LAW & ORDER: SVU is 'Trying to Hire Every Broadway Actor' They Can

Theatre actors have been largely out of work since Broadway shut down last year, and television is coming to the rescue. In an interview with Deadline, "Law & Order: SVU" showrunner and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Warren Leight said he is making the effort to hire as many Broadway actors as possible as the Coronavirus pandemic continues into 2021.

"We know how hard the community has been hit here," Leight said. "The goal is to get as many jobs to as many theater actors as we possibly can."

According to Deadline, the national unemployment number is around 8%, while the percentage for actors is as high as 52%.

"In the past we've done what you could call Hollywood stunt casting," Leight says, "but a lot of those players aren't going to be willing to get on a plane and quarantine right now. We realized early on that we'll have to cast locally much more."

Beetlejuice star Alex Brightman and Hadestown's Eva Noblezada will appear in an episode dated for January 14th. Other upcoming Broadway guest stars include Adriane Lenox (Doubt: A Parable, After Midnight), Elizabeth Marvel (King Lear, Picnic), Jane Bruce (Jagged Little Pill), Jelani Alladin (Disney's Frozen), Michael Mastro (Love! Valour! Compassion!), and Betsy Aidem (Steel Magnolias).

In addition, four-time Tony nominee and six-year SVU star Raúl Esparza has returned to the series for a several-episode arc.

Leight cites theatre actors' talent and work ethic as the reason for trusting them in these roles. He doesn't worry about theatre actors' ability to "hit their mark over and over."

See Leight's Tweets about the situation here:

Read as Brightman checks in with BroadwayWorld about the episode and watch clips here!