Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Side Dish: More Darren Criss

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

More of my interview with 'Glee’ and ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ star Darren Criss. Darren tells me about recently crashing a ‘Glee’ themed fitness class, a favorite moment with the theater icon Stephen Sondheim and we get into the unexpected ‘Glee’ moment that had another life on TikTok. This episode was recorded at Win Son Bakery in Manhattan’s East Village. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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for your first box plus free dessert for life. Go to homechef.com slash dom. That's homechef.com slash doom for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here's a little side dish from this week's episode of Dinners on Me. This week's guest is Darren Chris, and you know him from shows like Glee and his Emmy Award-winning turn in the assassination of Gianni Versace, American Crime Story. He's had a career that's moved effortlessly from television to Broadway to film. We met up at Winson Bakery in Manhattan's East Village. Over Scallion Pans, pancakes oozing with cheese, eggs, and bacon.

Darren tells me about meeting his all-time hero, also one of mine, I might say, Stephen Sondheim. You know, Sweeney Todd, into the woods, that's Stephen Sondheim. We also get into a Glee cover close to his heart and how he became co-founder of Elsie Fest, dubbed Broadway's music festival, which he started over a decade ago. To get back into the conversation, you're pulling up a chair just as Darren is telling me about crashing a Glee-themed soul cycle class. I went to a glee ride at SoulCycle last week. A glee ride? Yeah, it was a glee themed ride.

Oh my god. And I was really mad because I had a couple glee things I wanted to wear. And I was like, I did one of those things when you make a mess of your room and search for one item and it's just fucking bedlam. And I was looking for my, I have like a Leo Michelle tour like cut off t-shirt. Perfect. It's like, I gotta find this thing. I couldn't find it. It was driving me nuts.

But anyway, it was fun. I like to be a little esoteric, too. Like, we went to the Taylor Swift concert. Of course. And I wore a cat's t-shirt. Because she loves cats. She loves cats. She was in cats.

She was in, less we forget, less we forget. A part written for her, if I'm not mistaken. Pretty much. I know, yeah. That movie, for all its fun, camp and kitsch lore, the movie, specifically. Yeah. That is, I mark it as one of the most fun, the most fun I've ever had at a movie theater. Me, too.

I was screaming. screaming, howling, because I didn't see it like opening weekend with expectations. I did. Okay, well then you're way ahead of the curb because I saw it two months after. Oh my God. It had already garnered something of a divisive response. So it was like seeing Rocky Horror at like midnight. The entire crowd, there's videos of it. It was like any, every few minutes it was like cats, cats, cats, cats. People were screaming and it was an absolute ball. I mean, it's kind of a fever dream that that movie got made, and I'm so glad it did.

It's only going to exponentially grow. I know, I know, I know. We're here to watch its rise. But, like, the fact that it has, like, Dame Judy Dench and, like, Ian McKellen, like, literally licking cream out of, like, a saucer. Yeah, that happened. They got all those people to do that. People got paid. Like, that, it happened.

It happened for Hudson crawling in, making an entrance crawling. I mean, it's genius. Wait, I need to hear more about the gleeful. SoulCycle. Oh, it was great. Yeah, you know what's funny? Like, these are things like, I feel like if I gave enough of a shit to really harness the power of social media, I'm sure I could make these a thing. While I'm there, I'm taking videos and stuff, and I'm going, these will never go anywhere except my phone. But, uh, yeah, it's, we did a lot of songs on that show. Yes, you did. A lot of songs you can do a spin ride. Of course.

Well, they knew it was a ride and I was like, I'm going to come to this. I don't really do spin, but I thought it would be fun. Yeah, they didn't know where you're coming. They didn't know it was coming. It was a special occasion for a friend of mine. Did you bring any friends with you from the show? No, but I definitely took videos and sent to everybody. I sent to the people that are on Broadway now. Yeah, likely.

Because Kevin McHale's in your spelling bee. Not your hour, the royal. I'll claim it. Your, that's your show that you were part of. So, Kevin, by the way, I thought he was Coney Bear. He struck me as a Coney Bear. He'd be a great Coney Bear. He's a genius part of me.

