A group of Broadway favorites were tapped for Broadway For Biden's upcoming fundraiser In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation.
The one-night only virtual event will bring Broadway together to celebrate hope and benefit the Biden Victory Fund. The concert will stream on Wednesday, October 21 at 8:00pm EST on YouTube via news publisher NowThis, on Facebook via Broadway for Biden and NowThis, and on Broadway Unlocked.
Tony Award nominee Liesl Tommy is set to direct and executive produce the show alongside executive producers Julie Boardman, Nolan Doran, Halle Morse, and Jennifer Mudge. In Our America will feature more than 75 celebrated artists, including Derrick Baskin, Laura Benanti, Victoria Clark, Glenn Close, Chuck Cooper, Darren Criss, André De Shields, Renée Elise Goldsberry, John Goodman, Jayne Houdyshell, Jennifer Hudson, James Monroe Iglehart, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Norman Lear, Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Karen Olivo, Ashley Park, Steven Pasquale, Carrie Preston, Kelani Queypo, Chita Rivera, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, BD Wong, the Broadway Dreams Foundation Choir, and the casts of Six and KPOP.
Joining the extensive list of talent who will appear are Ron Cephas Jones, Lourds Lane,Nathan Lane, Nikki Massoud, Peppermint, Billy Porter, and SEVAN. Representative Don Beyer of Virginia, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Lieutenant Governor of New York Kathy Hochul will also make appearances, in addition to the previously announcedvoting tights advocateStacey Abrams, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, and 15-year old climate activist Alexandria Villaseñor. Douglas McGrath (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) has joined the writing team.
“It is a tremendous honor to direct this incredible collective of performers and artists, who are coming together to amplify the promise of Broadway and a nation that are future-looking, accessible, and deeply inclusive,”Tommysays. “Our theaters and entertainment venues may be currently dark, but our role is easy to see: we must support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to ensure their unequivocal victory in November.”
Original material is being created for the evening, including never-before-seen stagings of beloved Broadway musical numbers, previews of Broadway-bound productions, and speeches that acknowledge the stakes of the present with a hopeful eye toward a better future.
In Our America will include contributions written by six-time Tony nominee Chad Beguelin (The Prom, Disney’s Aladdin), Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner (Angels in America), two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined), Robert O’Hara (Bootycandy), Stacey Rose (America v. 2.1: The Sad Demise & Eventual Extinction of The American Negro), Aurin Squire (“This Is Us”), DeLanna Studi (And So We Walked), Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel (Indecent, How I Learned to Drive), and John Waters (Hairspray).
The show will feature original choreography by Tony winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, Lincoln Center Theater’s The King and I), Lorin Latarro (Mrs. Doubtfire, Waitress), Ray Mercer (Disney’sThe Lion King), and Abbey O’Brien( associate choreographer,Jagged Little Pill and Waitress), with music direction by Tony winner Jason Michael Webb (Choir Boy) and orchestrations by Academy Award nominee and six-time Emmy®winner Chris Boardman (The Color Purple, The Wiz films) and Charlie Rosen (Moulin Rouge!, Be More Chill). Sean McLaughlin (Bullets To Books) serves as director of photography, and Grady Bowman (The Cher Show) is associate choreographer.
To sign up for more information, visit InOurAmerica.BroadwayforBiden.com/event.
Photo: Getty