Marc Kudisch and More Will Lead SOMETHING'S COMING, New Play on the Making of WEST SIDE STORY, Kicking Off The New Works Virtual Festival

The New Works Virtual Festival, now scheduled to take place from Sunday October 25th to Saturday the 31st, will stream video readings of 20 new scripts featuring the work of a diverse group of writers and all-star cast members. The festival will now also be streamed at no charge, though donations will be encouraged and all proceeds will go to the Actors Fund. The event received roughly 700 scripts and all selections will be announced leading up to the festival.

The first of these pieces to be featured in the festival will be Ezra Brain and Drew Norris's new play "Something's Coming," a dramatized retelling of the making of the classic musical "West Side Story" highlighting the writing and development process between Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, and Hal Prince. The cast will feature Marc Kudisch ("9 to 5," "Thoroughly Modern Millie") as Bernstein, Ted Louis Levy ("Jelly's Last Jam," "Black and Blue") as Robbins, Vincent Rodriguez III (The CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend") as Prince, Adam B. Shapiro ("Fiddler on the Roof" in Yiddish, HBO's "The Normal Heart") as Sondheim, and Robert Torti ("That Thing You Do," "Joseph...Dreamcoat") as Laurents.

NWVF's mission statement reads; "Our goal is to create a diverse team supporting diverse works from many perspectives, cultures, religions, and voices. We strive for inclusivity in all areas. We are committed to works that connect us as human beings and bring us closer to a better understanding of who we are." The team is proud to be working with their official media sponsor, Broadway World, Robin Carus Casting, and raising money for the Actors Fund, the national human services organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the entertainment community, providing services like emergency financial assistance, affordable housing, health care and insurance counseling, senior care, secondary career development and more. Learn more about them at www.actorsfund.org.

NWVF's lineup of 20 plays in 7 days will consist of non-musical pieces; both full length and one-act plays, screenplays, and television pilots. Also featured in the 19 other readings to be announced will be Krystina Alabado, Amir Arison, Matthew Arkin, Jos N. Banks, Christina Bianco, Ron Bohmer, Larry Joe Campbell, Richard Carn, Meghan Cavanagh, Miguel Cervantes, Kevin Chamberlin, Mary Cheiffo, Bryan Terrell Clark, Eddie Cooper, Anthony Crivello, Robert Cuccioli, Lee Curreri, Carmen Cusack, Eden Espinosa, Ali Ewoldt, Felicia P. Fields, Joely Fisher, Santino Fontana, Ellis Gage, Alan H. Green, Tyce Green, Ann Harada, Elaine Hendrix, Shuler Hensley,Philip Hernández, Rodney Hicks, Zach Infante, Jawan M. Jackson, Adam Jacobs, Daniel Jenkins, Donnie Kerr, Richard Kind, Keith Byron Kirk, Leigh Ann Larkin, Liz Larsen, Dan Lauria, L Morgan Lee, Chris Lemmon, Kecia Lewis, Marsha Mason, Jeff McCarthy, Joseph Melendez, Joseph Morales, Mia Moravis, Eva Noblezada, Stuart Pankin, Tonya Pinkins, Richard Pryor Jr, Conrad Ricamora, Christy Carlson Romano, Jon Rua, John Rubinstein, Seth Rudetsky, Chris Sarandon, Drew Sarich, Sharone Sayegh, Laura Schein, Ray Shell, Mary Testa, Tracie Thoms, Stephen Tobolowsky, Thomas Tulak, Vishal Vaidya, Bruce Vilanch, Sal Viviano, Nik Walker, Jon Patrick Walker, George Wendt, Richard White, Brynn Williams, Michael-Leon Wooley, Robert Wuhl, Michael Yeshion, and Necar Zadegan.