That's what everybody says. And somebody came up to the other day being like, I saw this great show called Spelling Bee and the guy that played Barthay who's so good. I'm like, you mean Kevin McHale? So I don't know about Kevin Kippmanale because I just have to say I'm so glad that he's doing Broadway. I've been like trying to usher him to do this forever.

I mean, Leah, Michelle obviously had done Broadway before and Jonathan Groff. But like you and Kevin and you as well. I mean, you're like destined for Broadway. I'm also a theater kid in that. Like I did theater as growing up, but I already had like a yen for it. It was something that was always in my sight line.

Whereas I had this thing about Broadway. Broadway, I put in the same category as Latin music, jazz, and country music. Stay with me. And the four of those categories to get with Broadway being the fourth category, the four of those categories are robust, huge traditional catalogs that have a whole lot of heritage and history and standards.

That if you didn't grow up with it, it's hard to sort of inject after the fact. That's a good point. And so there are people that grew up with Latin music and we can go to any number of great Latin music clubs around town in New York. And if it's in your bones, you're like, oh, this one, and you know it. And for me, as like a super gringo, I'm like, I don't know this tune. I don't realize it's like a standard in the way that we go to Marie's Crisis

and we're like, obviously, this is from company. Or if you go to a honky tonk in National and they play Woody Guthrie Guthrie tune or some, you know, some classic. Everybody in their nose every word, and you're like, I don't. I don't know these. I know people love these. So for Kevin, by the time I met him, he grew up in Texas. He was like a boy band kid and as a teenager.

He didn't have the same nerdy, dare I say, affliction of Broadway musical albums. Maybe like some major hitters, the big ones. But he definitely didn't know spelling. He definitely didn't know a lot of son-in. And as I would watch him more and more, I would be like, dude, I don't think you know this, but if you had been in a situation, and Broadway was around you all the time, you'd be doing it all the time.

And now he's doing that show, and he's kicked ass. I see him in a few weeks. He did that, he did frogs. I saw him through frogs in London. Really? I wish you could have seen that. But like, that's a huge breadth of thing. Anyway, so back to the Glee ride.

I texted Kevin, Jonathan, and, and Leah, being like I'm at this Glee ride, I sent a video today. And I just, anybody that I thought might be interested in maybe joining me next time in New York. First of all, was it possible? It was a modestly It was a time slot

Then I think the theme I don't think anybody said They usually like me theme No thank you Right right right Usually they look at the schedule And like the light ride So you're like let's put a theme to it

It was a decent turnout We all got pumped to it Nice nice nice I'll tell you what man That cover Of the cover Of the cover of River Deep Mountain High

It hits That got me gone I can already, like, see how fast my leg would have to go out. Oh, my gosh. Did they do teenage dream? Of course. Oh, my God. Of course they did.

And I went nuts during that thing. And they didn't do that because you were there. That was already programmed. I think it was programmed, but I made it pretty clear known that I was going to be there. At least the missus did. She's there a lot. Yeah, yeah. Yes, she was like, I'm going to bring Darren.

I'm all about it. I do not. I did a Hamilton ride. Fun! It's a whole cycle ride, like right when it first came out, and it was a thing. I mean, though, the only problem with that for me is I'd want to like, I guess people get really into singing along when you're doing the thing. Yeah, yeah.

The driving force. I'd be too keyed into wanting to like perform. Yeah, maybe. Maybe not perform, but just enjoy it, I guess. Let me just slow down and listen to these lyrics. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Darren tells me a very moving story about working with Stephen Sondheim. Okay, be right back.

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From Mel Robbins to Tignitaro, Kate Bowler to Stanley Tucci. I'm Jen Hatmaker and every week, my dear friend Amy and I dive deep with incredible. incredible guests who make us laugh and cry and think a little bigger about life in the middle years. For the Love, where great stories meet unforgettable people. Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back with more dinners on me. One of the most proud moments of my life was like I made Sondheim laugh. Like genuinely, a couple times.

