and it's hard to take a risk on something that is not already like proven IP these days. And I'm just sort of in awe and inspired by what you guys have done, even without having seen the show already.
Too, man, I mean we didn't know like like that. I feel like that is the definition, or at least a definition of like being fulfilled is when your enthusiasm, at least if you're working on something artistic, that is that is for public consumption, like when you're your feeling of love or excitement matches those outside of your body. Usually that polarity is like a spectrum. And so if it's like even that's like you've hit the I feel fulfilled, you know, because it's not like it's not one sided, you know. But there was a point where we opened where if you look down forty forty fourth Street, it was all safe revivals and massive IP. Now, this is not to trivialize those terrific productions that employees hundreds, if not thousands of New Yorkers and several of our friends that have worked their asses off to put them up.
Theater is great, like theater is theater, Yeah, if you can make it work exactly.
It's not a competitive sports like I said so, but when you look down, you know, I was very proud of the fact that we were like one, if not the only very few shows that had was completely original, wasn't basically a book or movie or TV show. And people are always asking, well, why are we making all these remakes of movies? Why are musicals all just you know, known properties, And I go, you try and get a musical produced, man you want to like, you knock on the door of the richest person you can find in the Upper East Side and say, give me several millions of dollars to make this thing that you've never heard the music for or see the production of. It's like they have to hedge their bets and like out of a pandemic and out of a strike. I don't like it's it's not a conundrum as to why that is, why we have The Outsiders, which is a great show and a great success, Why death becomes you know, my friend Juli wrote the music for. These are all things that that are great. They really are great. So before anybody conflates this with like knocking those shows. I'm just saying there's a reason for why they get produced with more gas, because they have more familiarity. So yes, doing the show was a huge swing. But you know, you know what is it, No got snow glory right like this, this show is a massive win for not only their artistic community, but for audiences at large. I think the pendulum is swinging back and forth to like, I want to see something, I want to experience, I want to take a chance on something that I've never experienced before because the thrill is so refreshing exactly, and you know, hopefully for any I was gonna say young writers I now see, and writers that are trying to get their pieces done that are perhaps a little not familiar with with producing money or audience support, like this is now a comp for that, which is like wildly exciting for the next crop of whatever is trying to be made. So yeah, just across every board, schedule, content, what it means, what it has to say, what it offers this universe. Like I'm so unbelievably beside myself, Like I just I'm like praying and thanking the theater guys every day.
Oh I'm so I'm so envious because and in the best way, I'm not because I get that and I remember that feeling. I haven't had that feeling in a really long time, and you have the feeling.
At all, Like I want that back, Yes.
Yeah, exactly, Like it comes around like I've we've been given the big stick before, so we know what it feels like when you don't have it anymore. So when you have it, you're like, I haven't. I know, it is like I remember this. That's kind of where I'm at and where that's why I'm just holding on and appreciating it because there's only one place to go from the top of the mountain.
Man, for sure.
I'm just trying to get comfortable as long as you can.
Yeah.
I was talking with Austin yesterday about like the synergy of when you're able and it's what you were going what you said earlier, but like the synergy of the audience and you and you're able to walk away from this every night and be like I'm fulfilled in the exact same way the audience is fulfilled. And to give people a surprise in twenty twenty five and any sort of medium of something they have not seen before and you know you're doing that and you get to be a witness of it and be in it.
Yeah, I mean it also, you know, this play holds a lot thematically and emotionally. I think art, certainly theater, but art as a cultural construct at its highest function, like holds the things that we don't know where else to put or how else to put. And so there's a big spectrum of things that people bring to this show without getting into the weeds of what that is, you know, but this show is, while very charming, it posits some big ancient questions and deals with some pretty profound ideas and whatever versions of love or loss people have felt in their lives, whether it's from a recent breakup to an actual loss of a person or a thing, or a job or a house. You know, a lot of those things that you know everybody, you never know what people are going through. This holds it in a really hopeful, resilient way. And so beyond getting to have people feel fulfilled in some sort of way like oh, that was a fun use of my time and money at a Broadway show, there's this extra layer of something that is additive to a positive degree that I think is It's one thing to have the big stick, but it's another to have the big stick and know that it's adding some good into the world. It is part of that. You know. It's one thing to be part of a successful show. It's another to have been so impactful in a positive way to so many people. Like That's one of the great gifts of the show that we did, is that it had this other element, Like I've been like, look, it's always nice to be working. You know, the bonus round shit is never guaranteed, nor is it expected. So to have this other sort of bonus level, unlocked vibe about anything that you work on, it's just like the highest privilege I can think of as far as being an artist for a living.
I have a question for you.
