Odds & Ends: Listen to Darren Criss' New EP Masquerade & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you might have missed recently.

Darren Criss Releases New Music
Happy new music Friday, theater fans! Stage and screen fave Darren Criss has released five glorious tracks of new music. His new EP Masquerade hit earbuds on August 20. As previously reported, the 2021 edition of the Criss-founded Elsie Fest will take place on August 29 at the 2021 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at the Prospect Park Bandshell. Gear up by familiarizing yourself with his newest songs below!

Go Inside The Lion King Rehearsal Room
Broadway returning has got theater lovers all in their feels, and this incredible look inside The Lion King's first rehearsal is no exception. The Broadway cast began rehearsals this week for the company’s reopening next month. As previously announced, The Lion King will resume performances on September 14 at the Minskoff Theatre. Watch as director Julie Taymor addresses the cast before they sing through "Circle of Life" for the first time since March 2020. The performance is led by Tshidi Manye who plays Rafiki.

Jeremy O. Harris' Gossip Girl Play Commissioned by The Public 
You read that right. Tony-nominated Slave Play scribe Jeremy O. Harris makes a cameo in HBO Max's Gossip Girl reboot, and The New York Times reports that his fictitious play in the series—The Bloody and Lamentable Tale of Aaron—has been commissioned by The Public Theater. Harris began writing the play for Gossip Girl after chatting with the show’s creator, Joshua Safran. Upon seeing the play’s opening scene during the Gossip Girl taping, Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, who also made a cameo as an audience member in the episode, asked Harris about commissioning the work. Additional details regarding this somewhat sequel to Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus will be revealed later.