VIDEO: STARS IN THE HOUSE FOR UKRAINE Raises Over $139,000

Stars in the House for Ukraine, a special 11+ Hour telethon of the weekly streaming show, raised $139,000 for the International Rescue Committee's humanitarian efforts for those affected by the war in Ukraine. That total is inclusive of a generous matching donation by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which matched the first $50,000 worth of donations.

Watch the virtual event below!

Over 60 stars of stage, screen, the fine arts and music worlds assembled to partake in the 11-hour telethon hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, which co-streamed on SiriusXM. There were appearances (and live performances!) by Steve Martin, Billy Porter, Martin Short, Michael Douglas, Ben Stiller, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Andrew Rannells, Piper Perabo, Chandra Wilson, Laraine Newman, Jane Curtin, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Annette Bening, Cynthia Nixon, Laurie Metcalf, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O'Hara, Robin de Jésus, Josh Groban, Lindsay Mendez, Norman Lear, Rosie Perez, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, Patrick Wilson, Miss Peppermint, David Hasselhoff, Rumer Willis,and John Stamos.

Highlights included:

• Josh Groban opened the telethon with a live performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as well as reprising a song from his high school performance as Tevye!
• Interviews with artists in Ukraine, including Oleg Karpenko (who starred opposite President Zelenskyy in Servant of The People), viral Violinist Vera Lytovchenko and writer/actor Slava Babenkov
• Special appearance by Michael Douglas, who shared his own family's story of fleeing Belarus in 1918 before eventually making their way to the United States
• Heather Locklear and Marcia Cross gave the audience a surprise "Melrose Place" reunion
• Current Wicked stars Brittney Johnson and Lindsay Pearce sang "For Good" in-between matinee and evening performances of their show
• A "The Gilded Age" salon with Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, Katie Finneran, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Michael Cerveris, Douglas Sills and Debra Monk
• A "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" reunion/duet between Santino Fontana and David Hull, following an interview with creator/star Rachel Bloom
• Satellite ballet performance from Tiler Peck, principal dancer at New York City Ballet (accompanied by Rudetsky, who quickly dashed the 15 blocks in the middle of the telethon to play piano for her performance!)
• IRC ambassador Mandy Patinkin sharing his hope for the future with an impromptu version of "Over the Rainbow" in both English and Yiddish as his wife, actress Kathryn Grody looked on
• Audra McDonald appearing virtually from Christine Barankski's house and then surprising the audience with an in-person live performance of "Children Will Listen" combined with "Carefully Taught"
• Original "Annie" star Andrea McArdle (who is part-Ukranian) closed out the evening singing the show's timeless anthem for hope, "Tomorrow"

Of the evening, co-host James Wesley said, "There were so many highlights of the day and night but I did have one favorite which was meeting actor Oleg Karpenko, coming to us live from Odessa, Ukraine. He was funny and optimistic and had a better Texas accent than me...and I'm from there! When I wrote him after the show, saying I looked forward to meeting him one day in Ukraine, he wrote me back to say, 'I will be glad to meet you in person in my country or anywhere in the world as art knows no boundaries.' I couldn't agree more."

IRC President, David Miliband, who kicked off the telethon in-person said, "I want to express gratitude to everyone from around the world who tuned in and donated to the Stars in the House Special 11-hour broadcast. A special thanks goes out to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for their $50,000 match to contributions made to support the International Rescue Committee. Your generous support helps the IRC be there for families in need in Ukraine and Poland. All the while, we are continuing our important work in more than 40 countries in crisis around the world and in 28 cities across the United States."

Other stars and activists included in "Stars in the House for Ukraine," which aired live on Saturday, March 26th from 12:00pm ET - 11 pm ET included: Rachel Bloom, Randy Rainbow, David Hyde Pierce, Donna Murphy, Annaleigh Ashford, Jessie Mueller, Lindsay Mendez, Laura Benanti, Betty Buckley, Rosie Perez, Rachel Bloom, Patrick Wilson, Brittney Johnson, Miranda Sings (aka Colleen Ballinger), Debra Monk, Bonnie Milligan, Alli Mauzey, Donna Lynne Champlin, Javier Muñoz, Norbert Leo Butz, Katie Finneran, Ruthie Ann Miles, Andy Karl, Morena Baccarin, Christine Pedi, Colin Donnell, Dagmara Doiminczyk, Santino Fontana, Judy Kuhn, Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams, Kevin Chamberlin, Jenn Gambatese, Sepideh Moafi, Danielle De Niese, Orfeh, Patti Murin, Susan Kelechi Watson, Yuriy Sardarov, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Dr. Jon LaPook, Melissa Gilbert and Tim Busfield, Nancy Dent, Dana Delany, Michael Cerveris, Douglas Sills, Lindsay Pearce, Tiler Peck, Celia Keenan-Bolger, David Hull, Heather Locklear, Andy Nyman, Kostya Kimlat, Abby Mueller, Paul Castree and Darius deHaas, David Phillips, Angie Swan, Maria Chilewicz, Andrea McArdle, Derek Klena, Shayna Steele, Tom Cavanaugh, Camryn Manheim, Milo Manheim, Jessica Vosk, Marcia Cross, Ukrainian artists Slava Babenkov, Eteri Chkadua, Elena Heimur, Andriy Milavsky, Anna Zhukovskaya, Rita Markova and Katya Stanislavskaya.

Stars in the House for Ukraine was underwritten thanks to the generosity of the Berlanti Family Foundation.

The 11+ hour telethon can be seen on starsinthehouse.com and Stars In The House YouTube channel. Viewers can still donate to the International Rescue Committee at starsinthehouse.com.

ABOUT STARS IN THE HOUSE

Stars in the House is a live streaming show dedicated not just to entertainment and raising spirits, but to raising money and awareness for charity.Stars in the House is hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, husbands and fathers who host the split-screen show out of their home in New York. To date, the show has raised over $1.1 Million dollars for the Actors Fund's Covid Relief program, and hundreds of thousands for other worthy non-profits, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

Stars in the House has featured stars like George Clooney, Tina Fey, Michael J. Fox, Ben Stiller, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Eva Langoria, Martin Short, Danny DeVito, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Owen Wilson, Billy Porter, Sutton Foster, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Darren Criss, Sean Hayes, Rosie O'Donnell, Kelsey Grammer, Chita Rivera, Drew Barrymore, Norman Lear, Annette Bening, Mandy Moore and many, many more.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and over 20 U.S.

cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.

ABOUT BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts. Broadway Cares also awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, at facebook.com/BCEFA, at instagram.com/BCEFA, at twitter.com/BCEFA and at youtube.com/BCEFA.

Photo credit: Lillian June Robinson