I know that you can like like Blaine can turn Like we used to work together and it would be like, okay, we're rolling, and Darren would be Darren. It would be action and then it would be Tina and Blaine and I could never do that.
Kevin could ever do that, but Darren could do that.
And you joked last time that you could like literally like throw your wig on uh at like little shop and like go I'm curious how early you show up this when I go in.
A little earlier, because well, little shop was amazing because there was little to no make, no make at all. I just show up and put h and the mic. This is I don't know people know or have seen the off brower production. This is so dumb it's genius, or so genius it's dumb. The microphone, the head mic for Seymour's in the.
Glasses, Oh my god, I.
Literally just put glasses on. Really, there's no head mics or like your pieces of stag right there. So I just put on glasses and the way you go this because there's a pretty heavy lot drag beat that is applied to my face and head.
So the first time I saw some pictures of that, I was like, am I seeing this correctly? I couldn't figure out what. I was like, something looks different.
I've got contacts in it's very like.
Just what was happening? I was like, I have to I have to see It's wild.
Yeah, I like a little painted porcelain doll. There's so many details that are like you can't see unless you're up close. But there's like the way that the the wig has talk about bonus round ship like you nobody would see this unless you were next to me on stage. But like the stitching of the hairline looks like like hair pluggy Okay, you know, like that like a doll. Yeah, and it's just like a small detail. It's really really cool. And like when I look myself in the mirror, I'm like, oh shit, well this is weird.
So it just really because you have ships to put on.
There's no market. I mean, I've been late and it's like it's not it's not a fun experience. So I'm there about an hour, hour and a half. I try to be good boy, you know, I warm up and I do all the things because you know, this is a long haul show. I have passed just a couple of weeks ago, the longest I've ever been in a theatrical run.
Oh my god, how exciting. Yes, it's exciting.
I've only done like, you know, a littleit engagement, like sixteen eighteen weeks tops, and now I'm over one hundred and fifty something performances.
Yeah, and I'm wanting to the original Broadway cast recording exactly.
Baby, I know I'm freaking out about that.
Your cash recording comes out this week on Friday, very exciting.
What was it like to do it like in OBC or.
As Jenna, have you done OBC?
I haven't.
I joined Readrea.
I joined after they o.
And was weakening.
I did Rue for King and I I did the King and I, yes, I did, at nine years old do my first broadcast recording.
But you hear yourself on that album.
Yeah, I had a solo that's crazy Internet.
Getting getting to know You. Yes, so yes, we did kids. Yes, I was one of the cut kids. And I had the solo and I sang getting to know You and we did it on the Macy's parade and so I did the experience.
Getting to know you, getting.
To know and it was just you as a little little girl singing that.
That's it, that's me.
And then whoever sang next was because everybody would go.
Oh, it was the group. It was the group. At least it wasn't do a Murphy.
Oh okay, anyway, tell me about the OBC because that's it's just so cool.
It is really cool. I mean, I've told so many of my Broadway colleagues that they are like radio stars in my car, more so than you know, the Taylor Gaga and Bruno or Beyonce combined because I listened to so much Broadway ExM that, Like, I just like I'm always hearing Stephen Pascal or Victoria Clark or I'm just don't know why I'm saying those people randomly today, Like I listen, you know, they come up, you know, every now and then I hear you guys, you know from Lee. So the people that I see like around campus with the people that I listen to in my car less so in New York's I drive last New York. But yeah, I love those albums and you know, growing up for us, at least for social media, cast albums were like the way to have a connection to New York City. It was the Tony's and the Cast albums were the only way I would know what was going on. So it's exciting, but it's also daunting. I mean, this show is this I would describe the music. It's like chamber pop. It's uh, it's got this sort of which which is an actual It's like elevated it's musical theater chamber pop because it falls a lot of sort of old school. I wouldn't say rules, but guidelines and so harmonically, there's a lot of nostalgic things happening because there's a lot of mid century sort of jazz standards things going on. But it's also very backrack. I think Jesse Green at the Times, who you know, is something of a tricky, u divisive character in the Broadway critic world, but he said something that was really great. He said the music fell somewhere between Sondheim and backrack backrack at Sondheim. I was like, that's really on and also a huge, like okay, cool, huge compliment. I set that to our composers, be like, this is a feather in your cap. So because it's not Roger Hammerstein, there's not a bigness to it. The album is smaller. It's like the radio play version. So you know, Glee gave us all master's degree and recording recording vocals, not performing vocals, recording vocals. Kevin had a lead, had like a head start on this because of your world. You know, your experience with recording booths, all of us by the end clocked in. You know, thousands of hours of recording music that you know really teaches one to know the difference between singing live and singing in a booth, and how they are different.
