Odds & Ends: Darren Criss to Release Holiday Album A Very Darren Crissmas & More

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

Darren Criss Wants to Sing to You This Holiday Season
Broadway alum Darren Criss is ready for the holidays! His debut holiday album, A Very Darren Crissmas, will release on October 8. The 12-track genre-bending album features guest appearances by Adam Lambert, Evan Rachel Wood and Lainey Wilson. The first single, "Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season," will be available to stream on September 8. Click here to preorder and get a sneak peek from what to expect from the album by watching the trailer below!

Full Casting Set for Broadway's Thoughts of a Colored Man
Keenan Scott II's Thoughts of a Colored Man has found its complete Broadway cast. The play will be directed by Steve H. Broadnax III and will open at the Golden Theatre on October 31. Newly announced cast members include Bjorn DuPaty and Garrett Turner, who join as understudies. The previously announced ensemble cast features Dyllón Burnside, Bryan Terrell Clark, Da’Vinchi, Luke James, Forrest McClendon, Tristan Mack Wilds and Keith David. Thoughts of a Colored Man weaves spoken word, slam poetry and rhythm into a mosaic of the inner lives of Black men. It will be the first play in Broadway history to be written, directed, starring and lead produced by Black artists.

Bradley Whitford & Francois Battiste to Play Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Tours
Two award-winning actors will take on the classic role of Ebenezer Scrooge in the previously announced upcoming touring productions of Jack Thorne's Tony-nominated A Christmas Carol. Emmy winner Bradley Whitford will take on the role in the production playing Los Angeles and Las Vegas with stops in Spokane, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona, while Obie winner Francois Battiste will play the role for the San Francisco-based production. Directed by Matthew Warchus, this stage reimagining of Charles Dickens' classic story is currently nominated for five Tony Awards.

Find Out Who's Joining Eddie Redmayne & Jessie Buckley in London's Cabaret
Willkommen! Casting is complete for London's upcoming Cabaret revival starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley. Joining Redmayne's Emcee and Buckley's Sally Bowles are Omari Douglas as Cliff Bradshaw, Liza Sadovy as Fraulein Schneider, Elliot Levey as Herr Schultz, Stewart Clarke as ‘Ernst Ludwig and Anna-Jane Casey as Fraulein Kost. The ensemble will feature Josh Andrews, Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman and Sophie Maria Wojna. The Rebecca Frecknall-helmed production will begin on November 15. Cabaret features music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, it takes place in Berlin as Nazis are rising to power and the relationships that form at the seedy Kit Kat Klub.

Theater Critic Andy Propst Dead at 56
Andy Propst, a beloved theater critic and biographer, died on September 6 after a long struggle with colon cancer. He was 56. Known for creating AmericanTheaterWeb.com, an early online home for America's not-for-profit theaters, Propst served as a theater critic and journalist for Backstage, The Village Voice, TimeOut and TheaterMania. His Cy Coleman biography You Fascinate Me So was released in 2015, which was followed by They Made Us Happy: Betty Comden & Adolph Green's Musicals & Movies andThe 100 Most Important People in Musical Theatre, both released in 2019.