Daveed Diggs, John Gallagher Jr, Jelani Alladin and More Featured in THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: VIRAL MUSICALS

Last night, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues released a surprise-pivot for Round Six -The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Musicals was released on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. Eleven game actors performed brand new original pieces, written especially for them by talented writer and composer teams. New musicals were released throughout the evening beginning at 6 PM.

Jelani Alladin, Nick Blaemire, John Clay III, Daveed Diggs, John Gallagher Jr, Lora Lee Gayer, David Hull, Ana Nogueira, Larry Owens, Sarah Steele, and Natalie Walker rose to this unique acting challenge. They performed works written and composed by Rachel Axler, Eli Bolin, Faye Chiao, Jonathan Coulton, Kristoffer Diaz, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Adam Gwon, Julia Jordan, Michael Kimmel, Josh Koenigsberg, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Aimee Mann, Michael Mitnick, Kate Nash, Christopher Oscar Peña, Mike Pettry, Lauren Pritchard, Matt Schatz, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Rona Siddiqui, and Libby Winters.

In the evening's first musical, Jelani Alladin needs "Five Minutes In This Hallway," away from his kids, to reckon with his feelings and figure out how he's going to get through quarantine. "Five Minutes In This Hallway" features a book and lyrics by Kristoffer Diaz with music by Rona Siddiqui.

John Gallagher Jr comes across an old photo that brings back memories from a special time in his life in "Rebecca Naomi Jones," which features a book and lyrics by Christopher Oscar Peña with music and additional lyrics by Libby Winters.

Lora Lee Gayer's exhaustion from parenting in quarantine and fears for the future reveal themselves as she sings her children a "Lullabye." "Lullabye" features music by Kate Nash with lyrics by Julia Jordan and Kate Nash.

The last thing Sarah Steele did before the city shut down was go on a first date. She has had six weeks to think about how her date could fit into her life, and has decided to share "An Immodest Proposal" for the future with him. "An Immodest Proposal" features a book by Michael Kimmel with music and lyrics by Lauren Pritchard.

Earth Day happens to be Daveed Diggs's wife's birthday. They were supposed to spend it in the Amazon rainforest together, but even though plans have changed, he has another "Wild" surprise for her. "Wild" features a book by Josh Koenigsberg with music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.

Even gods miss the people they love - as Aphrodite, played by Natalie Walker, proves when she sends a message to Ares. She wants desperately for them to be together, but there's a crucial reason why they can't be. "Aphrodite Misses Touching Ares" was written by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz and Michael Mitnick.

David Hull makes a video to show his ex that he's cleaned and alphabetized everything in his garage. There's only one letter missing: "U," and he wants to change that. "If U Were Here" features a book by Rachel Axler with music and lyrics by Matt Schatz.

Larry Owens personifies "The Thoughts You Have in Quarantine," taunting you to spend your time alone in ways ranging from the productive to the questionable. "The Thoughts You Have in Quarantine" was written by Mike Pettry and Eli Bolin and transcribed by Mark T Evans.

In "Fear of Frying," Nick Blaemire and Ana Nogueira meet as roommates in a European hostel, where Ana quickly learns about a major quirk of Nick's. As she tries to help him move past it, she reveals a surprising secret of her own. "Fear of Frying" was written by Jonathan Coulton, Aimee Mann and Jonathan Marc Sherman.

Closing out the night, it's "3 PM" on day 35 of quarantine. John Clay III, tired of being alone in his apartment, dreams of finding someone special to share his life with. "3 PM" was written by Tasha Gordon-Solomon and Faye Chiao.

"After several years of producing The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, we were up for a new challenge and we created The 24 Hour Musicals. So it was only natural that after several weeks of producing The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, we'd be ready to have performers break into song in this new format as well," said Mark Armstrong, artistic director of The 24 Hour Plays. "With this array of talent lined up, I have a feeling we're about to pull off something very special, but you'll have to tune in tonight at 6 PM and see for yourself."

On Monday night at 6 PM, eleven actors shared brief orientation-style videos to allow the creative teams to get to know them better. By 7 PM, writers and composers were paired with actors and were working together to create an original musical especially for them. Actors received their scripts Tuesday morning at 10 AM, filmed their performances throughout the day, and at 6 PM their performances began to be released to the world, completing the 24-hour cycle.

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Musicals are produced by Coleman Ray Clark and Madelyn Paquette. Mark T Evans serves as the music supervisor.

Methuen Drama, one of the oldest and most well known play and performing arts publishers, will publish The 24 Hour Plays Book of Viral Monologues in print and digital form. Howard Sherman, who inspired The 24 Hour Plays to develop The Viral Monologues, will serve as the editor. A release date is forthcoming.

The 24 Hour Plays are known for their work on Broadway, off-Broadway and around the world. Since 1995, their events have brought together extraordinary artists to create time-limited theater. Past participants including Jennifer Aniston, Laverne Cox, Billy Crudup, David Cross, Rosario Dawson, Daveed Diggs, Peter Dinklage, Rachel Dratch, Jesse Eisenberg, Edie Falco, America Ferrera, Greta Gerwig, Oscar Isaac, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore, Tracy Morgan, Cynthia Nixon, Anna Paquin, Rosie Perez, Phylicia Rashad, Chris Rock, Sam Rockwell, Liev Schreiber, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Shannon, Gabourey Sidibe, Sarah Silverman, Marisa Tomei, Naomi Watts and more!

More information for those who would like to support The 24 Hour Plays or attend a live performance in the future is available at https://24hourplays.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos