Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Darren Criss Gets Into the Holiday Spirit
Hot off the heels of his big Halloween announcement, Darren Criss is giving us a little Christmas surprise...Crissmas, rather. The singer-songwriter will be dropping his first holiday album A Very Darren Crissmas October 8 from Decca Records. The album features standard holiday tunes such as "The Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," as well as novelty songs and big-band standards like "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas" and "(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag." Adam Lambert and Evan Rachel Wood guest on the album, as does Lainey Wilson on the records sole original tune "Drunk On Christmas," written by Criss. The album can be preordered here on September 8, with a first listen to the single “Happy Holidays / The Holiday Season.”
New Dates Announced for Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers-Led Private Lives
Olivier winner Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers are finally hitting the road in the U.K. tour of Noël Coward's Private Lives. The Nigel Havers Theatre Company production of the classic comedy will begin performances October 28 at Theatre Royal Bath—a full year after it was originally slated to begin—before heading out in November to Richmond, Chichester, and Cambridge. Christopher Luscombe directs the production, which also stars Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Natalie Walter Sibyl, and Aïcha Kossoko. Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Moss Empires produce.
Bloomingdale's Celebrates Broadway With Opening Night Event
The New York department store will celebrate its hometown with performances from renowned Broadway productions, fashion and art activations, and culinary pop-ups from New York restaurants, all at the flagship store. Opening Night at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street kicks off September 9 with host Michael Urie and performances from several Broadway shows, including Dear Evan Hansen, Aladdin, The Lion King, Diana, and Wicked. Kelli Barrett and Jarrod Spector will also be on hand with a special performance. The event continues throughout the month with pop-up restaurants offering Broadway-themed bites and drinks, and FIT's annual public art project, Chalk FIT, showcasing student works inspired by Broadway productions. RSVP here.
Experimental Bitch Presents Announces 2021–22 Season
The feminist arts company Experimental Bitch Presents has announced two events for its upcoming third season, dedicated to developing and producing the work of emerging queer, trans, gender-expansive, and women artists. First up, the company joins the producing team for Nia Witherspoon’s Priestess of Twerk: Time Warp 332 B.C. (A Concert Experiment), a one-night-only event September 9 at HERE Arts Center. The salon, part of HERE RAW/Resident Artist Works 2021, features performances by Witherspoon, Normandy Sherwood, Annette Saddik and Richard Kaye, and is hosted by Murray Hill. October will see a fall workshop of Tanya’s LIT CLIT, Experimental Bitch's first original full length play. It is conceived by playwright Emma Goldman-Sherman and artistic director Tatiana Baccari, and written by Goldman-Sherman and directed by Baccari. Following development at The Tank this fall, the play will receive a full workshop production in Spring 2022. Read more about the shows here.
