It's hard to believe another insanely busy week on Broadway is over, but it's even harder to believe we managed to narrow this week's lessons down to 10! The Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards were a fun-filled, face-licking lesson goldmine, with everyone from Darren Criss to Jeremy Jordan to Laura Osnes spilling their guts on stage and off. Click on below to learn all about these stars and many, many more.
Darren Criss Knows What a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Tastes Like
Darren Criss loves his Audience Choice Award so much, he made out with it. The Glee dreamboat won the award for Best Replacement for playing J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed, and at the after-party, he showed his appreciation for the honor with some serious tongue-on-award action. Glad to know you love it as much as we do, Darren.
Susan Blackwell Knows What Darren Criss Tastes Like
Darren Criss fans everywhere were green with envy when Susan Blackwell gave him her signature face lick at the Audience Choice Awards after-party. But Criss was ready for her, and when she was mid-lick he launched a counter-attack of epic face-licking proportions. “Let it be known that that’s what happens when you lick people!” Criss declared before wisely clarifying, “This is not an encouragement to lick my face, because you are not Susan Blackwell. She has special privileges.” Aw, nuts! Tongues away, people.
Kelli O’Hara Dreams of Filling a Sexy Broadway Star Sandwich
Things got R rated when Nice Work star Kelli O’Hara shared feelings with Susan Blackwell about her fellow Broadway.com Audience Choice Award nominees. As soon as Blackwell said, “Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis” (nominated for Favorite Onstage Pair for their performance in Porgy and Bess), O’Hara responded, “If there’s sex, I want to be in the middle. A sex sandwich!” Watch out Kelli, soon that’ll be on the menu at Sardi’s.
Adam Chanler-Berat Spills the Dirty Secret of Awards Shows
You think actors go to awards shows for the awards? Wrong. They go for the free booze. “Now we’re at the best part of the evening,” Peter and the Starcatcher's Adam Chanler-Berat said as the Audience Choice Awards party got started, “the eating and drinking part.” Ghost’s Caissie Levy agreed. “This is the reason people come—for the bar after the show.” All we’ll say is we are shocked—shocked!—that there is drinking going on in this establishment.
John Lithgow Is More Murderer Than Muckraker
When John Lithgow chatted with Broadway.com about some of his favorite roles, we were surprised to hear that his “Role That Was Least Like Me” is the one he’s currently playing, journalist Joseph Alsop in The Columnist. He may be nothing like the “mercurial, volatile” Alsop, but let’s be honest, we expected that honor to go to the creepy serial killer he played on Dexter. But hey, we'd never argue with a Tony winner (especially one who might kill us).
Jeremy Jordan Doesn’t Play Favorites
Jeremy Jordan had a difficult choice when heading into Broadway.com’s prop-filled photo booth after the Audience Choice Awards: machine gun or newsboy cap? The Newsies and Bonnie & Clyde star went with both, and was equally even-handed about leading ladies Kara Lindsay and Laura Osnes. “I would take half of one and half of the other and just make a super scene partner, ” he told Broadway.com. See that diplomacy? That is how you get to headline two big musicals in one season.
Linda Loman Loves Reality TV
She’s playing a 1940s housewife in Death of a Salesman, but Linda Emond spends her downtime in a decidedly 21st century pursuit: watching reality TV. “Love RuPaul’s Drag Race; love Deadliest Catch—that show just kills me,” she told Broadway.com. “The ocean is a scary motherf**ker!” Do you play Linda Loman with that mouth, Linda?
All James Corden Needs is Love
One Man, Two Guvnors funnyman James Corden revealed some deep dark secrets when he sat down in front of the Broadway.com camera on Tony nominee press day. What’s the best thing he’s ever won? Corden’s first answer of a “BAFTA” lasted only a moment before he realized his mistake. “Wrong,” he said. “The affections of my girlfriend.” Whew! Nice save, James.
Celia Keenan-Bolger Cleans Up Real Nice
Peter and the Starcatcher’s Celia Keenan-Bolger looked very different in her several appearances on Broadway.com this week. She made the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards fashion round-up in a fabulous fuschia dress, then did a 180 and surprised us in her dressing with what she calls her “Eleanor Roosevelt teeth” (and we just call disgusting). We’ll let you guess which one she got at J. Crew.
Laura Osnes Thinks She Can Whoop Patti LuPone
After the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, Susan Blackwell asked some leading ladies which other nominee they could take in a cage match and "Favorite Diva" winner Patti LuPone kept coming up. Bonnie & Clyde vet Laura Osnes singled out LuPone as the nominee she could take on ("I have more stamina!"), while Ghost’s Caissie Levy picked LuPone as the one she would never mess with ("She scares me!"). Looks like there's only one way to settle this: with an actual cage match at next year's awards. Who's in?