From YouTube to Carnegie Hall - WSJ.com

By ELLEN GAMERMAN

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? YouTube.

At least that’s John Green’s answer. The best-selling author, a YouTube sensation with his brother, Hank, makes his Carnegie Hall debut Tuesday with “John and Hank Green: An Evening of Awesome.”

The sold-out event, a roughly two-hour variety show in the Stern Auditorium, marks the one-year anniversary of the release of “The Fault in Our Stars,” Mr. Green’s runaway hit about teens with cancer. After word about the show spread online, the nearly 3,000-seat space sold out within 10 days.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green

The event will feature the speedy commentary and goofy free-association that have become the Green brothers’ trademark. The Greens, who appear in online videos as the Vlogbrothers, have attracted more than 281 million views on YouTube. In a recent video, John Green gabs about going on vacation without his computer just before the New York show. “I’m going to do it because I think it’s good for my mental health, particularly in advance of Carnegie Haaaaaaaall,” he sings, “which is the sound that my anxiety makes.”

On the phone from that vacation in Mexico, Mr. Green said he wasn’t joking—he’s a little terrified about appearing on a stage he has only seen from the upper balcony. When he gets nervous during his book tours, he either chats with his brother backstage to cut the tension or throws up.

John Green, who has more than 1.3 million Twitter followers, famously harnessed the power of social networking before the release of “The Fault in Our Stars” when he went online to announce its title and promised to sign the entire first print run. The book hit No. 1 on Amazon.com AMZN +0.98% before he’d even finished writing it.

Mr. Green, 35, said his book events include his charismatic brother, who sings and plays guitar, to add a little showbiz: “My talent is sitting in my basement and spending years writing a novel.”

Write to Ellen Gamerman at ellen.gamerman@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared January 11, 2013, on page D7 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: YouTube to Carnegie Hall.

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From YouTube to Carnegie Hall - WSJ.com

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