Interview: Darren Criss is Organizing the 'Ultimate Cast Party for Your Summer'- Elsie Fest!

There's no stopping Darren Criss. The GLEE veteran may have wrapped up his run in Broadway's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH earlier this summer, but his schedule has only become more complicated since. Criss will appear this Fall on FX's AMERICAN HORROR STORY: HOTEL, and he just returned from Italy, where he's been shooting a new film (currently titled SMITTEN). It doesn't end there. His real passion project of the moment is a event that he is both executive producing and performing in- Elsie Fest.

Dubbed New York City's first outdoor music festival, Elsie Fest will celebrate tunes from the stage and screen, on Sunday, September 27 (2-9PM) at JBL Live at Pier 97 (57th St and WestSide Highway in New York City). Performers will include Aaron Tveit, Darren Criss, Lea Salonga, Laura Osnes, Seth Rudetsky, Leslie Odom, Jr., and StarKid. Each set will be approximately 30 minutes. In between sets on the main stage, be sure to visit the Marie's Crisis beer garden, where pianists from this iconic West Village piano bar will be taking requests from your favorite musicals, and guiding everyone in massive singalongs along the Hudson River. A portion of the proceeds will benefit BroadwayCares: Equity Fights Aids. For additional information, visit: http://elsiefest.com/.

With just weeks until the big day, Criss just checked in with BroadwayWorld to update us on everything Elsie. Check out the full interview below!

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Let's start at the begininng. Where did this idea come from?

Honestly, I just thought it would be fun! I've been fortunate enough to cultivate relationships with a lot of really talented people in the past few years. There are a lot of people who I greatly admire who I've gotten a chance to meet and get to know. I just created these relationships and I've always wanted to put on some kind of festival that would be able to utilize their background in cabaret. I think there are a lot of people out there who don't know that they have that kind of background, so I wanted to make an event for those people.

So I was at Coachella or something and I was just like, "I love this vibe. I don't understand why I can't just put two and two together." I've been fortunate enough to get enough talent and meet enough people who were willing to facilitate this, that I figured, "Why not?"

When I go to see performers at typical cabarets at concert halls or lounges, I've found that people who love this... it's not a casual interest. If you love it, you really love it. There is an enthusiasm to that, but there's a certain protocol to these venues. You have to chill out a little bit because there is a formality to the room. I wanted to give this avid enthusiasm a venue worthy of their energy. So we wanted to put it outside to make it all more accessible. Music festivals aren't just about the concert. It's about the hang and the atmosphere.

What's the significance of the name?

There is definitely a significance, but I can't really tell you. I'll let people make their own conclusions... but when I go, I'm goin' like Elsie. That's the idea!

I so love the idea of the Marie's Crisis beer garden...

Me too! Like I said, the thing about festivals is that it's not just about the performers. You wanna give the fans a chance to interact and do different things. We are still putting together other things that will go on, and of course this is the first year, so there won't be a WHOLE lot, but the beer garden to me is the centerpiece. It's a chance to meet people and sing your little heart out. That will be there all day, in between sets. We don't want any of the performers to have to compete with a legion of Rodgers and Hammerstein devotees.

So this something that you want to be an annual thing?

This is only square one. I really hope to establish Elsie Fest as a music festival that both the Broadway-loving and cabaret-loving communities in NYC and at large can really look forward to. I really hope for it to be a New York City staple. I want it to be the ultimate cast party for your summer.

You have this great line-up of performers...

Yeah, I think we are at a really great starting place for something that I hope to really grow and expand. I couldn't ask for a better line-up this year though! And I'm not even mentioning all of the surprise guests that we're expecting! It will be chock-full of special appearances.

So let's do a lightning round. Tell me the first word that comes to mind when you think of each of these guys as performers. Let's start with Aaron...

Suave.

Laura.

Elegant.

Leslie.

Unreal.

Seth.

OMG.

Lea.

Iconic.

And then of course we have StarKid!

