A one-night-only reading of Martha Boesing and Victoria Rue's Voices from the Silenced will be presented October 21 at 7 PM at Symphony Space in Manhattan to benefit The Center for Reproductive Rights and The Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.
Directed by Zoya Kachadurian, the evening will feature Tony nominee Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America), Emmy nominee Jane Curtin (Saturday Night Live), Tony and Emmy winner Tyne Daly (Gypsy), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey), Oscar nominee Amy Irving (Yentl), Oscar winner Christine Lahti (Lieberman in Love), Tony winner Kecia Lewis-Evans (Hell’s Kitchen), Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason (Cinderella Liberty), and ALMA Award winner Rachel Ticotin (Total Recall) with additional casting to be announced.
Voices from the Silenced centers women who faced the dangers of illegal abortions and societal stigma in the era before 1973. Boesing and Rue combine drama and documentary to create a one-act play that is a call to action to the ongoing fight for reproductive freedom.
The performance will be followed by a discussion with experts currently dealing with the legal and medical battles surrounding reproductive rights.
Armenian Velvet Productions, Nina Keneally, and Sarahbeth Grossman, who are producing along with co-producer NewYorkRep, said in a joint statement, “Just as Martha Boesing and Victoria Rue felt a sense of urgency to speak up for women when they wrote Voices from the Silenced, we are presenting this one-night-only event in New York City at this crucial time in our country, when the future of women’s lives is at stake. With this incredibly talented cast, we are bringing these stories to the stage where, together as a community in the safe environment of the theatre, we can understand the reality of what women suffer when access to legal abortion is denied. United, we have more impact to protect women’s rights. All proceeds from the reading will provide urgently needed support to women currently seeking abortion care under stringent legal restrictions."
General management is by LDK Productions, and casting is by Daryl Eisenberg.
For ticket information click here. Tax-deductible donations are being accepted at GiveButter.com/VoicesfromtheSilenced.
