Criss is a given name or surname, and may refer to:
Crissé is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in north-western France.
George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known as Peter Criss, is an American musician and actor, best known as a co-founder, the original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established the "Catman" character for his Kiss persona.
George Peter John Criscuola is the oldest of the five children to parents Joseph and Loretta Criscuola; his father's family came from Scafati, Salerno, Italy. He grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. He was a childhood friend of Jerry Nolan, who would later find success as the drummer for the New York Dolls.
He was an avid art student and a swing aficionado. While playing with bandleader Joey Greco, Criss ended up studying under his idol, Gene Krupa, at the Metropole Club in New York. This turned into an active musical career as he went on to play jazz and rock with a number of bands in New York and New Jersey throughout the 1960s.
Criss was involved with a number of bands throughout the mid-to-late 1960s. It was during this time that Criss joined Chelsea, who had a two-album deal with Decca Records; the group released a self-titled album in 1970. They never recorded a second album, and in August 1971 became Lips (a trio consisting of Criss and his Chelsea bandmates Michael Benvenga and Stan Penridge). By the spring of 1972, Lips was just the duo of Criss and Penridge.
Flashdance is a 1983 American romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne. It was the first collaboration of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and the presentation of some sequences in the style of music videos was an influence on other 1980s films, including Top Gun (1986), Simpson and Bruckheimer's most famous production. Flashdance opened to negative reviews by professional critics, but was a surprise box office success, becoming the third highest grossing film of 1983 in the United States. It had a worldwide box-office gross of more than $100 million. Its soundtrack spawned several hit songs, among them "Maniac" performed by Michael Sembello and the Academy Award–winning "Flashdance... What a Feeling", performed by Irene Cara, which was written for the film.
Alexandra "Alex" Owens (Jennifer Beals) is an eighteen-year-old welder at a steel mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who lives with her dog Grunt in a converted warehouse. Although she aspires to become a professional dancer, she has no formal education, and works as an exotic dancer by night at Mawby's, a neighborhood bar and grill which hosts a nightly cabaret.
Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1983 American musical and romance film Flashdance, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri. It sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The film is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and follows Alex, a welder and exotic dancer and her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. In 1984, the album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.
The film's three singles feature on the album. Two of these singles, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara and "Maniac" by Michael Sembello, peaked at #1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The track "Romeo" by Donna Summer was released as a promo video to MTV prior to the film's release, composed only of outtakes from the film. However, the song was not released to radio as Summer was on the verge of releasing her 1983 album She Works Hard for the Money, and the title track was already becoming a major hit. ("She Works Hard for the Money" was actually in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 consecutively with both "Flashdance...What a Feeling" and "Maniac".)
Flashdance the Musical is a stage adaptation of the 1983 musical film Flashdance. The show had its world premiere in 2008 in Plymouth, followed by a United Kingdom tour through May 2009 and a 16-week London West End run at the Shaftesbury Theatre through January 2011. The musical had a US tour in 2013-2015 but an expected Broadway run was postponed.
Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the show revolves around 18-year-old Alex, a welder by day and ‘flashdancer’ by night, and her dreams of attending the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy.
Based on the Paramount Pictures film (Screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, story by Tom Hedley) the UK production described itself as "an unmistakably unique musical about holding onto your dreams and love against all the odds". The show includes hits "Maniac", "Manhunt", "Gloria", the award-winning title track "Flashdance – What a Feeling".
The show had its world premiere in July 2008 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth