Elsie Fest is an annual music festival in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

co-created and produced by

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2010–2015) and received a Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award and ...

, Ricky Rollins,

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati ( ; born August 29, 1986) is an American 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), ''Fid ...

, and Jordan Roth. The yearly festival is touted as "New York City’s first outdoor music festival celebrating tunes from the stage and screen". Elsie Fest's inaugural event was held at

's JBL Live at Pier 97 on September 27, 2015. A portion of the proceeds benefited ''BroadwayCares/Equity Fights AIDS''.

History

Elsie Fest was first held in 2015 by founder and creator Darren Criss. The annual outdoor festival features music from stage and screen sung by popular

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

performers. The festival is named after a character in the song ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'' from the musical of the same name.

Notable performers

The 2015 line-up included performers

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

(special guest Darren Criss), Team Starkid,

Seth Rudetsky Seth Dennis Rudetsky is an American musician, actor, writer and radio host. He currently is the host of ''Seth's Big Fat Broadway'' and ''Seth Speaks'' on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's '' On Broadway''. The show focuses on Rudetsky's knowledge of ...

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, '' Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcour ...

(special guest

Aaron Tveit Aaron Kyle Tveit (; born October 21, 1983) is an American actor and singer. Tveit originated the lead role of Christian in the stage adaptation of ''Moulin Rouge! (musical), Moulin Rouge!'' on Broadway theatre, Broadway, a performance for which ...

(special guest

Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him ...

(special guest

), and Darren Criss (special guests Tyler Glenn,

A Great Big World A Great Big World is an American musical duo from New York made up of singer/songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King and signed to Epic Records. The group is best known for their single "This Is the New Year", which was performed by the cast in an epi ...

and Team Starkid). The second annual Elsie Fest was held on September 5, 2016, at the Ford Amphitheatre on Coney Island, NY. The line-up included:

Megan Hilty Megan Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical'', and her Tony Award– ...

Tituss Burgess Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals and is known for his high tenor voice. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series '' Unbre ...

Todrick Hall Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985) is an American singer, rapper, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition ''American Idol''. Following this, he amassed a following on Yo ...

Lena Hall Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal (born January 30, 1980), known professionally as Lena Hall, is an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Tony Award for her performance as Yitzhak in the 201 ...

Jason Robert Brown Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...

, Corey Cott, Rebel and a Basketcase (

Evan Rachel Wood Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. She began acting in the 1990s, a ...

& Zach Villa), Pasek and Paul , Darren Criss, Julie James,

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

Caleb McLaughlin Caleb Reginald McLaughlin (born October 13, 2001) is an American actor. He gained international recognition playing Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). He began his career playing young Simba in the Broadw ...

Gaten Matarazzo Gaetano John "Gaten" Matarazzo III ( , ; born September 8, 2002) is an American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Benjamin in '' Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' (2011–12) and as Gavroche in ''Les Misérables'' (2014–15) ...

, and

Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya (Anastasia), Anastasia in ''Anastasia (1997 ...

Elsie Fest returned for its third production on October 8, 2017, at Central Park's

Summerstage The City Parks Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that provides free arts, sports, education, and community-building programs in parks across New York City. Founded in 1989, the Foundation operates in more than 400 parks, recre ...

and amassed a crowd of more than 4,000 fans. The line-up included:

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

, Jeremy Jordan,

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "The Way I Am (Ingrid Michaelson song), The Way I Am" and her 2014 single "Girls Chase Boys", both of which achieved success ...

Norm Lewis Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway and in London's West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He is also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second ...

Auliʻi Cravalho Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000) is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut as the voice of the title character in the Disney animated musical film '' Moana'' (2016) and reprised her role in the 2024 sequel. ...

Keala Settle Keala Settle (born November 5, 1975) is an American actress and singer. Settle originated the role of Norma Valverde in '' Hands on a Hardbody'', which ran on Broadway in 2013, and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Awar ...

, cast from

The Band's Visit ''The Band's Visit'' () is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-production between Israel, France and the United Sta ...

, and cast members from

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

. In 2018, Elsie Fest returned to Central Park's Summerstage on October 7, and featured performances from: In 2019, Elsie Fest announced its annual festival would be held on October 5, 2019, again at Central Park's Summerstage. The line-up included: In 2020, Elsie Fest was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, it was held during the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival at the Prospect Park Bandshell. The line-up included:

References

{{music-festival-stub Music festivals in New York City 2015 establishments in New York City Festivals established in 2015