Maybe he was being polite, he was a very good actor, but like, you know, the dude is insanely witty. And something that was really cool because he was in his early 80s at that point. Yeah. And you realize, like the Mel Brooks of the World, Sondheim, I think Carl Reiner before he passed away, at least in their old age, you'd see these interviews with them, and they're just pistol. Sharp. Sharp. when you make your living being witty and your synapses in your brain

never like take a back seat you're always a word smith you're always a conversationalist that muscle is like practiced and there was no like sense of like the older gentleman gloves of like okay we're gonna blah I was talking to like a virile young man

in the way that he was talking and quick and jokes and it was I was just so taken by that that the conversation was just so fun, even to the point where, like, again, we were just, we were just wisecracking. It was fucking amazing to wisecrack with Stephen Sondheim. And I can't even tell you what the jokes were.

They were so non-memorable, but it just, I, having a chance to make him laugh. And him trying to make me laugh, like, that was, that was amazing. I mean, it's one thing to perform for Sondheim, but you're on a very, very short list of people who actually got to perform with him. Yeah. And that's astonishing.

Wild. Wild. here's a nice sweet story so my growing up in San Francisco even though I said I didn't do musical theater in college

I grew up doing it and being around it there's a really marvelous revivalist musical theater company in San Francisco I don't think it's there anymore called 42nd Street Moon

they would do concert versions of like forgotten but lodged show finders minimal set And I did three shows of them when I was like a kid. I would go after school and I was apart.

It was like my first professional work. Yeah. And my first show was a really great show by Harold Rome that I forever loved called Fannie. The second was an oft-forgotten Sondheim Rogers show. Do I Hear Waltz? Which he famously, infamously, like denounces.

And he really hated his time. He really hated what he did on that. You can read about it. He talks about it. about this even in the documentary, there's a lot of things that really just, it really was like a sour thing for him. Uh-huh.

But ironically, if he hadn't done that, I wouldn't have had like my, that was my first introduction to Steven Sondheim, so it's funny, you stick around long enough, like how these things can play out. Did you talk to him about that when you? I did, so this is the last thing that I got to say to him, was that he gave us all a signed copy, finishing the hat, which I cherish forever.

Oh wow. I was sent coffee of that thing. In the very book that he sort of denounces that show. And I went up to him and I said, you know, I know famously you don't really like Victoria Hallets. I was in that. I played the little boy in that. And being in that show would set me on a path that would bring me right here to this moment right now.

And so, and this is what I said. I said, I want you to know it wasn't all for not. Oh, that's really sweet And he Some people have told Took the story And laughed at his reaction I took it as an earnest one

But his hand in my shoulder He went That's nice It could have been It's sarcastic like That's nice kiddo I took it as a That's a nice thing

And I was like It is a nice thing Like don't beat yourself up Stephen It's okay It's interesting Because I love hearing that Because there's so many things

That You know if you're in this business where you're creating, there's be so many things that just don't go well. Doing one more by the beach. Do it, you know? They don't go while, they're not received in the way that they're meant to be.

I know so many people, you know, the lucky thing about, like, being someone who now has, you know, 20 years of work behind me is like, there are things that people talk to me about that mean something to them that I have completely forgot about. I thought that did not touch anyone or that did not mean anything to anyone. And, you know, it meant something to someone.

And that's honestly, like, all you got to worry about is if it meant something to one person, like, that should be enough. You know, the man who created it, who has, you know, become this person we put on a pedestal. And he is, you know, probably the most famous, successful American writer in musical history that we've had in the past, you know, 100 years. Like, I mean, the fact that something that he dismissed meant something to both of us is... It's a good lesson. It's a good, very good lesson.

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of people that will say stuff to me where I go, like, yeah, I'd say didn't like it, but I definitely didn't respond to that as well. The good example of that is, um, is there's a song I did on Glee by one of my favorite bands. Like when I was in high school, this record made everything to me. It's a band called Keen, and the song is called Somewhere Only We Know. Oh, yeah. And so I don't know how or why. The creators didn't know me well enough to know those things about what was in my CD-5-CD changer, you know, when I was like a teenager. But we sing this, they give me this song.

