Brian Cranston, Laurie Metcalf, Andre De Shields and More Join Penguin Rep's KEEPING LIVE THEATRE ALIVE

Tony and Emmy Award-winners Brian Cranston (Breaking Bad, Trumbo) and Tony Shalhoub (Monk, The Band's Visit) are among the stellar performers being brought to you by Penguin Rep Theatre as part of the exciting, innovative Keeping Live Theatre Alive! initiative.

Keeping Live Theatre Alive! is the brainchild of actor Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years, Lombardi), who called upon dozens of popular stage and screen stars to help keep theatre going by creating short videos of themselves reading their works, including monologues, stories, reminiscences, and poems - that they've written and posted.

Penguin Rep is making these special performances, currently featuring Cranston, Shalhoub, Lauria, Andre De Shields (The Wiz, Hadestown), Priscilla Lopez (A Chorus Line, In the Heights), and Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne, A Doll's House Part 2), available on Penguin's website (www.penguinrep.org) FREE of charge. Of course, donations are welcome, particularly in this crisis period. (Look for the "Donate" button at the website.)

"Every sector in society has been impacted negatively by COVID-19, including theatres," Dan Lauria said. "I wanted to raise awareness of the plight of these organizations while celebrating how actors are keeping their creative juices flowing."

Each week for the next eight weeks, Penguin Rep and Keeping Live Theatre Alive! will be featuring new entertaining and inspiring original vignettes, so be sure to re-visit the website often. Upcoming artists include: Ed Asner, Kim Brockington, John Cullum, Christine Ebersole, Judd Hirsch, John Larroquette, Judith Light, John Lithgow, Jodi Long, Wendie Malick, Joe Mantegna, Alfred Molina, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jim Pickens, Saul Rubinek, Peter Scolari, Joe Spano, Chris Sullivan, Reno Wilson, and Henry Winkler.

"Like all arts institutions, Penguin has been hard hit by the pandemic,' said Joe Brancato, founding Artistic Director of Penguin Rep Theatre," but we've been hearted by the outpouring of concern and support from our patrons, subscribers, donors, and business sponsors, all eager for live theatre to make its comeback at the barn."

"Until we can reopen the theatre doors safely, we're pleased to be able to bring programs like Keeping Live Theatre Alive! to our audiences," added Penguin executive director Andrew M. Horn. "And plans are in the works for Penguin to present play readings online. Watch for our announcements."

Under the dynamic leadership of Joe Brancato and Andrew Horn, Penguin has grown in just over four decades from a summer theatre in a converted 1880s hay barn to one of the Hudson Valley's most influential nonprofit cultural institutions.

Since its founding in 1977, Penguin Rep, a professional Equity theatre based in Stony Point, New York, has entertained more than 400,000 people with outstanding productions of more than 150 plays, specializing in new works by established and emerging writers.

Many of plays staged Penguin, dubbed "the gutsiest little theatre' by the NY Times, have moved on to successful runs Off-Broadway and to showplaces around the country and abroad.

For additional information and the latest in Penguin Rep Theatre programs, visit the website at www.penguinrep.org.