Audra Mcdonald, Elizabeth Stanley, Lauren Patten, and More to Join STARS IN THE HOUSE Tonight to Talk Omicron

Hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley will be speaking tonight with CBS Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, as well as Michael Mina (Chief Science Officer at EMed) and Kim Prather, Ph.D., (Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry, UC San Diego) about the new Omicron variant and what it means for Broadway and beyond on tonight's episode of "Stars In The House" to benefit The Actors Fund.

Joining them throughout the episode with their own questions will be Audra McDonald, Elizabeth Stanley, Lauren Patten, Kathryn Gallagher (all from Jagged Little Pill), Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton), and Christine Toy Johnson (Come From Away-national tour).

"Seth and I decided at the last minute to ask Dr. Jon LaPook, who has been with us since Day One of Stars in the House if he would help us put together a special episode of the show in order to answer some of the many questions about the Omicron variant that I'm sure many people are having right now," said James. "In addition to having two of the world's leading experts on testing and aerosols, we're also going to have actors from shows which have recently been canceled with their own questions."

The episode will live stream at 8 pm EST on Monday, December 20h on the Stars In The House YouTube channel, and StarsInTheHouse.com, and fans will be able to ask questions live, and make donations.

As the creators and executive producers of "Stars In The House," Seth and James bring a masterful combination of music, storytelling, and community to each episode, ensuring that the show goes on in viewers' homes even while performance venues across the world are closed.

Stars in the House is sponsored by Streamyard and Staging Concepts, a division of Trex Commercial Products. Based in Minneapolis, Staging Concepts is a leading national provider of staging solutions and equipment for performing arts spaces, production companies, and live events venues of all types. For the past 30 years, the company has been committed to elevating the abilities of all people to safely access and enjoy amazing life experiences.

For more information about Stars in the House and to see upcoming guests, please visit starsinthehouse.com and follow @StarsInTheHouse, Seth (@SethRudetsky), and James (@JamesWesleyNYC) on Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT STARS IN THE HOUSE

"Stars in the House," which officially kicked off on March 16th, is a daily series that features stars of stage and screen singing or performing plays live (from home!) to promote support for charitable services for those most vulnerable to the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Joining Seth and James for the shows is Dr. Jon LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News. Visit starsinthehouse.com to donate to The Actors Fund, watch previous episodes, learn about upcoming guests, and more.

Since the first show, "Stars In The House" has raised more than $1.1 million to benefit The Actors Fund, and over $264,000 for other charities including the NAACP LDF, Trevor Project, Humane Society of New York, and more - and continues to do so thanks to generous donations from Streamyard from the Berlanti Family Foundation. Seth and James also received a special Drama Desk Award and a Gotham Icon Award from the Museum of the City of New York for keeping the theatre community connected, informed and uplifted during the pandemic.

ABOUT Sharon Gless

Sharon Gless was born into a prominent Hollywood family and always knew she wanted to be an actress. She was an exclusive contract player for Universal Studios from 1972 until 1982 when the studio ended all talent contracts. She was the last contract player in the history of Hollywood. While at Universal, Gless appeared on series such as "The Rockford Files"; "Kojak," "The Bob Newhart Show"; and "Switch", among others. In 1982, she accepted the role of Cagney in "Cagney & Lacey," winning two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Leading Actress in a Drama Series, followed shortly by a Golden Globe win for her lead role in "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill." In 2000, Gless was cast as Debbie Novotny in "Queer as Folk," which ran for five seasons, after which she co-starred for seven seasons in her Emmy-nominated role on "Burn Notice." She has eleven Emmy and seven Golden Globe nominations. Gless married Barney Rosenzweig, the executive producer of "Cagney & Lacey," in 1991 and they've been together for 30 years. She currently resides both in Los Angeles and on Fisher Island, off the coast of Miami, Florida.

ABOUT THE ACTORS FUND

The Actor's Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio, and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services.

Since March 2020, The Actors Fund has distributed more than $21.6 million to more than 16,300 people in need in the performing arts & entertainment community - thanks to support from so many generous people, including everyone in the Stars In The House family! This has helped people in financial crisis pay for basic living expenses such as essential medications, rent, food, utilities, and other needs.

For the health and safety of everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Actors Fund has transitioned to online and phone-based services, which remain available for everyone in the performing arts and entertainment community. These services include Artists Health Insurance Resource Center, The Career Center, Housing Resources, Addiction & Recovery, HIV/AIDS and Senior Services, Counseling and Emergency Financial Assistance, as well as The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. To make a tax-deductible donation to The Actors Fund, visit actorsfund.org/donate.

