Two Holiday Cabarets Coming to the Bucks County Playhouse

Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

Pictured Above: Darius de Haas. Photo Credit: Contributed.

Bucks County Playhouse Kicks Off the Holiday Season with Intimate Performances By Darius de Haas and Edmund Bagnell this December

NEWSROOM POST: NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA

New Hope, PA – Bucks County Playhouse has announced two special, intimate performances to kick off the holiday season.

Singer, violinist and star of Well Strung, Edmund Bagnell, will present his holiday show, “Home for the Holidays” on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. Broadway star Darius de Haas will perform two evenings of his holiday concert, “Let Me Carry You This Christmas,” on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, December 12 at 7 p.m. These special, intimate performances are part of a new cabaret series held in the Playhouse Barn just across the courtyard from Bucks County Playhouse. Tickets are on sale now at www.buckscountyplayhouse.org or by contacting the box office at 215-862-2121.

Edmund Bagnell, internationally touring singer and violinist and star of Well Strung returns to Bucks County Playhouse with his heartwarming show, “Home for the Holidays” on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. The countdown to the holidays is on, and through music and humor Bagnell shares his heartfelt recipe for a perfectly imperfect holiday season. Pianist and music director, Mark Hartman, will join Bagnell onstage for this all new show featuring selections from his 2020 USA Today top ranked holiday album, “Christmas at Home.” The evening will include seasonal favorite such as the “Man with the Bag,” “The Nutcracker Suite,” “Christmastime is Here” and more.

Bagnell has been praised by critics for his musicality and stage presence. In his review of Bagnell’s show in “The Times Square Chronicles,” Craig J Horsley noted, “Edmund’s smile took over the entire stage when he began his show, and when he finished, the entire audience was smiling just as wide.”

Bagnell is a diverse artist, having performed as an actor, violinist, singer, and first violinist and singer in the internationally touring string quartet, Well Strung. A native of South Carolina, Edmund was cast as Tobias Ragg during his senior year at NYU in the 1st National Tour of John Doyle’s staging of “Sweeney Todd.” This led to many more performances as an actor in NYC and across the country. In 2012, Bagnell became the first violinist of the string quartet Well Strung, which released three chart topping albums in the classical crossover genre. The band had several notable live performances on The Today Show, toured internationally, performed on Broadway and with many notable performers such as Kristin Chenoweth and Audra McDonald.

Broadway and Lambertville, NJ’s Darius de Haas (Broadway’s “Rent” and Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) brings his acclaimed holiday show, “Let Me Carry You This Christmas” to Bucks County Playhouse Barn, Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 pm. (Note: Tickets to the December 11 show are sold out. Seating is still available for Thursday, December 12).

De Haas shares his love of the holiday season, along with messages of celebration, love and remembrance. In his cabaret, de Haas shares his musical spin on classics like “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Silent Night” to more contemporary holiday songs like “This Christmas” “Cold,” and much more. This concert is in anticipation of de Haas’s upcoming holiday recording (“Let Me Carry You This Christmas” to be released in fall of 2025).

De Haas is a critically acclaimed singer, actor, concert and recording artist. His Broadway credits include “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” “Carousel,” “Rent,” “The Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm,” “Marie Christine,” “Shuffle Along” and the staged anniversary concerts of “Dreamgirls” and “Hair.” Other notable theater includes his OBIE award winning performance in “Running Man,” the American premiere production of “Children of Eden,” and Public Works’ “As You Like It.” Recently, de Haas played the role of Billy Strayhorn in the world premiere of “Billy Strayhorn: Something To Live For” at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. TV/Film credits include “Dietland,” “In The Life,” “Mother May I Have A Kidney” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for which De Haas is the singing voice of Shy Baldwin.

De Haas’s concert appearances include The Lincoln Center American Songbook, Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert w Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lyrics and Lyricists at The 92nd Street Y (as guest artistic director/writer and performer), The New York Festival of Song, Carnegie Hall and many orchestras including the National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, and The Boston Pops. He has performed and/or toured with such artists as Marvin Hamlisch, Oleta Adams, Roberta Flack, Elvis Costello, Deborah Harry, Rhiannon Giddens and Vanessa Williams. His recordings include his debut “Darius de Haas “Day Dream: Variations on Strayhorn”, “Quiet Please,” and many original cast and soundtrack recordings. Look out for his 2025 releases of his new single “Cold” and his upcoming holiday album

Bagnell is a diverse artist, having performed as an actor, violinist, singer, and first violinist and singer in the internationally touring string quartet, Well Strung. A native of South Carolina, Edmund was cast as Tobias Ragg during his senior year at NYU in the 1st National Tour of John Doyle’s staging of “Sweeney Todd.” This led to many more performances as an actor in NYC and across the country. In 2012, Bagnell became the first violinist of the string quartet Well Strung, which released three chart topping albums in the classical crossover genre. The band had several notable live performances on The Today Show, toured internationally, performed on Broadway and with many notable performers such as Kristin Chenoweth and Audra McDonald.

The performances will take place in the Playhouse Barn, directly in front of the Playhouse. Tickets to Bagnell’s and de Haas’s performances are $55 plus a $25 per person drink minimum. Doors open 1 hour prior to the performance. Seating is strictly limited. For information visit BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or call the Box Office at 215-862-2121.

Pictured Above: Edmund Bagnell. Photo Credit: Contributed.

ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE

Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the twelfth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman took the helm of the Playhouse, and it has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of “42nd Street” and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse “one of the best regional theaters on the East coast.” Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” and “Guys & Dolls” (all directed by Hunter Foster) and “Mamma Mia!” directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis. The 2023 season was the brightest yet, featuring hit productions of Jonathan Larsen’s “Tick, Tick Boom” directed by Eric Rosen, “Bridges of Madison County” directed by Hunter Foster, who also led “The Rocky Horror Show” starring Frankie Grande. “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” became the top-selling show in Playhouse history. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.