It's a completely different skill.
Exactly, but they are separate, you know, attentions to detail and so what we do on stage and what I do eight times a week, you know, more than one hundred and fifty something times. Now, is it exists in this mold that I really like and the album is not that we had to undo a lot of that because suddenly what you're doing on stage feels too big the record, So I happen to be able to switch, okay, But when I listen to it and it sounds beautiful, it's definitely meant for the album. It's the radio edit as of you know, just in its performance and how people will be able to ingest it now. The only thing that I have trepidation about is people hearing that and then seeing it live going like that's not Those aren't the shows that I know. But hopefully they will care. They'll be so enraptured with the show. But that's the first time I've had to think about it, because like, seeing it now is such a rarefied air because people don't have the cast albums, so they can genuinely come in not knowing anything, and that's so exciting, Like if we're lucky, if we're lucky man, and I say this with kind of a bit of humor, but if we're lucky in like this, this show's running for several years. I hope it runs for decades a decade. Hope it runs forever. But with any luck, people love the cast album, and in like four or five years, somebody who's on the final outskirts of like the groundswell of knowing about a Broadway show. It's like the guy that doesn't see Broadway shows, the guy that couldn't like doesn't look like this is he heard this was good from somebody, but like five years ago and I was finally seeing it. We'll come see the show and go, I don't know, it's a little overrated because there will have been so much. It's like seeing Hamilton now or Book a Mormon now. It is now so popular that the tide shift, that the chide shifts. The bar is no longer the new sexy hot spot. People will come and they start hating on it because it's it's becomes a popular So that's like if you're lucky, right, but that'll be enforced by things like cast albums and people being used to it or expecting certain things. So that kind of scare me a little bit, but it gives me a new feeling that I've never felt before, which is like, I don't know how to feel. It'll be great to give people access to the show outside of New York, outside of the Alasco Theater, and for that, I'm extremely grateful and very excited for people to get excited about. But it will be different than what we do, and of course only I will notice these things, Like right, there's a couple of dialogue bits that you know are baked in there that I listen to and it's mastered, like it's in the in the thing, and I'm like, no, that's not how we do it, and like forever, it's gonna bug me forever, but I'm excited.
That's part of the charm of a cast word though exactly Like you listen to those and I think, honestly, I know it probably feels crazy, but objectively, like my nerdy music Braden, some there's a big difference between certain I won't name shows, but when they try to do what's on the stage exactly on the recording, it doesn't translate, it doesn't it doesn't sound good, it's not recorded. Well, there's certain shows more recently who have done sort of like what you're talking about. It's a bit more i don't know, polished or it's toned down whatever capacity for the recording studio, and it hits. Yeah, and like the talking bits you know, sometimes feel a little off, but like that's sort of like what happens theater its theater.
Listen, I think it's gonna I haven't listened to it yet. I think we're in very, very very capable hands the people whose whose tastes and minds and hearts have gotten us as far as we've gotten. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll know how.
To sounds like a full team effort, Like everybody has really shown up for your Guys show on every single level, in every single department, and they all because they all have the same feeling, that positive feeling we are doing something great and we're getting something great from it.
Well, A very important thing to denote here is that this is a small group of really passionate people being given a lot of support. That is the alchemy that is allowing for this. Because if like for instance, one of my best buddies from San Francisco. I've known this Pirl since she was five, who grew up doing theater together at San Francisco. Julia Madison is one of the two writers on the music for Death Becomes Her. You know, I don't think I'm saying anything that would be slightly controversial, but you can imagine that working under a situation like it's a it's a popular movie universal and in case anybody from universals listening to this, I'm not saying anything bad, but I'm just saying it the negotiation between a lot of approvals and people can be can can make things a little yeah, a lot of hoops. And again I'm being careful with my words because I don't want to try and make it sound like any Yeah, it's just that that's that's just there's there's more people to consider. It's a different process. And to be fair, it's like you have people who are protecting the empire and have an established empire to look out for, and so there's a lot of fear and concern in the way. You know, parents being careful, don't touch that. We don't have to, like, you don't know what's going to be good or bad, but you're doing your best. Everyone's doing their best right as opposed to because there's no empire to protect or to be worried about. It's this thing that I like to call castle building. Right before you have to worry about protecting the interests of the empire, and you can just be this is a big musical theater queen reference, but you can just be Mickey and Judy putting a show like hey kids, let's put on a show in the barn, and you're just building it. You now have a sort of freedom to just like build it, just to sure why not? And I think some of the most exciting things that have ever happened in creative culture history and pop culture history is when we're castle building. Is when people who have the support and the resources just kind of go forth into thing. The Disney Renaissance is because of that. Disney had everything to lose in the late eighties and suddenly they went excuse me, they had nothing to lose because they were so in the tank that the idea of making you know, let's make fair tale musicals again. Oh no, it's a horrible idea. Boys. We need to make g I Joe and change me Nina Turtles and the idea that some you know, young turks had to go let's get the guys from a little Shop of Horrors, right, that weird musical off Broadway to write a musical about you know, about Hans Christian Assent tale Like sure, fine whatever, just go like there is something of value to you know, to be gleaned from that. So, yeah, there's a lot of passion there because it's a smaller group of people that can really you know, exercise their creative muscles not unchecked, but like with support.
