Darren Criss Launching Broadway Music Festival

Criss, who recently stepped down as the lead in Broadway show Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has joined forces with talent manager Ricky Rollins and producer Jordan Roth to create Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor event celebrating songs from the Great White Way.

The actor has taken inspiration for the new gathering from the popular Coachella music festival in California.

He says in a statement, "I was at Coachella and thought 'Let's do this for show tunes.' Musical theatre has been going through a wonderful shift in the past few years, from the type of work that's being produced to the way it's being consumed by the public.

"It's more than showtunes on Broadway - it's songs from film, TV and YouTube. Since the rules were already changing, I figured, why not shake up people's ideas of where to watch the performers they love. Enter Elsie."

Criss has recruited Broadway stars Lea Salonga, Aaron Tveit, Laura Osnes and Leslie Odom, Jr. for the inaugural Elsie Fest on 27 September (15).