How Broadway Is Showing Up for the Election- What & When to Watch!
Ready to get political?
By: Nicole Rosky Oct. 18, 2020
The election is right around the corner, and Broadway is showing up to the party. Countless artists have already raised their voices to call for change and inspire people around to world to vote... and they aren't finished yet. Check out some of the most anticipated upcoming events that combine the Broadway stars you love with the most important issues on the moment.
Need help getting in the election season spirit? Listen to some of our favorite political showtunes!
Broadway For Biden Town Hall
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Broadway for Biden's fifth Town Hall event, produced by the Broadway Podcast Network, will feature Christine Bruno (Public Servant), Sofiya Cheyenne (Loudermilk), Gardiner Comfort (The Elephant in Every Room I Enter), Ryan Haddad (Hi, Are You Single?), and Alexandria Wailes (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf) in a discussion about the Biden campaign's policies for People with Disabilities, moderated by Jay O. Sanders (Girl from The North Country). Candace Broeker Penn and Lynnette Taylor wills as ASL interpreters for the event.
Divas For Democracy: United We Slay
Sunday, October 18 (8pm)
Hosted by Entertainment Tonight's Keltie Knight and RuPaul's Drag Race's Nina West, Divas For Democracy: United We Slay is a variety show where the divas of Broadway join forces with the divas of the drag world to encourage participation in our democracy. Broadway divas will sing some of the most iconic musical theatre songs while their drag counterparts match their vocal prowess with lip sync passion and style. Special segments will feature LGBTQIA+ activists in a nonpartisan fashion to promote the importance of the LGBTQIA+ community engagement and voter participation.
Broadway Divas include Tony Award winners Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show), Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone), and Annaleigh Ashford (You Can't Take It With You, Kinky Boots), along with Broadway favorites Shoshana Bean (Waitress), Eden Espinosa (Wicked), Tony nominee Jenn Collela (Come From Away), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman, Waitress), Tamika Lawrence (Come From Away, If/Then), L Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop), Our Lady J, and the legendary three-time Tony recipient Chita Rivera. Drag Divas include stars of RuPaul's Drag Race such as Alaska (All Stars Season 2 winner), Jinkx Monsoon (Season 5 winner), Jujubee (All Stars 5 finalist), Valentina, Peppermint, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Shuga Cain, Honey Davenport, Drag Out The Vote National Co-chairs Brita Filter and Marti Gould Cummings, and Pixie Aventura.
Phone Banking for Biden
Monday, October 19 (7-9pm)
Broadway for Biden's weekly phone banking initiative continues! Monday evening's theme is Religious Freedom with the casts of Indecent and The Band's Visit. Join the Zoom and call voters with your favorite Broadway stars.
Dancing for Democracy
Monday, October 19 (8pm)
Dancing For Democracy will host a dance competition to benefit FLIP THE SENATE. Tony and Drama Desk Award-Winning Director and Choreographer Kathleen Marshall has come onboard as the Celebrity Judge for the Dance Competition. Contestants can tune in to learn and review the choreography for the Biden Victory Dance on Monday, October 19, 5pm PT/8pm ET on the Broadway Sessions YouTube Channel. A donation of $10 to Flip The Senate will serve as an entry fee. Deadline for contestants to submit their Victory Dance videos is October 31, 2020. Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes, The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town) will be viewing each video to choose 5 Special Winners. She will be judging on creativity and uniqueness and will reveal the winners on November 3rd, Election Day on the Dancing For Democracy Instagram! Make sure to follow to receive updates!
In Our America
Wednesday, October 21 (8pm)
In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation is a one-night only, all-star virtual event to benefit the Biden Victory Fund, presented by Broadway for Biden and directed by Tony Award® nominee Liesl Tommy (the upcoming film Respect, Eclipsed). Bringing together more than 75 artists from Broadway and beyond, In Our America will feature original material created especially for the evening, never-before-seen stagings of beloved Broadway musical numbers, previews of Broadway-bound productions, and speeches that acknowledge the stakes of the present with a hopeful eye toward a better future.
In Our America will feature the talents of Terence Archie, Tala Ashe, Jeannette Bayardelle, Alex Boniello, Layla Capers, Nikki Renée Daniels, Quentin Earl Darrington, Sheila Kay Davis, Rogelio Douglas Jr., Matt Doyle, Michael Emerson, Celia Rose Gooding, Jin Ha, James Harkness, Ben Harney, William Jackson Harper, Aisha Jackson, Jawan M. Jackson, Marcus Paul James, Isaiah Johnson, Justin Keyes, Hailey Kilgore, LaChanze, Quentin Oliver Lee, John Leguizamo, Telly Leung, Selenis Leyva, Judith Light, Sky Lakota Lynch, Taylor Mac, Sahr Ngaujah, Okieriete Onaodowan, Larry Owens, David Hyde Pierce, Fiona Morgan Quinn, Jelani Remy, Conrad Ricamora, Lauren Ridloff, Nicolette Robinson, Dee Roscioli, Walter Russell III, George Salazar, Elizabeth Judd Salinas, Rashidra Scott, Ryan Shaw, Jimmy Smits, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Jayden Theopile, Nasia Thomas, Skye Dakota Turner, Leslie Uggams, Marquise Vilson, Marlon Wayans, Donald Webber Jr., Rebecca Covington Webber, Karen Ziemba, and the casts of Kiss My Aztec and Missing Peace. The newly announced artists join the previously announced talent for the event, including Glenn Close, Jennifer Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Chita Rivera.
Broadway Sings for Biden
Sunday, October 25 (7pm)
Broadway Sings is all about celebrating and uplifting presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris. The concert-documentary, centered around voting activation, will be filmed live from the Kraine Theater in the East Village of NYC with COVID-compliance measures in place, socially distanced musicians, and no audience. The full lineup will boast Broadway stars Keri René Fuller (Jagged Little Pill), Tamika Lawrence (Caroline, or Change), Corey Mach (Waitress), Mary Kate Morrissey (Mean Girls), Kyle Taylor Parker (Kinky Boots), Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls), Dee Roscioli (The Cher Show), Jessica Vosk (Wicked), and Raena White (Chicago), singing brand new arrangements and orchestrations of musical theater and pop hits.
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