Tony Award winner BD Wong and videographer Richert Schnorr are re-conceiving the theatrical song cycle Songs from an Unmade Bed as a collection of music videos, reflecting life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The video will stream at 8 pm Eastern on Monday, August 10, 2020, as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Songs from an Unmade Bed explores the inner musings and romantic life of a gay man living in New York City and was created by Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning lyricist and librettist Mark Campbell with 18 composers: Debra Barsha, Mark Bennett,Peter Foley, Jenny Giering, Peter Golub, Jake Heggie, Stephen Hoffman, Lance Horne, Gihieh Lee,Steven Lutvak, Steve Marzullo, Brendan Milburn, Chris Miller, Greg Pliska, Duncan Sheik, Kim D. Sherman, Jeffrey Stock and Joseph Thalken.
The stream ofSongs from an Unmade Bedwill premiere at broadwaycares.org/unmadebed, on Broadway Cares’ YouTube channel and on streaming partners BroadwayWorld.com and Playbill.com. The evening will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.
Wong and Schnorr, who were married in 2018, created the videos in their New York City apartment as they lived in self-quarantine. Wong stars; Schnorr filmed and edited the videos. Special guests making appearances in the streaming event will be announced next week.
“I heard this song cycle in my head back in March when we started isolating,” Wong said. “It’s from the point of view of a gay New Yorker ruminating about his romantic past and seeking connection, and it has a 'parallel vibe' to what we’re experiencing now. I wanted to make a film. I was in such a creativity drought and then I realized I was married to a videographer! When I introduced Richert to Songs from an Unmade Bed, he lit up. As we exercise the communication and give-and-take that collaborating with your partner requires, we notice it actually personifies our marriage vows. We’re sure Songs from an Unmade Bed will remind people everywhere of our own scrappy resilience and leave them with hope that everything will be OK, ‘cause that’s what it did for us."
Photo: Getty