You know those concerts in which performers sing their songs beautifully but barely utter 10 words to the audience? Yeah, that’s not a Darren Criss concert.
The Emmy-winning TV and Broadway actor brought his “Very Darren Crissmas” concert to Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on a wintry-by-Florida-standards Wednesday night.
Best known for TV’s “Glee” (he played show-choir star Blaine) and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (he won an Emmy as sociopath serial killer Andrew Cunanan,” Criss proved he’s just as fun to watch when he’s being himself.
As evidenced at the nearly 2-hour show, “being himself” means excitedly giving a sort of backstage tour of his 2021 holiday album, passionately providing musicology lessons — do you know the time signature for a waltz or what an imperfect rhyme is? — and generally making everyone feel like we’re all just friends hanging out.
He talks like he’s with pals; in fact, Santa might put him on the naughty list for the cursing, but the overall vibe of the show is just too darn nice. Criss is part Dean Martin, part musical-theater nerd, part overexcited grade schooler awaiting Santa’s arrival — and all of it seems equally natural and charming.
Backed by five solid musicians and singer Hannah Winkler (who also tinkled the glockenspiel), Criss came on strong with an amped-up, get-this-party-started take on Joni Mitchell’s “River” — too often covered as a drippy snoozer. He breathed similar life into “Christmas Cliches,” another song that can suffer under the weight of its own sentiment.
While he covered multiple genres, Criss scored big with the swing-jazz style in a peppy “The Holiday Season,” “(Everybody’s Waiting for) The Man With the Bag” and “Winter Wonderland.”
An inspired trio of lesser-known songs musically satisfied, as well, and elevated the evening above standard holiday fare: John Mayer’s “St. Patrick’s Day” about winter love was delivered earnestly. “Welcome Home” from the musical ‘Fanny” — a show that provided Criss’s first big stage role, he shared — charmed in its simplicity. And Regina Spektor’s “New Year” told a powerful story of gratitude.
A classic take on “The Christmas Song” beautifully displayed Criss’s impressive vocal range, as well as his talent for breath control.
Darren Criss brings his Christmas show to Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center
But my favorites, for sheer originality, had to have been a grooving take on “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas” that threatened at the start to be delivered in hip-hop style but then bopped along into a slinky sort of rhythm, complete with interpretive dance moves, and Criss’s cutely comic original “Drunk at Christmas” that not only featured clever lyrics, a Nashville twang and Winkler’s harmonies — but actually gave me a cocktail idea.
In the song, Criss rhymes SoCo with cocoa. As a Southern Comfort fan, how have I never thought of this recipe for holiday cheer?
Before wrapping up with his lively and catchy “Christmas Dance,” in special “Orlando only” encores, he galloped through a crowd singalong of “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts,” performing all the roles from the opening number of “A Very Potter Musical,” the 2009 parody created by Criss and college friends that helped launch his career. That was followed by a tender but not saccharine version of “When You Wish Upon a Star,” in which he accompanied himself on the piano while the audience fell into rapt silence.
Criss had plenty of things to say — and sing — about Orlando, launching a cappella at one point into the “Orlando, I love you” bit from Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon.” He had spent the day in theme parks, it appeared, and in one story, managed to use Harry Potter’s dementor-dispelling charm as a verb, as in “He Expecto Patronum-ed it,” which I approve of.
He remembered performing in Orlando before, during the 2016 post-Pulse “From Broadway With Love” benefit but was a little fuzzy on the fact he sang in the arts center’s Walt Disney Theater as Steinmetz Hall had not yet been built. He was appreciative of the magnificent hall, though: “This is an incredible venue,” he enthused, later reiterating, “This is such a beautiful spot.”
With self-deprecating humor, he teased his loquaciousness: “Come for the tunes, be held hostage for the chat.” In the end, both were part of the fun.
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