Darren Criss Debuts at London’s Royal Albert Hall With Surprise Chris Colfer Duet in ‘Glee’ Reunion

Darren Criss reunited with his Glee co-star Chris Colfer on Sunday night (Oct. 18) at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where the two performed together for the first time in more than a decade. Criss, an Emmy- and Tony-winning actor, was making his debut at the venue with two back-to-back performances.

Criss joined Glee in season 2 in 2010 as Blaine Anderson, the lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers and the love interest, and eventual first boyfriend, of Colfer’s Kurt Hummel. Colfer was one of several surprise guests on Sunday.

Before Colfer appeared, Criss started singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” alone. Kurt and Blaine performed the duet in the season 2 episode “A Very Glee Christmas,” and the song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010. “I’m gonna do my best to sing both parts,” Criss told the audience. A few lines in, the crowd began cheering as Colfer walked out.

“Hey, Darren!” Colfer said, and Criss answered: “It’s been awhile!” The two had not performed together in more than a decade, since Glee ended its seven-season run in 2015.

“Do you know the words to this?” Criss asked Colfer, who replied: “I do.”

Video of the reunion is below.

Other surprise guests included Alan Cumming, who sang ABBA’s “Does Your Mother Know,” and Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo, who joined for “Lost Boys Life.” Criss wrote and recorded that original song with his late brother, Chuck Criss, for their band Computer Games. Sarah Hyland sang “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors, and her Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson performed Adele’s “Someone Like You.”

Criss first drew attention as a University of Michigan student, when he co-created A Very Potter Musical, a Harry Potter-themed musical that went viral online. On Sunday he performed “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” from the show with a group of stage performers: Glee‘s Alex Newell (Shucked, Once on This Island), Jak Malone (Operation Mincemeat), Natasha Hodgson (Operation Mincemeat) and Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen, Little Shop of Horrors).

For the grand finale, Criss returned to the Glee repertoire and performed with a local youth choir. They sang Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” and Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” two songs he covered on the Fox musical comedy.

Source: Billboard