Darren Criss Brings A VERY DARREN CRISSMAS to the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in November

Darren Criss: A Very Darren Crissmas comes to Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at FSW on Monday, November 27, 2023 at 7:30PM. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 15 at 10AM and can be purchased online at www.bbmannpah.com, call 239-481-4849 or in person at the Box Office, which is temporarily located at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena at FSW. 

Since bursting onto the pop-culture landscape over a decade ago, Emmy and Golden Globe winner 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. As a singer and musician he’s performed at many iconic music venues such as Hollywood Bowl, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, the O2 Arena (London), Roy Thomson Hall, and Davies Symphony Hall. This past summer, 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.

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