Brian Stokes Mitchell Talks about The Actors Fund, Betty Buckley Shares CATS Stories & More on STARS IN THE HOUSE

The Actors Fund has teamed with SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, to produce a daily mini-online show, entitled Stars in The House, featuring stars of stage and screen singing and performing live (from home!) on social media to promote support for The Fund's services for those most vulnerable to the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Stars In The House continued last night (8pm) with Brian Stokes Mitchell!

Brian Stokes Mitchell shared the picture of his first ever head shot, spoke about what it's like being Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund at this moment in time, and sang There's No Business Like Show Business, Getting Married Today, and The Impossible Dream (The Quest)!

This star-studded episode also included special guests Betty Buckley, Audra McDonald and Kelli O'Hara!

Betty Buckley was brought onto the screen first to share her terrifying experience of the night the critics came to see the original Broadway production of Cats. Buckley had been under the impression that the critics would be attending the opening night show three days later, and did not yet feel 100% solid in her performance. The night involved 3 separate mic-pack incidents that had Buckley singing into the foot mics downstage to be heard.

"This was a true anxiety attack, I don't know that I've had anything comparable to that since that day."

When Brian Stokes Mitchell came onto the screen, Seth asked, "You are Chairman of the Board of The Actors Fund. What is it like in the trenches?"

"What's amazing about The Actors Fund and about our entertainment community is that we have always been collaborators. It's amazing to me. You can't put on a show without collaboration! It absolutely demands that. You have lighting designers, costume designers, you have ticket takers, you have curtain pullers, you have the ushers, you have the actors, you have the musicians in the pit, you have dancers, you have singers, that's what everybody always sees. But we can't do it without everybody else. It's always been this amazing collaboration and I am blown away by this collaboration... It's always been about our entertainment community coming together and helping each other, and I can't take credit... and anybody who is giving to this becomes by extension a part of that as well. So, I'm just really, really grateful to everybody who has made this all happen."

Watch the full episode HERE!

New shows will be produced DAILY at the traditional theater times of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET. Each star will be singing a mix of their hit songs and/or something unexpected. Between each song, Seth will interview the star as he does on SiriusXM, leading them to give fun, inside stories about their careers. Both the star and Seth will encourage people watching to donate at ActorsFund.org/Donate and James will be giving updates from The Fund as well as giving shout-outs to people donating in real time.

Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans Broadway, television, film, and concert appearances with the country's finest conductors and orchestras. His Broadway career includes performances in Man of La Mancha (Tony Award nomination and Helen Hayes Award); Kiss Me, Kate (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards); Ragtime (Tony nomination); August Wilson's King Hedley II (Tony nomination); Kiss of the Spider Woman; Jelly's Last Jam; Lincoln Center Theater's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown; Oh, Kay!; and Mail, which earned him a Theatre World Award for outstanding Broadway debut. At City Center Encores! he has appeared in Do, Re, Mi and Carnival, and most recently starred in Kismet. His long television career began with a seven-year stint on "Trapper John, MD." Numerous film and television appearances more recently include One Last Thing, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, recurring roles on "Crossing Jordan" and "Frasier," PBS's "Great Performances," DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt (singing "Through Heaven's Eyes"), "Glee," "Mr. Robot," and Jumping the Broom. His musical versatility has kept him in demand by some of the country's finest conductors and orchestras, and he has been invited to the White House and performed for Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski