Jane Lynch on Bringing Her GLEE Castmates Back to Broadway
- Broadway World: A lot of your GLEE Castmates were there to cheer you on for your opening night, and a growing chunk of them are Bway veterans. Are there any roles or shows that you'd like to see them come to Broadway in?
- Jane Lynch: Well I LOVE that Darren Criss did HOW TO SUCCEED [IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING]. I think that it was a really great thing for him artistically. But I think any of them would be great! Kevin [McHale], Jenna [Ushkowitz], though she's already been on Broadway, but she needs to do something bigger! Both of them would do really well- they're such disciplined actors. It's such a great energy on our GLEE set. They're all such professionals. I think that Broadway separates the boys from the men and the girls from the women and they would rise to the occasion.
Angelo Goppe, Senior Vice President of Promotions at Live Nation FR.
“#darrencriss new casino a good time with a cool guy #gleefan”
University alum Darren Criss performs at Michigan Theater
[Darren] Criss approached the [Sonic Lunch] coordinators — along with [Theo] Katzman, a veteran Sonic Lunch performer — in hopes of performing in Ann Arbor. Although the concert was free for those who attended, “limited space and high demand” restricted the number of entrants.
“(Criss) was really excited about being a part of it,” West said. “It was really exciting and we were totally flattered that he wanted to come here”
Criss, a theatre performance major, began his career at the University when he founded musical theatre company StarKid Productions. Although he has gone on to star in Broadway musicals and play a lead role in the Emmy award-winning show “Glee,” Criss credited his success to the University and wore a “Michigan” shirt to the show.
“This is one of my favorite institutions in the whole planet,” Criss said during the concert. “This (Michigan Theater) is one of the last of the great American theaters in this country.”
Michigan Theater CEO Russ Collins said the Michigan Theatre had a long history of hosting renowned individuals in the arts such as Criss and he was thrilled to have a band of University alumni play on their stage.
“It’s part of what we do here and it’s an exciting thing for what we do,” Collins said. “It’s nice when an artist like Darren Criss — who has a connection to the University of Michigan — comes back and can celebrate with fans and friends who have known him.”
The Sonic Lunch series is typically held at Liberty Plaza. However, due to his connection with the theater, Criss requested that he perform with Katzman in the Michigan Theater.
“We knew this (concert) was coming from the beginning of the season and so we were prepared for it and they were able to prepare for it,” Collins added.
