Darren Criss to Headline Long Wharf Theatre’s Annual Benefit Concert on May 13
DARREN CRISS: A Concert for Long Wharf Theatre, will be held on Southern Connecticut State University’s campus and feature a performance by the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning artist
Tickets go on sale on Monday, March 25
New Haven, CT (March 14, 2024) — Long Wharf Theatre today announced the details of its annual benefit event entitled Darren Criss: A Concert for Long Wharf Theatre. The event will take place on May 13, 2024 at Southern Connecticut State University’s John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts for the second year in a row.
Sponsorships are on sale now on Long Wharf Theatre’s website; performance tickets will go on sale on March 25.
“This past season at Long Wharf Theatre has been awe-inspiring to witness and I could not be more thrilled to join the celebration in May,” said Darren Criss. “Long Wharf embodies artistic bravery at its finest and most exhilarating; its new model should serve as an example for the entire industry as we look to innovate and imagine new possibilities for presenting and performing work. I can’t wait to spend what’s certain to be an unforgettable evening with audiences in New Haven and hope you’ll join us.”
Since bursting onto the pop-culture landscape over a decade ago, Darren Criss has embodied the kind of kaleidoscopic artistry that’s entirely uninhibited by form or genre. The multi-hyphenates’ illustrious career spans television, film, music and stage. He’s currently starring opposite Evan Rachel Wood in the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors and can be heard as the voice of St. Peter in the hit Amazon series Hazbin Hotel. In 2021, Criss shared the Broadway stage opposite Sam Rockwell and Laurence Fishburne in “American Buffalo,” which received a Tony Award-nomination for Best Revival of a Play.
His portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy’s award-winning television series “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning Criss a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors’ Guild Award and Critics’ Choice Award. Known for playing Blaine Anderson on FOX’s global phenomenon “Glee,” he was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. He also received an Emmy Award nomination in 2015 for Best Original Music and Lyrics for the song “This Time,” which appeared in the series finale.
As a singer and songwriter, Criss released his first-ever holiday album entitled “A Very Darren Crissmas” on Decca Records in 2021. In it, he brought his radiant imagination and encyclopedic musical knowledge to a wildly eclectic collection of songs: big-band standards and novelty tunes, mid-century musical numbers and modern-day folk-pop ballads. Criss’ original track “Drunk on Christmas” featuring country chart-topper Lainey Wilson, showcased his effortless ingenuity as a songwriter. The result is an essential new entry into the holiday-music canon, both thrillingly unpredictable and touched with a timeless sense of Christmas magic. Made with Ron Fair, multi-Grammy® nominee and producer of numerous GRAMMY-winning hits, “A Very Darren Crissmas” also featured special guest appearances by Adam Lambert and Evan Rachel Wood.
“Darren is a dynamic, innovative performer whose acclaim spans theatre, film, music and more,” said Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director, Long Wharf Theatre. “He embodies the groundbreaking, energizing artistry that Long Wharf Theatre aims to bring in all of our performances across New Haven. We’re honored to have him join us for an incredible night of celebration and support for performing arts in our community.”
Since fully activating its new production model across New Haven, Long Wharf Theatre has presented sold out runs of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking and Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, both of which transformed New Haven homes, libraries and even the Canal Dock Boathouse to reinforce Long Wharf Theatre as an unparalleled hub for creative excellence. Both productions received rave reviews and near sellouts night after night.
DARREN CRISS: A CONCERT FOR LONG WHARF THEATRE will begin with a cocktail hour, silent auction and speeches from institutional leadership. This will be followed by a paddle raise to support Long Wharf Theatre’s vision to bring theatre, without barriers, to spaces and stages across the region. The festivities will include hors d’oeuvres, dinner and drinks, and an after party.
“Seeing our new model make waves in the New Haven community has been inspiring and motivating as we continue this new journey,” said Kit Ingui, Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “We’re grateful to work alongside community partners who help bring these theatrical experiences to life, so both new and long-time Long Wharf Theatre audience members can be constantly reacquainted with the magic of live theatre.”
In December 2022, Long Wharf Theatre announced the launch of a new partnership with Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), formalizing a more than thirty year long relationship between the two institutions. This collaboration embodies Long Wharf Theatre’s core pillar of kaleidoscopic partnerships, and jointly strengthens each institution, both of which have deep roots in the Greater New Haven community. In addition to SCSU hosting this year’s benefit event, the partnership also includes opportunities to engage the next generation of theatre artists and audiences through the formation of a paid internship program and special student discounts to Long Wharf Theatre productions.
On May 28, Adil Mansoor’s Amm(i)gone, a production by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with Kelly Strayhorn Theater, will be the final play in Long Wharf Theatre’s spring season hosted at the Theater and Performance Studies Black Box at Yale University.
Long Wharf Theatre will announce productions for its 2024-2025 season in the coming weeks.
