Lea Michele Sarfati is an American stage and television actress, singer, and songwriter. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Les Misérables (1995–1996), Ragtime (1997–1999), Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005), and Spring Awakening (2006–2008). Michele came to prominence playing Rachel Berry on the Fox series Glee (2009–2015), for which she received nominations for an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe and three Grammy Award nominations for music recorded for the series, also spawning multiple hits on the Billboard charts. Michele subsequently starred as Hester Ulrich on the Fox series Scream Queens (2015–2016) and as Valentina Barella on the ABC sitcom The Mayor (2017).
Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the show's primary musical group. Blaine initially served as a mentor for New Directions member Kurt Hummel. Chemistry between the two, combined with fan support for the couple, led series co-creator Ryan Murphy to pair them romantically. Their relationship has been well received by critics, and they have been named "the most beloved TV couples of the millennium" by Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post. At the beginning of the third season, Blaine transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions; concurrently, Criss was promoted from recurring guest star to the show's main cast.
StarKid Productions, also known as Team StarKid, is an American musical theatre company founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. Originally known for the viral success of their first musical, A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter series, the troupe primarily produces musical comedies inspired by pop culture, with original scripts, songs, and music. StarKid distributes their musicals for free on YouTube, with recent projects being funded by Kickstarter and physical ticket sales.
Darren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series Glee (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). He has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums.
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album is the fourth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, produced by Ryan Murphy and Adam Anders. The album was released digitally on November 9, 2010, with physical copies available from November 16, 2010. It accompanies the second season episode "A Very Glee Christmas", which aired on December 7, 2010. Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk serve as the album's executive producers. The album debuted at the top position of the Billboard Soundtracks chart, and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. Songs from the album also landed on various different record charts across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
A Very StarKid Album contains several songs from the musical A Very Potter Sequel, sequel to the Harry Potter parody musical A Very Potter Musical, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden. The album features seven of the twelve songs from A Very Potter Sequel as well as tracks from others members of the group. Songs from the musical that were absent from the album were later released as the A Very Potter Sequel soundtrack. The album was released digitally through iTunes and Amazon.com on July 22, 2010, and was made available on the StarKid Productions Bandcamp page on August 3, 2010. The album reached No. 14 on the iTunes Pop Charts and No. 27 out of all Top Albums officially topping Lady Gaga (#29) and Glee (#31) on the charts. The album also reached No. 19 on Top Compilations.
The A Very Potter Sequel cast extended play (EP) contains songs from the musical A Very Potter Sequel, sequel to the Harry Potter parody musical A Very Potter Musical, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden, that were not released on A Very StarKid Album. The EP was released digitally on July 31, 2010, through the group's Bandcamp site.
Me and My Dick (A New Musical) contains the songs from the musical Me and My Dick, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by A.J. Holmes, Carlos Valdes, and Darren Criss, and book by Eric Kahn Gale, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. It was recorded by the musical's cast and was released digitally on January 6, 2010, through iTunes. The soundtrack became the first-ever student-produced college musical to reach Billboard, debuting at No. 11 on the Top Cast Albums chart.
The Starship album contains the songs from the musical of the same name produced by StarKid Productions, with music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, and Joe Walker. It was recorded by the musical's cast and was released digitally on April 30, 2011, through iTunes and Amazon.com. The album debuted at No. 134 on Billboard 200 and No. 1 for Top Cast Albums. The album also reached No. 4 on iTunes.
Starship is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, and Joe Walker.
A Very Potter Sequel is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film counterparts.
A Very Potter Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A. J. Holmes and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film adaptations.
Me and My Dick is a musical with music and lyrics by A.J. Holmes, Carlos Valdes, and Darren Criss, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden and Eric Kahn Gale.
Human is the debut EP released by singer-songwriter Darren Criss. Criss independently produced the EP and it was released digitally on July 20, 2010. The EP reached No. 17 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. As of April 2013, the EP has sold 27,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielson SoundScan.
The SPACE Tour live album contains the songs from the tour of the same name by StarKid Productions. It was recorded at the tour's last concert at the Gramercy Theatre, New York City on November 27, 2011. The album features live performances of songs from the group's previous productions, and was released digitally on March 13, 2012 through iTunes and Amazon.com. A physical compact disc was later released on March 23, 2012.
The Apocalyptour live album contains the songs from the tour of the same name by StarKid Productions. It was recorded at one of three concerts at the House of Blues, Los Angeles in May 2012. The album features live performances of songs from the group's previous productions, and was released digitally on October 2, 2012 through iTunes and Amazon.com. A physical compact disc was released on the same day via the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company.
A Very Potter Senior Year is a musical written by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden with songs by Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers, A. J. Holmes, and additional songs by Darren Criss. It is the conclusion of the Very Potter trilogy of Harry Potter-inspired musicals produced over four years by StarKid Productions. Rather than a full musical, as with its previous installments, the production took the form of a live staged reading of the script with performances of the songs at LeakyCon in Chicago, Illinois, on August 11, 2012. It featured nearly all of the StarKid actors and actresses who had starred in previous StarKid shows to date, including actor Darren Criss, who returned to the company to reprise his role as Harry Potter, and Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, who played the character in the original film series.
"Bash" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 103rd episode overall. Written by Ian Brennan and directed by Brad Buecker, it aired on Fox in the United States on April 8, 2014. Special guest star Whoopi Goldberg returns as NYADA dean Carmen Tibideaux, and the episode features several songs by Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim.
Carlos David Valdes is a Colombian-American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Cisco Ramon / Vibe on The CW television series The Flash and other Arrowverse-related projects.
"This Time" is an original song written by Darren Criss for "Dreams Come True" (2015), the series finale episode of American musical television series, Glee. It was recorded by cast member Lea Michele as her character, Rachel Berry, and is credited collectively to the Glee cast. "This Time" and the other songs performed in the episode were included on an extended play titled Glee: The Music, Dreams Come True, which was released on March 17, 2015, three days before the episode aired.
