Criss just finished his run starring in the critically acclaimed Broadway hit Maybe Happy Ending, directed by Michael Arden. Playing at the Belasco Theater, the show opened to unanimous rave reviews including a New York Times “Critic’s Pick.”

Before Darren Criss exploded into the internet’s subculture as both an actor and songwriter for the YouTube viral hit A Very Potter Musical in 2009, he had made a small name for himself playing unique interpretations of popular songs he’d perform at cafés and bars in his hometown of San Francisco. Little did he know that the same knack for covering tunes would serve him well in 2010, when he was cast on Fox’s massively successful musical series Glee, from which many of his performances of popular songs would lead to Billboard-topping records. In 2015 his songwriting also landed an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, from penning the song “This Time” for the show’s series finale.

Criss has continued to write and produce music extensively through the years, whether for his own releases as an artist or as a songwriter for theater, film, and television. In 2019 Criss created, executive produced, starred in, and provided all the original songs for his short-form musical comedy series Royalties, and he provided the music and lyrics for the opening number of the 2025 Tony Awards, “Act One.” As an artist, he delivered a genre-diverse collection of character-driven singles as part of his 2021 solo EP titled Masquerade (BMG), and in the same year he released a full-length Christmas album aptly titled A Very Darren Crissmas (Decca).

As an actor, Criss is a veteran of the stage whose Broadway credits include the titular role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015), J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2012), and Bobby in the 2022 revival of David Mamet’s seminal play American Buffalo alongside Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell. In 2018 his work in Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story received wide critical acclaim, earning him a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics Choice awards. He also starred in Netflix’s hit series Hollywood, for which he also served as executive producer.