Darren Criss takes us behind the scenes of Maybe a Happy Ending on Broadway

Darren Criss plays a robot in his new Broadway show, Maybe a happy endingbut make no mistake: IRL, he’s a real human being with nerves, enthusiasm and a ton of stories from his experiences on stage over the years.

“There are too many to count!” Criss, 37, exclusively reveals when asked what his craziest live performance experience has been in his Backstage Pass article from the latest issue of Us every weekon newsstands now. “Live theater is live theater. So many things happened that I couldn’t keep tabs on all of them.

THE Joy the last show of an elder, Maybe a happy endingopened on Broadway earlier this year following its successful appearances in shows like Little Shop of Horrors, Hedwig and the angry thumb And How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Although anything can happen in a live production, Criss revealed that his craziest live show experience happened during Small shop.

“There was heavy rain and flooding in the middle of the building and they had to evacuate about 15 minutes after it started,” the Emmy winner recalls. “And we couldn’t finish the show, and I was so angry for the people who came. So it was a pretty crazy experience.

Keep scrolling for more behind-the-scenes stories from Criss, including how he calms his pre-show nerves before taking the stage at the Belasco Theater to Maybe a happy endingwhich is now on Broadway:

Locker room ritual

Honestly, I’m not really good at it. On the contrary, I just try not to eat to match (my) performance. It’s a bit of a fundamental thing. There are no real rituals. My locker rooms are always pretty spartan. I don’t decorate it. I’m just here to do the work and celebrate a story.

I’m trying to get better at warming up. The best actors do that and I’m a bad student. I really need to improve in this area. So, I aspire to be someone with a locker room ritual.

The craziest live show experience

There are too many to count! Live theater is live theater. So many things happened that I couldn’t keep tabs on all of them.

I had an experience when I was doing Little Shop of Horrors and there was a flood in the midst. There was heavy rain and flooding in the middle of the building and they had to evacuate about 15 minutes after it started. And we couldn’t finish the show, and I was so angry for the people who came. So it was a pretty crazy experience.

On pre-show nerves

I think someone once told me that being nervous means you care. So it’s still good. I’m nervous, but not for the reasons you might think. It is for the desire to truly succeed.

Artists tend to set arbitrary goals that must be achieved to feel good about a performance, but this is a complete illusion. These are not real. You know, on any show, as long as you can hit 75 percent of the things you want to do, it’s usually going to be 100 percent of an experience for the audience.

How to calm nerves before the show

Put on the show. You’re the one doing the damn thing. There is no such thing as being brave. It’s just doing the stupid things that make you nervous. It is the act of being. We don’t become brave, we do it. I think making art frees you from the nervousness of worrying about what the art will be.

Ideal afterparty

A live band. I’ll probably go play with them whether they like it or not. Good whiskey, nice people, late hours and a little jazz.

With reporting by Lexi Carson