Darren Criss To Star In TV Version Of HOW TO SUCCEED

[Jordan Catalano]

No link but I believe it's true. I'm sure it'll be announced soon.

[Gothampc]

Not with that hairdo he was sporting last night he won't.

[tazber]

He was the biggest draw of the run. I don't really care if he specifically does it, but I would love them to do a TV version.

[ChildrenwillListen]

Now this I could live with

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

At least now they'll be able to autotune him so he sounds like he's somewhere near the right key...

[artscallion]

I liked his hair last night...much better than that greased back smear you can't run your fingers through.

[TheGirlUpstairs]

Lord. Tumblr is going to be unbearable.

[darquegk]

I can't tell if this is a serious thread or a parody of speculation and hearsay threads. If it's true, cool- I think this would be a fun TV movie. If not, I don't quite get the joke.

[NoHSMisNotAMusical]

Rule of thumb: if Jordan starts a thread, it's gonna be snarky.

[best12bars]

Was he any good in the part? I guess it doesn't matter on TV.

But I thought Jonas got a better response. Wouldn't he be better suited for a TV version?

[SonofRobbieJ]

Criss sold his weeks in the show better than either Radcliffe or Jonas. Granted...it wasn't a long run, but there was a bit of a frenzy.

I think this could be fun. I, frankly, adore the original movie, but would love to see a recreation that was a little more faithful to the stage play.

[TheatreKid3]

While, proportionally, Criss brought in the highest grosses, I think it was mainly due to the fact that everyone knew his run was EXTREMELY limited beforehand, so there was naturally a frenzy to secure tickets to one of his 24 performances. Give Radcliffe or Jonas fans only 24 opportunities to see them and I guarantee you would get similar results.

[best12bars]

I think this could be fun. I, frankly, adore the original movie, but would love to see a recreation that was a little more faithful to the stage play.

Do you think they'll do that?

(P.S. -- I adore the movie, too.)

[Jordan Catalano]

Rule of thumb: Kiss my ass

No this aparantely is happening. I liked him in it so this should be good.

[TheatreKid3]

I'm just still shocked the producers didn't want to go through what would have been a dramatic rise in grosses through the summer to the end of Nick's contract! This was a little sudden.

It would be a neat idea for a TV film. Even better if they had just filmed the show live.

[Gothampc]

Robert Morse as Biggley?

Meagan Hilty as Rosemary

And I doubt he'd do it, but Jim Parsons as Bud Frump.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Oh God NO!

[darquegk]

I'm thinking Robert Morse as Wally Womper would be wonderful.

Maybe get Danny DeVito or Ernie Sabella in to be Twimble. It's gonna be hard to find someone better suited for Frump than Jim Parsons, but unless it's a CBS production you probably won't get him.

[pitfever]

Wickerock:
At least now they'll be able to autotune him so he sounds like he's somewhere near the right key...

If you had listened to the a capalla versions of his songs on Glee, you will know he wasn't autotuned. But based on what you said, obviously you never had. But no surprised.

[CurtainPullDowner]

If you heard him live in the theatre, you would know he needs something to help him sing this score.

[Matt2]

I suppose this makes sense. Like it or lump it, Criss is a hot property right now and I can understand why they'll want to capitalize on that as much as they can while they still can. As I said in another thread, in a few years I think he'll be in a similar boat as Efron and Jonas: no longer the current teen heartthrob and unable to generate the same interest and bring in the $ from the ever-important, ever-fickle tween crowd. From what I know CPD is right, though I didn't get to see Criss in H2S, I did see the video clips of him in A Very Potter Musical. I found him charismatic and likable, but not always the strongest in the vocal department. However, as I said I have not seen him live so I really can't attest to his vocal abilities on the live stage. At least with a TV movie, he will have plenty of chances to get it right (not to mention a little help with autotune). And yes, from what I've heard, his voice will need a little "sweetening" at the very least.

Wonder which songs they'll keep and which they'll cut (*cough* "Coffee Break" *cough*), who they'll get to direct and how close they'll follow this revival as well as whether or not they'll cast some other "big names" in the other roles or go with relative unknowns.

[JulesReverie]

Darren Criss is definitely a songwriter before a singer (IMO that's his real talent, he honestly has the potential to be the next Alan Menken if he wasn't so consumed by Glee, the songs he wrote for the Potter Musicals and Starship Ranger were far beyond impressive for a low budget youtube musical)

Though I hope the news is true. Will it be an ABC wonderful World of Disney movie event(much like Once Upon a Mattress with Carol Burnett and Mathew Broderick's Music Man?), or a MTV recoding like Legally Blonde, or a PBS concert/special?

[AADA81]

I hope Disney doesn't get their hands on this. Their stuff is so bland and sanitized. I would like to see it though, if this happens. HTSIB is a very entertaining show and it would be great to get a more faithful adaptation.

I'm glad Darren Criss took this on too. He proved himself to be a real trouper. I'll admit that his vocals can be a bit wobbly at times, but he gave extra life to the show and brought some media attention to it. He knows his way around the TV medium so I'd like to see him get a shot at this.

[EponineAmneris]

I would LOVE a new TV version of the curent production... but with anyone OTHER than Criss.

I adore Daniel Radcliffe and I loved him in the role. He was perfect... But I realize it would hard to get him to a US TV movie despite the 'success' he had in the role.

I have to "Plead the Fifth" on anything regarding any of the Jonas Brothers because I was raised to say only nice things about people

I had NO idea who Darren Criss was before H2$...

Here's a cute picture, while we're on the subject

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Finchs-Nick-Jonas-Darren-Criss-Daniel-Radcliffe-Unite-at-Met-Gala-20120508

[Gothampc]

If any of you thought Darren's vocals were wobbly, you never saw Matthew Broderick in the 90's revival. With Broderick, you could close your eyes and hear what it sounded like if Katharine Hepburn was singing the role after filming On Golden Pond all day.

[ClumsyDude15]

I get why they would choose Darren for this, because as mentioned above - he's a rather large deal right now. However, he was the weakest of the three Finches - his characterization wasn't very well thought out/didn't truly fit how I think the character should be played, his vocals were not on par, and despite his energy, he just didn't do the role justice. However, because he is who he is and he made them boat loads of money, I'm not surprised they'd turn to him for such a project, especially considering from what I understand there was most certainly plans in place for him to return to the Broadway production post-Jonas.

He's a very talented (in other regards) and lovely guy, and I am a fan of his, but in How to Succeed? Not so much. I don't enjoy Finch being a clown, that's Bud's job. Personally? I'd have killed to see him play Frump, because then he could have hammed it up like he was doing nightly and not have it be almost completely out of the realm of the character.

"Lord. Tumblr is going to be unbearable."

Trust me, it already is. His fans are some of the most obnoxious people on the planet, and as a fan of his, it's sometimes hard to want to really support him because they're so insane.