Celia Keenan-Bolger, Will Roland, Nikki M. James & More Join CLASSICS GONE MAD!

Classic Stage Company has announced Classics Gone Mad!, presented by the CSC Associate Board in their inaugural benefit event. Hosted by Rosé (Titanique, "RuPaul's Drag Race"), Classics Gone Mad! will be held at CSC's Lynn F. Angelson Theater on Monday May 15 at 7pm. To reserve tickets, please visit: www.classicstage.org/classics-gone-mad.

Classics Gone Mad! brings together New York City's favorite artists and personalities to reinvent Shakespeare's most famous words for one night filled with songs, scenes, and a fabulous queen. Join CSC for an evening that is part show, part party, and scripted with the help of our audience.

Classics Gone Mad! features Jay Armstrong Johnson (Parade), Frank DiLella (NY1's "On Stage"), Linedy Genao (Bad Cinderella), Julie Halston (Tootsie), Daniel K. Isaac ("Billions"), Tony Award winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony Award winner Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill a Mockingbird), and Will Roland (Be More Chill). The evening will include a special performance by The Skivvies, and Marie's Crisis pianist Brandon James Gwinn will lead a singalong of classic showtunes.

The evening is directed by CSC Associate Board Chair Cara Akselrad and member Eric Ulloa.

"We want to approach the classics boldly," says Cara Akselrad and Eric Ulloa. "We enthusiastically support CSC's mission of reimagining the canon, and this event takes that notion in yet another direction. We are grateful to have fantastic personalities joining us for an evening built for irreverence and surprise; this is just the beginning of exploding the concept of doing the classics."

Tickets for the benefit range from $45-$125. All proceeds will support the company's audience development and community outreach programs.

ABOUT Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company (CSC) challenges the traditional perception of classic work by exploring and reimagining great stories across the world's repertoire that illuminate our common humanity. As a home for the classics, CSC collaborates with artists to produce work that is inclusive, relevant, and accessible. CSC believes that theater can both reflect and improve society by reaching across cultural divides in order to foster shared empathy and understanding.

In 1967, director Christopher Martin founded CSC Repertory in a 100-seat theater at Rutgers Presbyterian Church on West 73rd Street. Following short stints in small spaces, CSC grew to the point where it needed a permanent home. In 1973, the theater moved to its present premises on 13th Street, an intimate space that was formerly an East Village carriage house.

In the 55 years since, CSC has become a leading Off-Broadway theater that is a home for new and established artists, as well as audiences seeking epic stories intimately told. Productions have been cited by all major Off-Broadway theater awards including the Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Classic Stage Company's Associate Board is committed to the company's mission of reimagining classic stories and the meaning of classic theater for contemporary audiences. It supports CSC's goal of reaching across cultural divides in order to foster shared empathy and understanding.

The Associate Board contributes additional skills and perspectives to the company while serving as a development opportunity for emerging leaders. A key objective of the Associate Board is to help Classic Stage Company reach a wider and more diverse array of audience members.

The CSC Associate Board includes Chair Cara Akselrad, Vice Chair Jōvan Dansberry, Sophie Andreassi, Melanie Brister, Mia Fowler, Matthew Grossman, Abigail Jean-Baptiste, Malu Malhotra, Leonard Navarro, Zoey F. Orol, Alexandra Perloff-Giles, Caroline Rourke, and Eric Ulloa.