You know, totally totally Now that makes that makes sense.
I will say this has definitely made me, like I was thinking of there's a lot of musicals I was thinking developing that were based on pre existing things that this processes made me go, what am I doing this? Just just do something original just that way you have more room. Well, it's hard. If I knew if we if we could all just do that, we all we'd all do it. It's hard.
I get it.
I get it. I get it.
You can see me walking the nagshells about saying anything about it as it comes her. I'm just I'm just being careful just because like that is a different process.
Well, it's in a different process. It's also like with success, like you were saying, in five years when this, when your show is like still going and is being redone all around the world and in schools and things, then now that is the castle that needs to be protected, right, so people.
Will feel like we got it exactly.
It's a different it's a different step in the process. And so you guys are at the beginning of that creating the original piece where death becomes her for example, when that's and that was the sand castle building. Now they're protecting the Yeah.
Good point.
Yeah, that's absolute. Right.
You've had a lot of Glee friends come and visit and see your show.
Yeah, where have you guys been?
I know, I said, we're gonna we're gonna mention this and we're going to draw attention to the fact that we haven't been there.
Guys, I don't you don't live in New York. It's really okay. I'm always touched when people come through and like, sorry took some like there's no like requirement to to see anything.
It's okay.
I appreciate you about it.
I'm going to text you after this because I have a plan in my head to come see you soon.
Okay, guys, like, with any luck, I'll be in the show for as long as the theater gods will have me as long as I can do it. So you have you have a long run with ye.
Yes, Kristin.
Kristin Chanleer just came on the show and she said you were wonderful.
She came, Yeah, I know. She she was a really we just opened. It was a big week, like basically the entire Wicked.
Like, yeah, that's cool.
Cynthia came like the day after the movie opened, and I was like, I feel like I'm talking like the Queen.
But it's funny because those people are like, I'm back in New York.
I gotta go see some shows. I gotta see theater. I need it, you know.
Like no, I was very grateful that Chris.
Chris had the greatest posts. I thought that was hilarious. Somebody showed me. You guys know, I'm not really an Instagram, but somebody showed to me. I was like, that's so good.
We the fans are crazy now. They're like, oh, the Clean Clan has gotten divorced from the show, like.
A yeah, we still have.
You know, I love it.
Kevin also mentioned and I'm pitching this now to you because Kevin mentioned that we uh, he's never sang it Elsie Fest, and I was like, well, I can't see the same because I have sang it Elsie.
Yeah, but I still owe you about a zillion unicorns.
I joke about it, but it's fine.
But Kevin's like, we have to sing Breakaway and Loser like me because now we're in season five.
I'm wondering the remake. The remake, Yes.
Yes, we are. We announcing that right now? Do you guys? When do Elsie twenty twenty five?
Yeah, we'll come in there.
Sure, well you you brought it up, not me.
We're pitching ourselves door.
You have to decide, yes, you have.
You can come on, you can. You're always welcome to Elsie Fest. Like, I'm so lucky to have anybody from the show. I don't ask you out of being polite, like I don't want to make you guys do this, but we did.
We did talk about it.
We talked about it, and we're like, would we be able to actually sing Breakaway live?
Oh?
Yeah r And I'm like it would be so great the three of us rising on stage. Michael Well, I will say.
Though, like the fans are amazing there. It's exactly our audience. It's so much fun. You're like, I'm back on tour, Like I would love that.
I would absolutely love if you guys came more. The more the merry, as far as.
You got to get cord In on it for me and then were good to go.
Chord showing up to sing Billy Joel this past year, just.
Maybe I cannot.
Showing up like you see the sunglasses on. Maybe not have Okay, I'll throw you guys. I mean, I don't like throwing tea, but this will be the most to throw anybody under the bus. Chord shows up and I'm just like Homie, I can smell the tequila from like the dressing room, Like, yeah, I'm having fun in New York. I'm like, I can smell that.
That's a good impression.
Yeah, we had a great time. We do, we do.
