Tessa Thompson, Michael Urie and Celia Keenan-Bolger to Appear in Play-PerView Fundraiser (EXCLUSIVE)
By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Tessa Thompson will appear in a live reading of Ryan Spahn’s comedy ”Nora Highland” in order to raise money for arts organizations impacted by the coronavirus. “Nora Highland” is being featured on Play-PerView, a new live-streaming initiative that was co-founded by producer Jeremy Wein (NYC PodFest) and actor and producer Mirirai Sithole (“Black Mirror: Smithereens”).
The theater community has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Theaters have been closed for weeks as the public health crisis has worsened, leaving thousands of people without a job.
Thompson will star opposite opposite Michael Urie of “Ugly Betty” fame in “Nora Highland,” which will stream on April 1 at 7 p.m. The play grapples with a topical issue, examining the complexities of casting an openly gay performer in a gay role that producers want to hire a straight actor to play. This reading will benefit the Broadway Cares COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund and Covenant House New York.
“Family Friday,” Play-PerView’s original, non-scripted weekly series focusing on families in the theater community, will continue April 3 at 8 p.m. with “Live from Putnam County.” This second installment will feature alums of the Broadway production of ”The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” including Tony Award winner Celia Keenan-Bolger (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) and her husband Tony Award nominee John Ellison Conlee (”The Full Monty”). They will be joined by James Monroe Iglehart (”Aladdin”) and Derrick Baskin (”Ain’t Too Proud”). This episode of “Family Friday” will directly benefit Colt Coeur, a Brooklyn-based theater company and the Parent Artist Advocacy League COVID Childcare Relief Fund.
On April 6 at 8 p.m., Play-PerView will present a one-time-only reading of ”Cadillac Crew,” written by Tori Sampson and directed by Chalia LaTour (”Slave Play”). The performance will feature Dria Brown (“Bedlam’s Hamlet”), Ashley Bryant (”The Play That Goes Wrong:), Brontë England-Nelson (”Three Tall Women”), and La Tour as four civil rights activists on the day of a highly anticipated speech by Rosa Parks. This reading will benefit The National Black Theatre and Women In Need.
Future Play-PerView events will feature the works of Bess Wohl (”Grand Horizons”), Micah Stock (“It’s Only A Play”), Sharr White (”The True”), Johnathan Caren (“Canyon”), and Martyna Majok (“Cost of Living”). Tickets start at $5.