Darren Criss To Headline Long Wharf Theatre's Annual Benefit Concert This May

Long Wharf Theatre has announced that award-winning stage, music, and television star Darren Criss will headline their annual benefit in 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. 

“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.”  

“Darren is an incredibly dynamic, innovative performer whose acclaim spans theatre, film, music and more,” said Jacob 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 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 to 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 community partnerships, and jointly strengthens each institution, both of which have deep roots in Greater New Haven. 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, Amm(i)gone, a production by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with Kelly Strayhorn Theater, will make its first national tour stop in New Haven as 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. 

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. 

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.