I'm going, no fucking way. Like, somewhere only we know, this isn't like a huge song either. Like, this is like, it's a kind of a deep cut. It's a gorgeous song. And I get to sing it and they do this arrangement. I'm listening to it going like, oh. I really don't like my version of it, because I love the original. I'm thinking like, God, this is so embarrassing.

Like, such a good song. Like, I can do justice. Yeah, I really don't. And I'm not, like, knocking it. I just, I had a lot of baggage. Not even baggage, but, like, I had a strong relationship with the original one. So there was a dissonance. And what I had done, what I really felt, you know, connected to.

On the day, it was really bright. I had really sensitive eyes. And so it was just one of these, like, I'm like, no matter where I looked, I was just squinting the game. And watching the episode, I was just like, I'm squinting my way through this. And everything about it was just, I, like, I wish it had gotten better because of my mind. I go, what a great, like, opportunity to share this song, the world, because I love this band. Cut to, like, somehow that song caught a life of its own on TikTok after the fact.

And now it's, like, one of my most, like, known songs from that show. Yeah. And I'm like, whoa. Like, Barbie for me to. like decide what connects with people. Right. And so that has definitely softened my neuroses about

because people really gravitate towards it and that's so beautiful. Yeah. And yeah, it's kind of switched my thing on it. But yeah, what's funny to think about it is for everything that we love, all the nerdy things, I just go, God, they probably really have a complicated relationship with that thing.

Like, I don't know if Michael Crawford loves fans. Right, right, right. I think he probably does. Sure, he does. But, you know, I'm using that as maybe a bad example, but there's plenty of things. things out there that I'm sure. You know, bands that maybe might only be known for one song, but maybe drives them nuts, but here we are going like, oh, love that song, you know. And,

yeah, but that's a privilege, you know. It's a privilege to have anything that people think. Anytime somebody says, oh, I saw that thing, I'm always like, God, like, in the endless maw of content, you spent some of your valuable, limited time on this planet, like, in games. with it? Thank you. I don't even care if you liked it. Just the fact that you heard about it and decided to click. Like, it's hard enough to turn anything on and be like, what of the endless tsunami of things can I engage in? And like, yeah, if somebody's seen something, I'm always like, damn, it really means a lot. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Darren tells me about what inspired him to create a music festival that is the Coachella for Musical Theater Nerds. I love it. Okay, be right back.

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And we're back with more dinners on me. I think one of the things that I do, I don't say best, but my calling in life is I happen to like know how to play music. I happen to, I found invocation in like the performative element of things, but I'm a curator. Like I like to curate. And I think a lot of performance feel this way. And I look at that in a grand year.

level, like I curate, you know, script and idea, you know, to, I don't know, I like to maximize accessibility for a given experience in the best way that I can. And I'm an interpolator, okay? Yeah. So I do this through many different things. One of the great things about Elsie Fest is like curating not only a group of people, but a sort of playlist that can be the most. exciting thing we're both performer and audience.

So people are like, I don't know what to do. I like getting into the... And it's a great marriage of what you love. You know, it's pop and like musical theater. And it's sort of like... It's like, I don't know, like a Coachella for like musical theater lovers. That's kind of what people have said. And I appreciate that.

I mean, the reason why I did it was because I do go to a lot of music festivals. And I'm kind of cross-pollinated between both worlds a little bit. And I've always... I mean, I started the festival like 10 years ago. But there was a point where... What was I saying? Was Edina? I saw Adina at, like, Carnegie Hall.

Menzel. Miss Menzel, yes. But the other, no, Edina Stevens. Yeah, the one and only. And, you know, when she's singing, like, something from a ranch or something, everyone's, like, going nuts. Yeah. You know, everyone's cheering.

And you're in Carnegie Hall where there's, like, a certain decorum where, you know, it's maybe not the most polite thing to do. And I was like, fuck it, this should be. This was, like, outdoors. and we were, I had a beer in my, it's the same energy, it's the same excitement. This was like one o'clock. Yeah, I had a beer and she's singing like, take me or leaving me. I'm like, yeah.

