$
Darren Criss standing in front of a red and yellow geometric background
Darren Criss standing in front of a red and yellow geometric background

Alan Cumming, Lea Michele, and Darren Criss to Headline Elsie Fest

Elsie Fest, the one-day outdoor music festival celebrates the stars and songs from the stage and screen, giving festival goers a unique experience to their favorite musicals, will feature Alan Cumming (Cabaret, The Threepenny Opera), Lea Michele (Glee), and Darren Criss (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) as this year’s headline talent. Making special appearances will be Ingrid Michaelson (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Alter Egos EP) and Broadway veteran Norm Lewis (Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera). The event will be hosted by Z100’s Elvis Duran.

Co-founded by Darren Criss, talent manager Ricky Rollins, and Broadway producer and Jujamcyn Theaters President Jordan Roth in 2015, this year’s event takes place on Sunday, October 8 at Central Park SummerStage in New York City. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Elsie Fest is executive produced by Darren Criss, Ricky Rollins, Jordan Roth and Dr. Sidney J. Stern. Elsie Fest is a The Bowery Presents production. As the festival draws near, additional talent and details will be made available.

Tickets to Elsie Fest are available via pre–sale code from ElsieFest.com today. General on-sale to the public will be available on Friday, August 4 at 11am EST on TicketFly.com. Doors open at 5pm; performances begin at 6pm. Exclusive meet and greet packages available for concert goers, as well as festival merchandise and singalongs from the famed West Village piano bar Marie’s Crisis.

Past performers include Evan Rachel Wood, Tituss Burgess, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Odom Jr., Pasek and Paul, Lea Salonga, Cynthia Erivo, Megan Hilty, Jason Robert Brown, and Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin.

Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.