Wait, so we are on season five and this is a Glee podcast.
I have to ask you why you're Blaine has met Shirley McLean. Now Blaine is with Shirley McLean.
Oh my god, what a fever?
Dream that was totally what was that?
Like, I was just eating it up with a spoon. I just was unabashedly like just bending her ear at every possible moment and just asking her stories. And I think, you know a person like that. I don't know if this is true, but I'd like to think this is true. Like I was hopefully thinking like a young person getting excited about her career would be fun for her and not like I'm pandering like I was. It's like everybody wins in this.
You're the right person to pair with her, Yeah, I think so.
I was like trying to say, like, no, I'm genuinely interested, like telling you this son of this son or this, and like she would And so I don't know if I was annoying her. Maybe I was, but I got the sense that she was cool with sort of shaping. I've kind of forgotten everything specifically, but like it was just being able to talk about all of her days with Frank and Sammy and Dean. I mean, she was the she was she was the the girl of the rat pack, and so she would I would ask her, is there anything you can't This is one thing I do remember. It is like there anything you can't, like, what's like the craziest story that you have. She's like, well, I can't tell it because some of the Mob guys are still alive. And I was like, I didn't say that they're going to do with the mob, like you just you said it, not me, but her like hesitation, yeah, question answered, there's something the farious enough that she can't say because there are people of scary organized crime ability and power and resources that would make it an issue for her to tell this guy on set, so totally. Or maybe that's just a really good line that she gave me. Either way, that's the way. It was a very memorable moment. Yeah, I spent a lot of time with it was so weird and awesome, Like, what a kooky lady. I just rewatched your charity again the other day.
Oh my god, you're just.
Like damn this girls. If you guys, who was the last time you just watched The Apartment?
Oh good, I've ever seen it.
She's so fucking good, dude. It's crazy. It's a great movie. I mean, first of it's like a famous movie. It's not like yeah, like wow, I discovered this little movie like The Apartment is amazing she's so good in it. Jacqu Lemon is amazing and just like, wow, you were very good about the Pajama Game. You guys know how like you guys know her like famous story, right, Kevin, this is like some musical theater trivia for you. I'm assuming so Shirley McLean's sort of like famous moment, her stepping out. I forget the name. I should know. I've lot of people will probably get mad at for this, but famously the Pajama Game, which is like a hit musical and browd. I forget sixties and sixties, uh, I forget the actress that was out. But it was one of these sort of you know, the you know, showbiz moments like you're on kid, yeah, and like I just want a chance and and apparently she just ate like so hard and like and then I don't know if she ended up replacing her whatever, it was like the moment had enough heat on it. She and that was her skyrocket oh wow, or so the story goes.
But like it was Carol Haney. She had a sprained ankle.
Are you looking it up? Yeah, there's there like I've heard in sort of in popular culture, like at this Tonight's performance. The role the role of Blah will be played by Shirley Klain. Is like the meaning of and and now that the era of this this person will commence. Wow, which is a cool story because you've heard that kind of like trope and she's like the the like patient zero on that trope.
Wow. Yeah, I had no idea.
Yeah it makes sense.
I mean watching her in the episode, her first episode, it's just like, I mean, she's some people just have it and doesn't matter how old she is, she steps in there and is so comfortab. She's doing like her own bit. And yeah, yeah, she was very there. Yeah, because she's been doing it for so long. Do you while we're doing musical theater trivia, Kevin Quick, what musical I'm gonna know anything?
Is the song that we sang together from extra points if you can, if you can say who just who? Also won the Tony for singing. It went on its revival recently.
Oh god, now I'm forgetting the song. You're just throw them?
Oh then time the time you given time to make time season in just no time at all. I don't know, it's all right, I knew you wouldn't, so this is unfair. It's from Pippin by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the music for the music called Wicked.
Yes, and Gods, I know that one.
Uh yeah, it's from Pippen and Andrew Martin won the return as I forget the character's name, but at that revival that Beatina Miller also won.
Yes, we haven't seen that. We haven't seen that song yet. Yeah we're not.
Oh, I thought, I don't see I don't know where things are.
I know, I know we're tapping Peace of my Heart, the one you sang with her.
I forgot that that even happened.
Yeah, wild it was started, and I was like, wait, I also had never seen this episode because I'm not in it, so I hadn't watched it.
This is a wild one. This is a wild one. We are such a blurt.
But yeah, I don't remember anything to If you had, I wouldn't have remembered that that we're saying. And now you're open.
Yeah, I don't miss getting the musical thing.
Yeah, yeah, you're planning a variety show. You're planning a show. She's planning to like, like, you know, make talent, right.
Is she singing that song at like a gala?
