Phillipa Soo, Denée Benton, Betty Gilpin, Amber Gray & More Join THE ARS NOVA FOREVER TELETHON

Ars Nova has announced additional details for The Ars Nova Forever Telethon, a 24 hour livestream featuring over 100 artists celebrating Ars Nova's past and present while raising funds to propel the organization into its future. The online event will begin at 6pm EDT on June 12 and run non-stop until 6pm EDT on June 13 at https://arsnovanyc.com/telethon.

Taking inspiration from classic TV marathons, The Ars Nova Forever Telethon will feature 12 two-hour blocks of programming spotlighting some of Ars Nova's most beloved shows, artists, and alums. Newly announced participating artists include Billy Eichner, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Phillipa Soo, Robin Lord Taylor, Bridget Everett, Beau Willimon, Joe Iconis, Betty Gilpin, Denée Benton, Amber Gray, The Bengsons, Heather Christian, Stephen Karam, Andrew R. Butler, and more who join previously announced hosts Rachel Chavkin, Lilli Cooper, John Early, Freestyle Love Supreme, Sakina Jaffrey, Dave Malloy, Isaac Oliver, Larry Owens, Ashley Park, The Story Pirates, Jason Tam, and Natalie Walker.

Programming highlights include:

AN ARS NOVA MIX TAPE, hosted by Ashley Park and Phillipa Soo, kicks off The Ars Nova Forever Telethon with musical performances from Ars Nova alumni including César Alvarez, The Bengsons, Andrew R. Butler, Bridget Everett, Joe Iconis, Jo Lampert, Grace McLean, and Kyle Jarrow and Lauren Worsham.

THE COMET COMES HOME, hosted by Rachel Chavkin and Dave Malloy, features a reunion of members of the Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 cast and creative team with special guests Brittain Ashford, Gelsey Bell, Denée Benton, Manik Choksi, Blake DeLong, Amber Gray, Bradley King, Mimi Lien, Mary Page Nance, Celia Mei Rubin, Phillipa Soo, and Paloma Young, with more to be announced.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN KPOP, hosted Jason Tam, with special guests Julia Abueva, Jiho Kang, Ashley Park, and John Yi.

The world premiere of Isaac Oliver'S LONELY QUARANTINE features Katja Blichfeld, Naomi Ekperigin, Betty Gilpin, Ryan O'Connell, and Ben Sinclair.

Inspired by the Ars Nova's production of Small Mouth Sounds and hosted by Sakina Jaffrey, MORNING MEDITATION: AN IN-HOME RETREAT, features a soothing start to Saturday morning with a performance by Heather Christian, yoga with Nikki Calonge, guided journaling with Erik Ehn, and more.

THE FINALE FOR THE FUTURE!, hosted by Lilli Cooper, showcases current Ars Nova resident and commissioned artists including Manik Choksi, nicHi douglas, Laura Galindo, Deepali Gupta, Michael Breslin & Patrick Foley, James Harrison Monaco, On The Rocks Theatre Co., Michelle J. Rodriguez, Sammy Miller and the Congregation, and Zack Zadek.

Additional two-hour blocks of programming include: THON-THA-THON-THON-THON with hosts Freestyle Love Supreme; a special edition of SHOWGASM., Ars Nova's signature variety show, hosted by John Early; late-night dance party THE WITCHING HOUR: DANCE ALL NIGHT WITH THE NEON COVEN; "BOOM CRUNCH" ZOOM BRUNCH: A CELEBRATION OF THEATRICAL CHOICES with hosts Larry Owens and Natalie Walker; the kid-friendly SATURDAY MORNING WITH THE STORY PIRATES; and more.

Plus, special appearances by Rachel Bonds, Billy Eichner, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Stephen Karam, Jennifer Kidwell, Lila Neugebauer, Scott R. Sheppard, Leigh Silverman, Robin Lord Taylor, Alex Timbers, Whitney White, Beau Willimon, Bess Wohl, and more to be announced.

The schedule and current artist lineup for The Ars Nova Forever Telethon is available at https://arsnovanyc.com/telethon, with complete listings to be released on June 9.

Ars Nova's Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan commented, "When Ars Nova made the big commitment back in March to keep paying our artists and staff throughout this necessary closure, we knew it would take an even bigger idea to pull it off. We've been missing our community so much while working from home, so when the slightly insane idea for a 24 hour telethon arose, we all perked up, as it seems like the perfect way to connect with a slew of our artists and audiences all at once - and we've always loved a challenge! New York City needs culture to thrive so we hope folks will rally around this campaign and make sure Ars Nova can flourish into the future."

The Ars Nova Forever Telethon is the marquee event of the recently launched #ArsNovaForever Campaign to provide a foundation for Ars Nova's bright future, and fuel the company's recovery after the cancellation of the remainder of its 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, during which it committed to pay all artists, staff, and hourly workers. The #ArsNovaForever Campaign aims to raise $685,000 before the end of its fiscal year on June 30, 2020, of which they have secured over $400,000. The upcoming 24-hour Ars Nova Forever Telethon is the centerpiece of the campaign and Ars Nova's most ambitious benefit to date.

The Ars Nova Forever Telethon creative team includes Stivo Arnoczy, Teddy Bergman, Hunter Bird, Sammi Cannold, Tim Chaffee, Lee Sunday Evans, Chloe Joy Ivanson, Mike Karns, Seonjae Kim, Jenny Koons, Shira Milikowsky, Andrew Neisler, Kimie Nishikawa, Lee Overtree, Kristen Robinson, Caitlin Sullivan, and Marián Gómez Villota.