Darren Criss Takes Us Backstage on Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway

Darren Criss plays a robot in his new Broadway show, Maybe Happy Ending, but don’t be fooled: IRL he’s a real human being with nerves, excitement and a ton of stories from his experiences on stage throughout the years.

“There’s too many to count!” Criss, 37, reveals exclusively when asked what his craziest live show experience was in his Backstage Pass feature in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “Live theater is live theater. There’s so many things that have happened that I couldn’t possibly keep tabs on every single one.”

The Glee alum’s latest show, Maybe Happy Ending, opened on Broadway earlier this year following his successful runs in shows like Little Shop of Horrors, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. While anything can happen in a live production, Criss revealed that his craziest live show experience occurred during Little Shop.

“There was a heavy rainfall and there was a flood in the middle of the building and they had to evacuate within, like, 15 minutes of starting,” the Emmy winner recalled. “And we didn’t get to finish the show, and I was so upset for the people that came. So that was kind of a wild experience.”

Keep scrolling for more behind-the-scenes stories from Criss, including how he calms his preshow nerves before he takes the stage at the Belasco Theatre for Maybe Happy Ending, which is now on Broadway:

Dressing Room Ritual

Honestly, I’m not really good at those. If anything, I just try not to eat close to [my] performance. That’s kind of a basic thing. There’s no real rituals. My dressing rooms are always pretty spartan. I don’t decorate it. I’m just there to do the work and celebrate a story.

I am trying to get better about warming up. The best actors do that and I’m a bad student. I really gotta get better at that. So, I aspirationally want to be somebody with a dressing room ritual.

Craziest Live Show Experience

There’s too many to count! Live theater is live theater. There’s so many things that have happened that I couldn’t possibly keep tabs on every single one.

I did have one experience when I was doing Little Shop of Horrors and there was a flood in the middle. There was a heavy rainfall and there was a flood in the middle of the building and they had to evacuate within, like, 15 minutes of starting. And we didn’t get to finish the show, and I was so upset for the people that came. So that was kind of a wild experience.

On Preshow Nerves

I think someone told me once that being nervous means you care. So that’s always good. I’m nervous, but not for the reasons you would think. It’s for the desire to really nail things.

Performers tend to make these arbitrary goalposts that you have to hit in order to feel good about a performance, but it’s a complete delusion. Those aren’t real. You know, every show, as long as you can hit 75 percent of the things you want to hit, usually that’s gonna be 100 percent of an experience for the audience.

How to Calm Preshow Nerves

Do the show. You do the damn thing. There’s no such thing as being brave. It’s just doing the s— that you are nervous about. That is the act of being. You don’t become brave, you just do it. I think doing the art frees you of the nervousness of worrying about what the art’s gonna be.

Ideal Afterparty

A live band. I’ll probably go up and play with them whether they’d like me to or not. Good whiskey, fun people, late hours and a bit of jazz.

With reporting by Lexi Carson