Yes? Yes, she calls on stage and you do a duet because she's raising money.
Chris Kurt was the one who saw her first art gallery space.
Yes, I do remember that because that was Eric Roberts.
Yes, Oh my god, that's right.
There.
Unclear unclear.
Did he have a part rest of this season is like a little weird.
Did he have a part of part I just forgot what it was.
No, he had like three lines.
That's wow, so weird.
Was he like close to Shirley McLain. Was that part of the deal?
Yeah? I think he played well. You guys don't have to remember that at this point in Glee's life, like the guest stars, he was like, wow, you have to be on like Lee was it? It's like all the people that we were watching Friends. You're like, oh wow, like we're on friends. His Friends was a hit show. Lee was a hit show. So every you know, Shirley McLean was on it. Something like Eric Roberts is like wow, hey dude like mc cleans and is that like that's it? That makes sense?
Yeah, yeah, I don't know, we'll see.
I forgot that he was there, that's right. Yeah, that's where I met him, And I remember that day because we were shooting it. I'm a big architecture la architecture nerd. And there's that famous building because of the s that's something building. There's all these beautiful like steel elevators and all this beautiful like like iron lace.
Yes, it's gorgeous.
Yeah, that's where like that's where holding was and we're just sitting there. That's why I was like asking. One thing I didn't ask her enough about was like the extraterrestrial stuff, alien stuff, because she's really into all that, and I wish i'd gotten more into that. I remember asking her about like this like blood transfusion thing that like her and like Keith Richards and all these other people that are like essentially vampires just like staying young and spry, like do regularly, like she would go to like some partisans Czerl to just like get new blood, you know. And I was like, work, dude, Yeah, yeah, exactly. If it's working for you, if you're not hurt anybody, as long as there's nothing as long as there's no mob guys involved in this, right, you seem to be in great health. So that sounds just just sdandy for you.
I would love to have heard.
I'm probably misquoting that I was a blood transfusion, but in my mind that's what it sounded like.
It's like the vampire facial where people the blood put on exactly exactly, so she's getting well.
Now it's the salmon jizz or something like that.
What Sam es, Yeah, that is It's like ancient remedy salmon.
Yeah what now, I don't know.
I'm just her Kevin. I don't know.
There is a thing now look it up.
Salmon jes unicorn blood. I don't whatever.
Why I make that up? Because I am not mafia? Okay, why y Yeah, we're talking about this.
There's too there's too many mafia people still live for you to talk about sandwiches like that's keeping on the d L.
Dude, I'm in New York. We all need to play mafia. That's what we need to do.
Yeah, there's I mean, I keep saying why this show is so fun Outside of the show, there is like the fun of being in a show, right, a small show. So it's a small community. We love each other. It's so wonderful. And as I like to joke, it's like, well, guys, there's time, you know, just wait till this enough seasons go by now, but we we we truly love each other and like that. I there are days where just the other day, we played a company wide game of Traders that belonged over several weeks and oh, dude, one of our assistants stage managers, it's such a good job of Like we had our weekly meetings and we voted and we had all the ship. It was so well put together and such a robust thing. And it was the reveal was last week and everybody went sucking nuts and like weeks and weeks and weeks, and after that final meeting, I just went, there can't be a more fun place to work, Like, I just think it was so much fun. It's like we're in camp. It's so much fun. Cool people are coming to see it. And then on our in between time we're playing like Traders.
Oh it's so good.
I'm just so happy for you. You're like you're smashing it, You're nailing it.
It's a blast. I can't wait to share with you. Guys.
Do you play Dollar Friday?
No, you guys don't do Dollar Friday. It's a small cast. If it's really small, then we've all We'll.
Tell you what we are doing now and I'm and I'm leading this. In fact, when we're done, I have to I have to do this. I didn't want to do this when we were on Glee together, but like, languages are a big part of my life, Like I speak a few different Nagers, and like it's one of my biggest hobbies, is like learning, Like like I know if I said this when we're talking over the pandemic, but over the pandemic, Like I seriously dove into learning how to read and write and speak Japanese. I took two hundred days and I actually taught myself to peak Japanese. And this is like a thing that I've gotten really into with different languages and getting other people involved and kind of it's like having workout buddies and holding people in travel. So for the month of March, because March first was Korea's Independence Day, because of the thirty it's a thirty day program, I was like, for the month of March, We're going to do a thirty day learning Korea challenge. Yeah, every day I wake up and I listen to my Korean and it's such like a wonderful part of my day.
I mean, it's a very a good way to exercise your brain as well.
It is. It's something that's tony separate from like peering land or theater land. Just creating new neural pathways and another.
