Email us or call 703-993-3872.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Register now for the 20th ARTS by George! benefit.
This annual benefit event supports student scholarships for George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.
ARTS by George! has raised more than $4.6 million since it began in 2006.
The evening begins at 5 p.m. with showcases by talented Mason Arts students throughout our studio and performance spaces complimented by a buffet dinner and culminates with the exciting headliner performance at 8:30 p.m. by Darren Criss in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Tickets to the benefit include:
- exclusive premiere orchestra seats to the Darren Criss concert, followed by
- a dessert reception onstage with Criss.
20th ARTS by George! Headlining Performance: An Evening with Darren Criss
Since bursting onto the pop-culture landscape over a decade ago in Fox TV's his show Glee, Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winner Darren Criss has embodied the kind of kaleidoscopic artistry that's entirely uninhibited by form or genre. For this concert, Criss will be performing well known songs featured throughout his wildly eclectic career as both a songwriter and performer, including those from Glee, StarKid Productions, and the Broadway shows in which he's starred. Criss is currently starring in and received the 2025 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the critically acclaimed Broadway hit Maybe Happy Ending directed by Michael Arden. Playing at the Belasco Theater, the show opened to unanimous rave reviews including the The New York Times Critic's Pick and won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Tickets and information
- Individual Tickets (George Mason Alumni) - $350 ($275 benefit)
- Individual Tickets (Non-Alumni) - $450 ($275 benefit)
Tickets include one (1) event ticket, including student showcase, buffet, exclusive orchestra performance seats, onstage reception, and free garage parking.
Tickets to the 8:30 p.m. concert of An Evening with Darren Criss go on sale August 1, 2025 at 10 a.m. ET. Please note, premiere orchestra seats for the performance are reserved for guests of ARTS by George!
Please email us with any questions or call us at 703-993-1593.
Benefits of Sponsorship
Photos from past ARTS by George! events
Presenting Sponsor
Executive Producer
Carolyn Peterson and the Peterson Family Foundation
Robert K. Purks
Producer
John and Annie Bolger
Carney Foundation
Sara Costello
Rick Davis and Julie Thompson
Nancy Jean-Louis
Marthe Lattinville-Pace
Patron
Helen and Bill Ackerman
Leroy R. Barnes, Jr.
Linda Beckman
Gerard and Dianne Blais & Mack and Paulette Miller
Jerry Bridges and Sally Turner
Pat and Pat Carroll & Rob and Ida Portland
Lynn Alexis Lee Corey, CIMA
Dr. Bernadette Dunham and Dr. Raymond Petryshyn
Dr. Kimberly K. Eby and Dr. José M. Cortina
Joyce Goche-Grimes
Molly Grimsley
Arthur and Linda Hamerschlag
Gray and Betty Hanes
Linda and Harlan Harber
Barbara and Kevin Hutto
John and Nina Toups Charitable Fund
Mary Sanders Jones
Shirley Joyce and John Nash
Tom and Pam Maskey
Lynette Matz
Val S. McWhorter
Don and Sonja Palomaki & Bob and Pat Warakomsky
Ganesh and Mamta Patil
Mayor Catherine S. Read
Joyce Remington
Richard Averill Foundation
Roberta Roumel
Thomas Sabal and Daniel Tucciarone
Dr. Victoria N. Salmon and Mr. John J. Salmon
Sumeet Shrivastava
Donn Smith and Jay Speer
Marilyn Smith
Peter N. Stearns and Donna L. Kidd
Annabelle and David Stone
Janice Sutera Wolfe and James A. Wolfe
Mary and Ed Zigo
In-Kind Partner
Your gift to ARTS by George! is also part of something bigger. Mason Now: Power the Possible is the university's largest, most ambitious campaign to date. Your gift fuels the campaign's priority of making a meaningful difference in our community.