Smell of Ink and Paper

It finally happened. I got to meet Darren Criss.

I hope you didn’t think I would end there? No. Of course I have to give every detail of  this tale…. “Let’s start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start”

Friday night I left my parents in North Carolina—- tears streaming on everyone’s faces because none of us wanted to have me leave— most of all me, but the good news was I had NYC to look forward to before I made the trek across the pond. 

Landed in New York and rushed to the hotel to meet my friend Lauren and drop off my bags. We were to see Sleep No More at 11:00 that night and so we had to book it. Running 21 blocks the the Hotel wasn’t an easy feat but we did it and we were only a few minutes late. If you don’t know what Sleep No More is— LOOK IT UP. It was spectacular, and is all the rave in the celebrity world. Was even featured on Gossip Girl! Basically you wonder around this 1940’s hotel and watch a silent production of Macbeth. Everyone has to wear a mask and can’t speak- so that just adds to the eeriness of it all. But it was the coolest thing I have ever been too. Because you choose what you want to see, you can see the show multiple times and never see the same thing. Actors are running in and out of rooms and you just follow… so the entire experience is up to you. I highly recommend this.

Left from Sleep No More at 2:30 am. yes. A.M. and headed to the hotel for a 2 hour nap. Yes. friends. We got up at 4:30 and rolled out of bed in our PJs and walked 2 blocks to the Al Hirschfeld theatre to queue up for rush tickets to How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Featuring you know who. We wanted evening tickets but they sold out—- thank goodness there was a matinee! And by golly we got tickets!!!! 

The show was spectacular— Darren of course was brilliant but I can honestly can say that even if he wasn’t in it I would see it a hundred times. I’ve never found a show that I have loved more than I have loved Wicked but this show does it. Christopher J Hanke was genius as Bud Frump. I was in stitches the entire time. Rose Hemingway was the perfect Rosemary—- Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm was my favourite song of the play. —- Highlights: Coffee Break, Darren’s Old Ivy performance, Brotherhood of Man, and It’s been a long day performance. Ugh. I just can’t get enough of this show.      

Afterwards was sheer madness. Darren didn’t come out due to crowd control so NYPD came to break up the crowd. Lauren and I decided to come back that evening to try and get a good spot for the stage door— I was determined to meet Darren since my London attempts failed. I just couldn’t leave NYC without meeting him. So at 6:00 we walked the 2 blocks back to the theatre and waited by the stage door. There was already a HUGE crowd on the “don’t have a ticket” side of the stage door. (if you haven’t been to a broadway show or stage doored a show, there is a system— people who have tickets for that performance go on the left while people who don’t are on the right— the stars start at the left for signatures since they did see the show and then make their way to the right) I made friends with Neil the security guard and staked my claim in the “ticket” side— unfortunately I got confused and thought if you had tickets to EITHER show that day you could stand there— in actuality, it was just for the 8pm show. So by the time I realised this the other side was about 20 deep. They check tickets so we couldn’t just stand there.. I made my way to the other side, disappointment etched on my face, when suddenly a girl came forward saying she had an extra ticket to the show for that evening! I ran to her and got the ticket.

I devised this brilliant plan for Lauren to take the ticket to see the show while I waited outside for my spot by the door since I wanted to see Darren and Lauren was more about the show. So the waiting began. Unfortunately by the time I got the ticket after the show the Ticket Side started to fill and one of the security guards wouldn’t let me in there… He was awful to me— swore at me and yelled even though I was as nice as I could be. Thankfully Neil came to the rescue and let me in. 

I can’t be sure if it was because it was a Saturday, or the Starkids were there, or if because it was a full moon, but it was a riot by the stage door. Darren only came out for about a minute and I didn’t get to see anything as people were shoving playbills in my face. I really was scared I was going to get trampled to between me trying not to die and the swiftness of Darren— I got nothing.

So with tears starting to well up, I left. I finally came to the decision that Sunday was my last chance. There was only one show at 3pm… so I decided to get there in the morning and wait by the stage door. Got to the theatre at 10 am and there was already 2 girls waiting! They were lovely!!! Laella and Zina were from Canada and we became fast friends! We kept are selves busy and were just ecstatic that we were at the very front of the barricades! Another lovely lady, Josclyn, was behind us and we all chatted and formed a bond during our wait. At 1:00pm Darren pulled up and ran into the theatre. I got to shout a “bye!!” as he made his way inside. At 2:30 Christopher passed by and he was the sweetest! He took pictures with us and signed my playbill! I told him how hilarious he was and how much I LOVED his performance. He was so humble and grateful. And when he went inside I was super giddy! It was as if I met Darren… Christopher is on my radar now :) Watch out Aaron Tveit! 

At 10 to 7 Darren emerged. He went to our side first ( which NEVER happens!) and literally stood in front of me for 5 minutes signing things. The crowd outside was fantastic. No one pushed or shoved and we were all really quiet and respectful. I was so happy because that meant Darren stayed out longer!!!

He signed my playbill and I said “Darren I was at your show at the Garage in London! and he said! Wow!! You’re Awesome!!!” and I said “No!! You’re Awesome!!” I missed seeing you there by 10 minutes so had to schedule my trip home from England to see you on Broadway!” and he said ” Awe Thanks so much!” At this point he was signing playbills behind me and was signing them by resting his wrist on my arm!!! I was breathing in his cologne and dying because I was touching him! He then kept signing playbills using my arm as support. Again. dying. 

He then came back to the playbills in my hand—- i guess he saw I had another one behind the one he signed so he moved that aside and signed the other one I had! And i was like! OMG you’re signing my other one tooo!!!! and he was like Of course!!!!

So that is my tale. I am on a high. I just wish my time with Darren wasn’t so short. Oh well… i’m sure I’ll see him again— and then our romance can blossom. hehehehe