Places a smart hobby to have.
Yeah, but wait, hold on, what's dollar Friday?
Okay, So Dollar Friday is it probably works better with bigger casts. So where everybody donates a dollar on Friday, and then intermission, a cast member draws out you write your name on your dollar, and you cast member draws out a dollar, and whoever's name on it wins the pot. And so somebody wins like a pot of.
However much money was in there.
And like when we did it in The King and I, it was like a cast of I.
Think fifty two people. We had a really good cast, yeah, and so we would all.
Participate and so people would make like, you know, you could throw in a dollar, you've done, five dollars, whatever you want, and so you would like make a bunch of money, and different cast members on each Friday would either do a home or a song. And so they had like the kids do a riff on tomorrow, and we did like a dollar Friday song.
And it's just a fun way to like have you know, bring more. Yeah, good for morale.
It's kind of like snob like Saturday Night on Broadway.
But yeah, we used to do Dollar Friday.
That is so fun. Yeah, it's a small cast. Probably couldn't do the whole casting company. Yeah, yeah, will come up. I mean luckily I would. We'll run for a while, so there's room for that. There's room for another month of Korean Another game of Traders. You know it's.
The Trader is brilliant. I'm so jealous of that.
Yeah, it was. It was intense, dude, like people were like getting real like taking it personally.
How many traders were there?
There were three, And it's too hard to like explain the interworkings of what happened, but let's just say the reveal was like the best the Deceit was at an all time high. The person that people were protecting with every fiber of their being like turned out to be the trader. It was. It was delicious. It was so I was I was a townsperson. I was kind of open I could do something like be a trader, but uh, I wasn't. But just ship like that. It's just so fun. It's so yeah, well, when you guys come, we'll uh, well, we'll have to tie one on afterwards. We'll have we'll do a nice little Broadway posting. Would you guys be in a situation where you came together in New York or would you be separately?
Probably probably to separate, maybe there in spirit together exactly. Yeah. Yeah, I'll come back when Jenna can go and see it again.
I'll say this, I don't see Broadway shows more than once. Typically it's a lot of time, it's a lot of money, it's a lot of you know, you can't always do that, especially there's so many things to see and other you know that you have to prioritize. But I've had friends that aren't even theater people that have come back more than more than once. I love that because there's there's it's more difficult. It works. Yeah, I mean like there's a lot of things I would say, you don't, Like I'm in place where somebody said they're going to come back, and you're like, you don't have to. This one has there's a real watchability to it that is really fun. People people want to sit in different sides of the house see different things.
I also love how short it is, or how compact it is.
For you you were saying. I was like, there's your problem right there.
We don't have to that's right.
You don't have an intermission. It's like, come from away, how good? Ah, so satisfied out the door. It's really really really really great.
Yeah, guys, I'm just a pig and.
Ship honestly though, like that's the dream, that's the dream.
I'm really Yeah, there's no other way to say it. It's a terrifying thing to say because you're like, of course, well now what, but also there's no other way, but you have so you just say it.
You have it, and not everybody gets that.
Most people don't.
So one day when it's not here, I will get to say it was.
There, Yeah, and I was there present. You're aware of it, you're appreciative of it in the moment, and that's all you can ask for it.
Yeah, you'll do a recap podcast about it.
Yeah, yeah, maybe happy recap. I mean, look, that's what's nice about all of our involvement in Glee and the way that I feel about the show is that you know, the the thing, those things areier than us, and they with any luck with the you know, hopefully we'll outlive us in a way that is uh you know uh again positive and enduring and in this in the sweet, wonderful ways that we would hope anything that you're a part of can can live. So yeah, getting to be able to be the forefront of that for this is is is a really fun exciting thing. Man. Like I like in the way that I had such a great time on Glee and I'm happy to talk about it and show up for it. I already feel that way about this show. I've been barely in six months, So bring it on.
Can't wait to see you in it. Thanks for taking time on your day because.
Precious rehearsal, or lack of rehearsal, because we'll just do it on the day and no.
Pres I rehearsed Indre in apartment. Yeah I remember that bedroom. Yeah, I came over and learned it and like, I.
Don't know, and that's a hard song and you smashed it.
That was really special.
It was hard, but it was really fun to do.
So yeah, I don't have those theater brains that you two have. It takes me a little longer. I'm gonna need some rehearsal.
Wait, Kevin. How how was it? I'm sorry I missed it.
I was I fell it was so much fun?
Would you would you come back and do Broadway?
Yeah?
Yeah it. You know everybody always goes from the outside looking in, like wow, how do you do it? And I'm like, yeah, because you do it well.