Fun! There are two things about StarKid that hadn't occurred to me initially. The last time we got to perform together was at the end of our second tour at Roseland, may it rest in sweet peace. That was one of the best show's we've ever played- that I've ever played. It was so much fun.

And they're the only group performing. They have this really great crowd vibe. I think that's one of the best things about festivals. You can walk around and see an act that you don't know before. It's a great chance to familiarize yourself with something new. Whether you're an old StarKid fan, or you have no idea, they are going to be so much fun, and they'll show a different side of what cabaret can be. They haven't done Broadway per say, but YouTube is now THE venue for theatrical music. Whether it's the Gregory Brothers or other original content. These people go out and do tours. So yeah, having them there is really special to me personally, but also as a symbol of where musical theatre is going.

I know you just got back from filming a new movie in Italy?

Yeah, it was good to be back! I've spent a lot of time there. Anytime that I've lived abroad for long periods of time it's always been in Italy. It was really fun shooting with an Italian crew and doing the work in another language.

Is it good to be back in the States?

I finished the film; took a day, went to Disneyland; went straight to New York for two days; came back here to go to the [Creative Arts] Emmys tomorrow; and then I fly right back to New York.

So I guess it's fair to say that you've been busy...

Yeah. [Laughs] There's a lot going on, but Elsie is taking up most of my time. It's exciting because it is a passion project and already in the short amount of time we've been working on it, although it seems like it's been forever, I already know what I would do next time. I'm learning. I make no claims to say that this is something that I'm totally prepared to do. I get excited by challenges and I'm so excited by the idea that this is so daunting and new. I'm in this for the long haul. I so want it to be a long-term thing.

I feel like this whole 'fame' thing happened pretty quickly for you. You practically became a household name with one song on GLEE...

I would never say 'household name'! Maybe household in our circles. It's an interesting thing- people will come up to you and go, "Are you famous?" And you have to say, "Well apparently not!" I always just say, "I have no idea." That is my answer.

Do you ever have pinch me moments? Like, "What is my life right now?"

Are you kidding me?! Every day of my life, man! I am on the phone with someone who I have never met, who is genuinely interested in what I'm doing. That inherently is nuts! And that we casually just grazed over the fact that I was just in Italy doing things that are, to me, THE DREAM! So yes, I'm constantly pinching myself. Always. My life is one big pinch.

We're about two weeks out from Elsie. in this moment what are you most looking forward to?

Considering that I don't just get to go and enjoy it, I'm looking forward to things coming together and going ok! I just hope nobody gets hurt! [Laughs] I just need the kid to put his shoes and socks on and get out the door into the school bus. Maybe he's got a little dirt on his face; maybe his shirt is untucked. That's OK. If he skins his knees, that's not the worst thing in the world. As long as he gets on that bus and comes home from school, that's all I need! Then we can worry about the next ride!

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Criss, musician, composer and actor, starred as Blaine Anderson on Fox's Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series Glee. He made his Broadway debut in January of 2012 as J. Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. With Criss at the helm, the revival made just over $4 million, which proved to be the most lucrative three weeks of its 11-month run.

Prior to his rise to stardom, the San Francisco-native pursued a BFA in Acting at the University of Michigan. In his senior year, he and his friends created what would become the viral YouTube hit, A Very Potter Musical. With that same group, Criss and his writing partners founded the now Chicago-based theater company, StarKid Productions, whose works have spurred multiple Billboard charting cast albums, and sold-out national tours. Their original show, Starship debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Cast Album, for which Criss composed and penned the lyrics. His additional film, TV and stage credits include Girl Most Likely opposite Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening, The Wind Rises withJoseph Gordon-Levitt, Web Therapy, ABC's Backstage with Disney on Broadway, Michael Feinstein's New Year's Eve Special on PBS as well as hosting duties for the NewNowNext Awards and Teen Choice Awards. He also opened, along with the Warblers for the Barbra Streisand MusiCares tribute.

Tickets for Elsie Fest are $49.50 or $250 for a VIP pass. Exclusive Meet & Greet packages are also available. For additional information, visit: http://elsiefest.com/.

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