While it may seem that Rock of Ages, the musical, is a laid-back fun performance, the truth of the matter is, it is a precision tool that all comes together under the direction of Kristin Hanggi, Broadway’s youngest director … that is, Broadway’s youngest Tony-nominated director.
Seeing the musical through eyes of writer Chris D’Arrenzo, Kristin has done an amazing job of transforming the world around the audience and taking them back to the days of their youth. “Over time, you can see the picture in their heads and it almost stops being in [the writer’s] head and becomes a picture between the two of you, like a movie on an imaginary screen.” Having a master’s degree in dramatic structure, Kristin was able to accomplish this with ease. “We knew what we wanted to create from early on and I love the experience of an audience walking into the theater. With Rock of Ages we were able to give [the audience] an atypical experience.” Hanggi is interested in making theater unique. Rock of Ages breaks the barrier of what theater is supposed to be. “That is what I want my theater to do. I want to walk in one way and leave another way. Theater can be sexy; it can be dangerous; it can feel like a concert; it can feel in a way kind of primitive. You don’t have to come to the theater to sit and hold your program,” she says.
Rock of Ages gave Kristin a great opportunity as it was filled with perfect ideas waiting to reveal themselves and Kristin has a passion for bringing those ideas to life through trial and error. She has cast people who she respects, and she trusts what they can bring to the table.
On May 5, Kristin received the shock of a lifetime. “I really wanted us to get nominated for best musical because our actors are so talented and it’s our little jewel of a show. I wanted people to really see what we were doing and that it wasn’t a little jukebox show. I was sitting having coffee and journaling while watching the nominations. I heard Constantine’s name and I said, ‘Oh, wow,’ and journaled it. Then all of the sudden, I said, ‘What did they say? Who was that?’” She had been nominated for best direction of a musical. “ I was totally in shock when they said my name. I remember watching the Tonys when I was younger and saying, ‘Okay, that is what I’m going to do with my life and some day … but to really work hard and be excited about it and then be recognized for it is mind-blowing. It’s incredibly surreal; I am totally grateful and feel that life is magical.”
While still directing theater, Kristin is currently directing her first movie, titled Dear Dumb Diary. It’s about a girl named Jamie Kelly and it captures the self-consciousness of being in middle school and feeling like the biggest loser while still having total delusions about your own grandeur. For example, Jamie, who knows where her popularity stands, decides to have a crush on the cutest eighth-grade boy in school, as she won’t dare cross the invisible boundary. Like most middle schoolers, Jamie generally keeps quiet and writes in her diary, which eventually becomes a musical. “It has a similar sense of humor as Rock of Ages but for middle schoolers,” she explains.
With Rock of Ages already a huge success, this is only the beginning for Kristin Hanggi. It’s true that she won’t stop believin’.