RECAP: Bill Berloni Talked Broadway Plans for BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE on STARS IN THE HOUSE

Stars in the House continued Tuesday night (8pm) with activists and educators, Bill Berloni, Joe church, Ashley Horne and Beverly Jenkins.

Broadway Animal Trainer, Bill Berloni, talked about his upcoming show BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE. "We're actually waiting for Broadway to reopen and find a house where we can bring this message of hope to. BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE is based on a book that at its core is about love and healing and a community coming together and finally getting to know each other and it's all because of this one animal."

Stage manager, Beverly Jenkins, conductor Joe church, and violinist Ashley Horne joined.

Beverly talked about the lack of diversity in theatre. "Now that we're all in quarantine and everyone's posting 'this is my Zoom meeting' I hope that now in this time of quarantine, in this time of 'wokeness' people will look at the pictures they're taking of their offices in their Zoom meetings and noticing what's missing... there are no [people of color] in these offices and if there are they don't have any authority."

Joe talked about changes that need to be made to create diversity in theatre. "We're going to have to make an outreach. We're going to have to affirmatively act to correct this because it's been undercorrected for so long. It also has to start earlier...It has to start with the opportunities for kids of every socioeconomic background, creed, race, and color, to be educated in the kind of things that you're required to know in order to go into the theatre...how many kids are offered the opportunity to realize 'I want to be a stage manager or lighting designer or something like that.' In order to make it work, we're going to have to make some active choices."

Ashley talked about how he started playing the violin, "Ken Norton...came to my elementary school and my friend John was playing the piano...I was so jealous because I had started piano before he had and I had given up because my parents always put the piano in the front living room and there was a big picture window right next to where I was practicing and all the kids would play in my front yard and when you're 4 or 5 years old you're not interested in practicing the piano when your friends are playing football in your yard. This happened in third grade so I decided I wanted to go back into music and my parents ignored me. A lady came to our school to start an orchestra and I said 'I'll be there! I can do it, I can read music!' So they gave me the cello. I was the smallest guy in my third-grade class...they said 'you can't take the cello, it's too big for you' so they gave me the violin instead."

Ashley Horne played a piece by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson on the violin.

Click HERE to watch the full episode.

Click HERE to donate to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Click HERE to donate to the Theatrical Animals Fund

Current and past episodes can be found on the website starsinthehouse.com, as well as a donate button linking viewers to The Actors Fund.