ABOUT Seth Rudetsky

Seth began working on Broadway as a pianist for shows like Les Miserables and Phantom Of The Opera. He soon connected with Hearts and Voices, an organization that brings live weekly performances to hospitalized people with AIDS, and began volunteering for them in 1992, performing at Rivington House, Roosevelt Island Hospital, the prison ward at St. Clare's Hospital, and the Cardinal Cooke AIDS ward

In 2001, he produced and conducted "Dreamgirls" starring Heather Headley, Audra McDonald, and Lillias White, the first fall concert for The Actors Fund, which was recorded on Nonesuch Records and raised almost $1 million for The Fund. He then did "Funny Girl" with Idina Menzel and Jane Krakowski, "Chess" with Adam Pascal and Josh Groban, "Hair" with Jennifer Hudson (Ghostlight Records, Grammy nomination), "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Terrence Mann and Jennifer Hudson and "On The Twentieth Century" with Marin Mazzie and Kathleen Turner. He also starred opposite Sutton Foster in The Actors Fund production of "They're Playing Our Song" and hosted and played piano for an array of divas for their 2009 Nothing Like A Dame concert with Betty Buckley, Stephanie J. Block, Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, and Bebe Neuwirth.

He is the afternoon Broadway host on SiriusXM Radio and recently co-wrote and co-starred in "Disaster!" on Broadway, which was co-produced by his husband, James. He was also a co-producer on the Broadway for Orlando recording of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and Voices for the Voiceless, he and his husband's annual fundraiser for You Gotta Believe, which helps older foster children find loving homes.

As a writer, he was nominated for three Emmy awards for comedy writing on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and is the author of three volumes of "Seth's Broadway Diary" which has tons and tons of Inside Broadway stories (Dress Circle Publishing) and "My Awesome Awful Popularity Plan" and its sequel "The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek" (published by Random House), a young adult series about a teenaged gay kid named Justin Goldblatt, who's obsessed with theater and sports a Jewfro.

He is the afternoon Broadway host on SiriusXM Radio and recently co-wrote and co-starred in "Disaster!" on Broadway, which was co-produced by his husband, James. Seth and James produced the all-star Broadway for Orlando recording of "What the World Needs Now Is Love," featuring Carole King, Gloria Estefan, Sara Bareilles, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Billy Porter. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100, reached #1 on iTunes and raised over $100,000 for the GLBT Center of Orlando. Seth and James also organized the group to sing at the Democratic National Convention in 2016.

Seth and James teamed up with Broadway superstar Audra McDonald, director Schele Williams, and Broadway Inspirational Voices' Joseph Joubert and Michael McElroy to release a very special recording and music video of the beloved song "Georgia On My Mind" to help to raise funds and awareness for Stacey Abrams' Fair Fight organization's work to ensure that every eligible Georgian has the resources and information they need to vote in the January 5th runoff election. The single is released by Broadway Records and is available wherever digital music is sold and on BroadwayRecords.com. The video, which was directed by Schele Williams, is available for viewing via Fair Fight's YouTube Page.

Most recently, they collaborated with Williams on a special video celebrating the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which aired during the January 20 special. Over 35 stars, including Chita Rivera, Betty Buckley, Chandra Wilson, Jessie Mueller, Laura Benanti, Leslie Uggams, Peppermint, Vanessa Williams, Wayne Brady, and more joined from the safety of their own homes to belt out two iconic Broadway songs: "Season of Love" from RENT, and "Let The Sunshine In" from HAIR.

ABOUT James Wesley

In addition to conceiving the idea for Broadway for Orlando, James created (and co-produced with Seth) Voices for the Voiceless on Broadway in 2015 starring Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Megan Hilty, Antwone Fisher, Charlene Tilton, Caroline Rhea, Darren Criss, Alec Mapa, Kate Shindle, and Eden Espinosa. It shined a spotlight on foster care in a unique and entertaining way, combining celebrity, music, and everyday people sharing their stories. The concert raised $500,000 for You Gotta Believe! and the Council on Adoptable Children.

The now-annual benefit concert for You Gotta Believe had its sixth edition in February 2020 at The Town Hal in New York City, starring Laurie Metcalf, Kelli O'Hara, Andrea Martin, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, among many others.

In response to concerns that marginalized people would suffer after 2016's presidential election, James co-produced and co-hosted a concert series called Concert for America with his husband. The first concert was held at The Town Hall in New York, New York January 20, 2017. Over the course of the series (13 in all), entertainment's biggest stars from Barry Manilow, Vanessa Williams, Chita Rivera, Melissa Manchester, Marcia Cross, and Grant Gustin, generously lent their voices to raise money for national organizations dedicated to protecting civil rights, women's health, and environmental protection.

As a writer, he wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play, "Unbroken Circle", starring Eve Plumb and Tony nominees Anika Larsen and Jennifer Simard. He also wrote "Art and Science", a comedy-drama dealing with the generational differences between two gay men. It starred Tony nominees Tony Sheldon and John Tartaglia.

James was also proud to be one of the lead producers on Broadway of his husband's musical, "Disaster!"

James and Seth are the proud recipients of the National Leadership Award from the LGBTQ Task Force for their work on Broadway for Orlando's What the World Needs Now is Love. For their work on Stars in the House, they have received the Gotham Icon Award from the Museum of the City of New York, the Founders Award for Resilience from the Cancer Support Community, and a Drama Desk Award.

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