What did our critic think of AN EVENING WITH DARREN CRISS at Emerson Colonial Theatre?
Review: AN EVENING WITH DARREN CRISS at Emerson Colonial Theatre
Just days after departing his Tony-winning role in โMaybe Happy Endingโ on Broadway, Darren Criss was onstage at Bostonโs Emerson Colonial Theatre for the first in a series of concerts that will take him from southern California to New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee between now and the end of September.
Opening with โItโs Not Unusual,โ Criss put his own vocals, and a few of his own gyrations, into what has been Tom Jonesโs signature song since it was first released 61 years ago. After reminding his Boston audience, โI was on Broadway just seconds ago,โ Criss shifted gears, taking to the piano to perform the plaintive โSomewhere Only We Knowโ by Keane, which he sang in season two of โGlee,โ and which in Boston floated to the highest rafters thanks to the Colonialโs exquisite acoustics.
Also for the many โGleeksโ โ fans of the Fox-TV series โ in the house, Criss, who played Blaine Anderson, lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers on the series, offered up a pitch-perfect rendition of Young Giantsโ โCough Syrup,โ a season-three number Blaine sang to his emotionally vulnerable friend Kurt (Chris Colfer).
The blending of classic and contemporary pop with tunes from both the American and Broadway songbooks proved to be the order of the day for the popular performer, and his tight backing band โ Devon Yesberger on keyboards, Chris Morrissey on bass, Tomek Miernowski on guitar, and pianist Thomas Pandolfi โ was with him on every twist and turn.
And since the Emerson Colonial is a legendary Broadway tryout house, it was only appropriate that Crissโs 100-minute set featured respectful asides about the theatreโs rich history as well as showtunes from a warm-toned โAlmost Like Being in Love,โ from Lerner and Loeweโs โBrigadoon, to a wonderfully well delivered โWhere or Whenโ from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical โBabes in Arms,โ which became a standard for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it three times, in 1945, 1958, and 1966.
Criss also made a lot of Olivia Newton-John fans happy with his spot-on cover of โHopelessly Devoted to You,โ written by John Farrar for the 1978 film version of โGrease,โ which Newton-John made a pop hit that same year and which was included in the showโs 2007 Broadway revival. Newton-Johnโs homeland was again in the air when Criss matched his richly expressive voice to what he called both a โnaughty songโ and โan ode to modern love,โ Pinkโs โWalk of Shameโ from her 2012 album โThe Truth About Love,โ released exclusively Down Under.
The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor and singer โ famed not only for โGleeโ but also for FXโs โThe Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Storyโ and โHollywood,โ as well as Broadway shows including ย the 2011 revival of โHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,โ 2014โs โHedwig and the Angry Inch,โ and the 2022 revival of โAmerican Buffaloโ โ didnโt forget his most recent Broadway triumph either.
Indeed, Criss served up two songs from the still-running 2025 Tony winner for Best New Musical, โMaybe Happy Ending,โ the South Korean show about two humanlike helper-bots with music by Will Aronson and lyrics by Hue Park which he co-produced and starred in on Broadway. After a lovely take on โHow to Be Not Alone,โ sung in the musical by Helen J. Shen, Criss delivered a moving โWhere You Belong,โ which he performed in the show.
The San Francisco nativeโs good humor was sprinkled throughout โAn Evening with Darren Criss,โ with his expletives-undeleted patter delighting his attentive audience. He also elicited laughter and stirred up good memories when he reprised his role as Harry Potter in the parody โA Very Potter Musical,โ for which he co-wrote the music and lyrics with his University of Michigan classmate A.J. Holmes. Produced by Starkid Productions, a company founded by Criss and his college classmates, the musical was first performed at UM in 2009. Its YouTube release marked a career breakthrough for the college alum.
Criss โ who has brought his โA Very Darren Crissmasโ tour to Bostonโs Wilbur Theatre and the Emerson Colonial in the past few years โ closed out his latest visit with a memorable performance of Katy Perryโs โTeenage Dreams,โ the first song he ever did on โGleeโ and, based on the loud applause it received, an audience favorite.
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Hi, my name is Derren Criss. I'm 5' 8" on a good day. Based in LA and New York and SAG-AFTRA and Equity. This is my audition for the part of Harry etc. for a A Very Potter Musical.
DARREN CRISS
- โช Goin' Back to Hogwarts | An Evening with Darren Criss atย Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill, NY | May 30, 2026 | ๐ฅ Kiara
Marlowe, a suburban salesman, roams a rural highway in search of answers. Plagued by premonitions, he is drawn deep into a nearby field, where he discovers an unsettling sight.
DARREN CRISS AS MARLOWE
- Under the Infinite | 2025 | USA | Sci-Fi | 15 minutes ๐ฅ Warren Fu
Marlowe, a suburban salesman, roams a rural highway in search of answers. Plagued by premonitions, he is drawn deep into a nearby field, where he discovers an unsettling sight.
DARREN CRISS AS MARLOWE
- Under the Infinite | 2025 | USA | Sci-Fi | 15 minutes ๐ฅ Warren Fu
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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DARREN CRISS
- Hi, Tiny Deskโฆ๐ค๐ถ Thanks so much again NPR Music for knocking on our door | Maybe Happy Ending: Tiny Desk Concert | March 05, 2026 | ๐ฅ IG
the Hudson Williams/Darren Criss meetup pic is great bc its such a good visual of 'X walked so Y could run' and now that we have a Y happily running its so clear X was never gonna handle more than a light jog
I spilled my tea. A light jog ?! when Darren Criss has been successful for 15 years in the industry and in various different projects ๐ณ? And Hudson some hit boy for 3 months?! The delusion is incredible lmao what the hell..
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the Hudson Williams/Darren Criss meetup pic is great bc its such a good visual of 'X walked so Y could run' and now that we have a Y happily running its so clear X was never gonna handle more than a light jog
I spilled my tea. A light jog ?! when Darren Criss has been successful for 15 years in the industry and in various different projects ๐ณ? And Hudson some hit boy for 3 months?! The delusion is incredible lmao what the hell..
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Free to watch โข No registration required โข HD streaming