A host of stage favorites are set to take the stage in Broadway Fights Back, a one-night-only concert event benefiting March for Our Lives, October 22 at the Town Hall in New York City.
Set to perform alongside March For Our Lives student activists are composer Jason Robert Brown, Jessica Keenan Wynn (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) Nicolette Robinson (Waitress), Ar’iel Statchel (The Band’s Visit), Betsy Wolfe (Waitress), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Mean Girls), Andy Mientus (Spring Awakening, Smash), Ariana DeBose (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Etai Benson (The Band’s Visit), Ethan Slater (SpongeBob SquarePants), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Mallory Bechtel (Dear Evan Hansen), Samantha Massell (Fiddler on the Roof), Wesley Taylor (SpongeBob SquarePants), Timothy Hughes (Frozen), Jelani Alladin (Frozen), Jenn Gambatese (School of Rock), Bryan Terrell Clark (Hamilton), Ryan Jamaal Swain (Pose), and the cast of The Lightning Thief.
“Broadway Fights Back is about getting the theatre community and its wide-reaching influences actively involved in the conversation surrounding gun violence prevention and youth empowerment,” said March For Our Lives organizer Alex Wind, a Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor. “We want to make sure everyone who can be is registered to vote and prepared to head to the polls in November. This concert helps raise more awareness for the work of March For Our Lives and the ongoing efforts to end gun violence.”
The performing arts have become a tool for resilience in the wake of the February 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. In the aftermath of the tragedy, several students spearheaded the Never Again MSD movement, advocating for effective regulations and gun violence prevention. Some were involved in a local production of Spring Awakening that provided a sense of catharsis. In June, drama teacher Melody Herzfeld was honored with a Special Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education.
Kate Whoriskey helms the concert, featuring musical direction by Ted Arthur. Yael Silver and Rachel Sussman produce with Sydney Steele, Kevin Duda, Robb Nanus, Diana DiMenna, and Robin Carus.
