Photo Coverage: GLEE's Darren Criss Performs Live for Fans in Manila

Co-written with Jamie Ortega

Fellow Dalton Warbler Telly Leung ("Rent", "Flower Drum Song") replied via Twitter to BroadwayWorld.com (Philippines) that said "you're going to enjoy the show. Darren is a stellar performer" as we were on our way to cover Darren Criss's ("A Very Potter Musical") first ever live performance at the TriNoma, Ayala Mall three days before Christmas.

Criss, who is half Filipino and half Irish, greeted the packed audience (made up of young screaming fans; some parents in tow) with "Magandang Gabi" (which means "good evening" in Filipino) before launching into "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from the Disney animated film "Mulan" while strumming the guitar.

"It's good to be back in Manila among family and friends. For those of you who don't know me I am Darren Criss, I play music a lot. I have a little EP (extended play) that's called 'Human'. It's very acoustic and simple," shared the charmer before launching into "Jealousy", "Human" and "Not Alone"-- some of the versatile stage and TV star's original tunes.

Criss, who has always had a penchant for singing Disney songs, delivered his own rendition of "Little Mermaid's" "Part Of Your World", which he shared is one of his favorite songs. He also sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", a song Darren opined that is one of the best songs in the world. In between sets, Darren goofily joked that his green thermal sweatshirt made him sweat and was inappropriate for the Philippines's tropical climate, but that he was still having a lot of fun, nonetheless.

Though he was enjoying a measure of success through "A Very Potter Musical", which went viral in July 2009 with more than two million hits, Darren is more popularly known to the fans of hit US television series "Glee" as Blaine Anderson, the confidante and potential love interest of the show's lone gay character, Kurt Hummel. Criss also sang some of the songs he performed on "Glee", including Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and Train's "Hey Soul Sister".

"That's the first time I played that live in front of anybody ever, I thought the first time I should be doing something is here in Manila," shared Criss, referring to Train's "Hey Soul Sister", a confession which was met by raring approval from the audience.

Displaying versatility by switching from pop to show tunes, Darren continued singing songs from "A Very Potter Musical" namely "Granger, Danger" and "Coolest Girl". A highlight of the concert was when Criss sang "Get Back To Hogwarts", a 10-minute piece which was originally meant for five singers. Darren understandably stumbled on several lyrics but was helped out by several members of the audience who shouted the missing words. "There's a reason why I don't do it that often but I hope you enjoyed it," confessed the singer.

Halfway through the concert Darren deftly shifted from the guitar to the piano, singing songs "Sami", "Stutter", "Not Alone" and "No Way" from the musician's EP. For the finale, Darren sang "Teenage Dream", a tune which marked his first appearance on "Glee". After the episode was aired, this particular version climbed to number one on iTunes.

For the encore, Darren started off by saying "I cant wait to come back but till then.." before launching into a moving version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" adding to the festive mood of an already memorable evening.

According to the singer-songwriter's manager Ricky Rollins, Darren is currently writing songs for his new album aside from continuing his stint on "Glee". He is also writing the music for the try-out run of twelve performances of an original musical called "Starship", which opens in Chicago in February 2011 produced by StarKid -- the same team behind "A Very Potter Musical".

Photos by Oliver Oliveros

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