I'm going nuts. It's the same feeling. And it's the same audience. And so I realized that there's a like a vibrancy. It can't be lost of you though, that, you know, you started this sort of passion for creating, like with Star Kids and like creating your own material in Michigan. And like, you know, all these years later, you know, with all these years later, you know, with all the success that you have,

that you're still finding ways to create and bring people together and put good into the world and offer up, you know, fun experiences for people. Well, it's not too similar for what you're doing here. I mean, like, you know, I've found ways to, like, gather friends and have a good time. You know, I, we're literally having a pick-ass meal. I throw a fucking music festival, right?

Like, I found a way to do a thing that I love, but incorporate, you know, people that I like in. So that's kind of my version of this and I'm much far more stressful logistically speaking. Actually, I don't know that. I don't know how much stress this may cause. It's pretty low key. It's pretty nice. It's pretty low key.

But you know, yeah, we like, you know, if we get to a certain point, you can use whatever platform or resources that are granted to you because of those wins, you know, you can kind of like parlay those to other things. I used parlay correctly as everything. You did. into other avenues, that's kind of what I've done. So, yeah, it's no surprise. I mean, we're creators. Like, we make stuff.

Like, I'm just too interested in making things all the time. I'm not a deleter. I'm not a destroyer of worlds. You know, I like building. That's my general thing. So, yeah, I mean, Elsie's fun. Hopefully I can do it again. Hopefully you can join us.

And if you need to help with a set list, I'm happy to help you. I can think of a million things. I'll do take me or leave you from rent. Great, I'll do it with you. Are you, Maureen? Joy, Ann. You're okay, go, sorry.

No, I don't assume. Yeah, and their numbers. Thanks. So, eight more weeks of maybe happy ending. Yeah. Have an incredible two months. I mean, I can't believe. It's so weird that you could, in no other fields,

would you have a job that is so fulfilling on every level. Yeah. Takes care of every, you know, mind, heart, you know, monthly overhead, all these things that you could enjoy so much and then go, you know what, I think I'm just,

I'm just gonna fire myself. I'm just gonna fire myself from this job. Listen, it's good to like take breaks though and like, to gamble on yourself. Yeah.

That's someone else take over for a little while. Yeah. We, uh, listen, it's, it's not been a short run and I'm,

I'm not excited to leave. I'm looking forward to diving into something new, but I'm, yeah, I know, I'm not, I'm not excited to leave.

You know what you're diving into? No idea. I mean, the nice thing about being a musician, which gosh pandemic strike you know any of the number of the things that have put a huge pause on

the acting thing for many many people many of our colleagues and for ourselves I am very lucky that I can just play the piano and pick up a guitar and then just do stuff and so I got a lot of gigs that I got to do I want to write the next thing you know whatever that is

and that's always a default but you know I do that when I don't have anything else in the sort of pipeline, but maybe happened and came out of nowhere. You know, at a same, in a similar moment where I was like, what I'm gonna do? So, God, with any luck,

you know, another, another day is from Rale comes flying in. Cassidy Giani Versacea Part 2, I doubt would be very happy. She would. I could be your favorite actor again. That was more for my conversation with Darren Chris. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinner's On Me.

This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at Winston Bakery in the East village in Manhattan. Next week on Dinner's On Me, you know him from scenes stealing roles and shows like somebody somewhere in Pluribus and appearances across comedy favorites like 30 Rock and Broad City. It's Jeff Hiller. We'll get into the role that made him a breakout fan favorite, how years in the New York

comedy scene shaped his career, and why his journey to this moment is anything but typical. Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony music entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music.

Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balance Kalasni and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week. I want to tell you guys about a podcast that is near and dear to my heart, And I cannot believe it already came out a year ago. And you can all go listen to it ad free by subscribing to the binge podcast channel. What podcast, Corinne? Tell us.

Oh, it's called Blink Jake Handel's story. I created it about a man named Jake, who I met, who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use. But there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising. and even some supernatural elements. So this is definitely an amazing story. It's very unique. It did such an incredible job telling the story and cheering it with the world. So if you have not listened to it yet, my goodness, where have you been?

Because Blink is so freaking good. Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen. And subscribers to The Binge will get the entire season ad-free. Plus, you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on The Binge podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or head to. get the binge.com.