I still don't fully understand how you do it because I only had to do like eleven shows and it was like a full month process, and which was perfect for that show we did, you know, you can totally We put that show up in two weeks and did it and then but I also something about that show where you know, people are coming in and enjoying it and they're laughing and it's snarky and it's all the things I love in it show or you know, entertainment experience and so like that was also fulfilling on that side of it. So doing that type of show was so much fun. That was like, I don't know how people go do like serious plays for three and a half hours.
Yeah. I don't envy our Queen Audra down the street at all. I do not do the She's obviously she's an animal and she's doing extraordinary work. But I'm like, whoa that is? That is tough because not only is it a hard enough feet, but you also have the weight of everyone's expectation in comparison and the legacy of that production and that that that part and that show. It's like whoa that. I mean she has the muscles for it, right, but like and I don't envy that.
Yeah, no, that's so I'm happy to be part of, you know, like a cog in the machine, happy to just be part of like a crew like that.
And it was I'm still voting for you guys to do a little shop.
Thanks.
Yeah, but I the b has started.
Yeah, we're going in there like it.
I'm going to London next month to do a show there.
So what I'm sure you're doing the focks. Oh I've somebody told me about this awesome.
Yes, that's incredible fun And that will be like a little longer. That's like a six week grow in London. Yeah, you're kind of yeah in a way.
I mean it's relative to what what you expect your body to do. Like I've been pretty diligent about like the way I'm treating my body and everything because I know this is a long haul. Like if I know it's for a certain amount of time, I kind of get a little funky, you know, yeah, yeah, take some risks maybe, but yeah, you just do what you have to do. I mean, I you have the muscle for it.
I mean yeah, totally.
You already know what you're doing. And I what makes it fun is that it's a different audience every day, you know, so it always feels new and fresh. And if you like the work enough and you like the people you're working on with, you can do You can do it for a long time. Like I dude, I've been doing. Like I said, I passed my threshold, like I think it was one hundred and twenty performances, was the most ever done it show. I'm now well past that and it doesn't feel like a lot at all.
That's so nice.
It's surprising, Like you learn after that first like stint of like three two months, and you're like, I know where I have to be, Like I know how far I can push it, I know how far I have to take it back.
And then you just know and then your body.
Does it and you're like, oh, even after a day where you're like, I don't know if this is gonna happen today and you do, You're like, Okay, it wasn't my back, but yeah, but you know.
But you know how to do it. What's the longest run you've ever done.
Jenna, Well, as a kid, I did a year Spring Waken, I did a year.
But that was also a swing you know thing, so that.
Was truly theater every day, like ready to go.
Yeah yeah, and I wasn't on stage swing too for a part of it, so and we went on a lot, so we were very lucky. And then a waitress I did for three months, so that was I don't know, yeah, three.
Months is it's not too bad. It's like fifteen sixteen weeks and.
Something that it's great. It's great.
Yeah, I mean, Kevin, your Broadway moment is inevitable.
It's coming.
I don't know, yes, but great time. Also, like the community of it, the process of it. I really really enjoyed.
I have you kids, Yeah, you can really go enjoy yourself, like you can do all the fun things that I could do like ten years ago, which was like you do a show and you have dinner at like eleven, I'm like out taking Mae crisis.
Well, I get sick with a gust of winds, so I have to really.
Be careful, so I take that back.
But all the same anything.
But but you can sleep all day, yes you can. People with kids can't do this like you can just sleep all war. That's the that's the hardest challenge. So that's why I'm rooting for you to do it. So I can live vicariously through your ability to.
Say I am fully down. If anyone will have me, I'm willing, and.
I know people that know people that would be.
So fun to have you.
People, Darren, We love you, Thank you.
Yes, I can't wait to.
Wait to see stage come Happy Ending playing.
Now at the Alasko Theater. I will be in it for many many, many many more months, if not longer than that. You get your tickets wherever you get tickets.
The cast album comes out Friday.
Get the cast recording. Hell yeah, thanks.
Guys, Thank you, bye, Thank you so much, Darren Chris.
Everybody go see maybe Happy Ending and so happy so happy.
There you have it our very own Blaine.
He deserves he deserves us. Thank you Darren for coming back again. See the first person to come on here three times from Glee three three two. We did the Christmas episode and then he's done two separate interviews. I think he may be Christmas episode. Remember we filmed it on stage at the iHeart Theater.
Oh oh oh oh. Technically, you're right, you're right.
He's MVP.
You're right, and he is the busiest of anybody.
But it makes sense. He's always always up for whatever he shows up. Well, go see a show, listen to the cast recording. Thank you, Darren and That's what you really miss Thanks for listening, and follow us on Instagram at and That's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars. See you next time.