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Land Acknowledgment
Long Wharf Theatre sits on the unceded territory of the Paugusset, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger peoples. We acknowledge that Indigenous peoples and nations have for generations stewarded the lands and waterways of what we now call the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land. We remind ourselves that along with stolen land came stolen people. It is our responsibility to the future to know our past.
About Darren Criss
Since bursting onto the pop-culture landscape over a decade ago, Darren Criss has embodied the kind of kaleidoscopic artistry that’s entirely uninhibited by form or genre. The multi-hyphenates illustrious career spans television, film, music and stage. He’s currently starring opposite Evan Rachel Wood in the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors and can be heard as the voice of St. Peter in the hit Amazon series Hazbin Hotel. In 2021, Criss shared the Broadway stage opposite Sam Rockwell and Laurence Fishburne in “American Buffalo,” which received a Tony Award-nomination for Best Revival of a Play. He also co-hosted “The Tony Awards: Act One” with Julianne Hough. The duo kicked off their hosting duties with a rousing performance of singing and dancing to an original tune written by Criss, titled “Set The Stage.” In 2015, he returned to the stage as Hedwig in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” In the titular role, critics alike raved, including The New York Times calling his performance “mesmerizing.” He made his Broadway debut in 2012 as J. Pierrepont Finch in “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” With Criss at the helm, the revival made just under $4 million, which proved to be the most lucrative three weeks of its 11-month run.
His portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy’s award-winning television series “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” was met with widespread critical acclaim, earning Criss a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors’ Guild Award and Critics’ Choice Award. Known for playing Blaine Anderson on FOX’s global phenomenon “Glee,” he was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. He also received an Emmy Award nomination in 2015 for Best Original Music and Lyrics for the song “This Time,” which appeared in the series finale.
As a singer and songwriter, Criss released his first-ever holiday album entitled “A Very Darren Crissmas” on Decca Records in 2021. In it, he brought his radiant imagination and encyclopedic musical knowledge to a wildly eclectic collection of songs: big-band standards and novelty tunes, mid-century musical numbers and modern-day folk-pop ballads. Criss’ original track “Drunk on Christmas” featuring country chart-topper Lainey Wilson, showcased his effortless ingenuity as a songwriter. The result is an essential new entry into the holiday-music canon, both thrillingly unpredictable and touched with a timeless sense of Christmas magic. Made with Ron Fair, multi-Grammy® nominee and producer of numerous GRAMMY-winning hits, “A Very Darren Crissmas” also featured special guest appearances by Adam Lambert and Evan Rachel Wood.
“A Very Darren Crissmas” was only the latest evidence of Criss’ singular gifts as a song interpreter. In 2021, he delivered a collection of character-driven singles as part of his solo EP titled “Masquerade” (BMG). In 2017, his EP “Homework” debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Album chart and in the same year, introduced his indie-pop band Computer Games. Through the years he’s also written songs for the comedy musical “Royalties,” “Central Park,” co-wrote “Starting Now” for Disney and performed by Brandy, and headlined the iHeartRadio Music Festival with Steve Aoki.
Prior to his television career, the San Francisco native pursued his acting degree at the University of Michigan. In his senior year, Criss and his friends created a Harry Potter musical parody entitled, “A Very Potter Musical” as a fun project for their classmates, friends and other Harry Potter fans. Along with starring as the boy wizard himself, Criss also lent several of his songs to be used in the show. Within weeks of posting the musical online, it became a YouTube hit, garnering millions of views and musical theater‐world attention.
Using “A Very Potter Musical” as a springboard, Criss and his writing partners started StarKid Productions. Within a year, they wrote and produced subsequent online hits like “Starship” and “A Very Potter Sequel,” both of which he wrote the music and lyrics for. As a result, the StarKid brand has grown to become just as popular as the shows themselves, spawning an enormous cult following from all over the world.
Criss and StarKid Productions appeared on the Billboard charts through four separate releases – all within the year 2012. These include the #1 spot on Billboard’s Top Cast Album for “Starship,” the #19 spot on the Top Compilations chart for “A Very StarKid Album,” and the #30 spot on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart with Criss’ self‐released EP “Human.”
Criss’ credits include host of ABC’s “The Queen Family Singalong,” “Muppets Haunted Mansion,” “Midway,” “Girl Most Likely,” “American Horror Story,” “Web Therapy,” and “Eastwick.” He is also the founder of New York City’s first show tunes music festival, Elsie Fest.
About Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven’s urban public university, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) is a comprehensive regional public university located in New Haven, Connecticut, that serves approximately 8,700 students across its undergraduate and graduate programs. First established in 1893 as a state teachers college, Southern has a time-honored mission of building communities and empowering lives through a commitment to access, affordability and social justice. The university prioritizes student access to excellent educators with practical experience and expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, extensive alumni connections, and students’ achievement of successful and meaningful careers. Each year dozens of student actors, directors, designers, and dramaturgs compete at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) regional festival, and in recent years, several have earned top honors at the regional level and have moved on to the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
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