YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART
Healthcare professionals help mend broken bodies, while theatre folk help heal collective souls. Now more than ever, it’s become apparent that the two need each other. From that, Brave Hearts for Broadway was born. It’s an organization that brings arts-minded frontline workers together with the theatre community to keep the arts alive via supporting The Actors Fund, the national human services organization that provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals.
Now, Brave Hearts for Broadway presents Let Us Entertain You, a very special video event that will bring together a performance from frontline and essential workers to support The Fund, give back to the theater industry and celebrate the performing arts. This unforgettable event will be available to stream on Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm ET on Playbill.com. It will be free to watch with donations encouraged at Actors Fund / Bravehearts. Watch the trailer below.
Michael E. Merritt, a registered nurse, playwright and producer, united over 120 people from 11 different countries to support and uplift theater professionals across the globe by organizing “The Frontline Choir and Friends,” a company made up of frontline workers, a dance group and theater professionals. “The Frontline Choir” will sing and dance to original songs written especially for this event by Matt Cusson, Terron Brooks, Elisa Nicholas and Andrew David Sotomayor. The event is choreographed by Kathleen Brazie and John Scott.
In addition to the Frontline workers and theater professionals, the video will feature cameos from Broadway and Hollywood stars thanking the frontline workers for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Jelani Alladin, Annaleigh Ashford, Shoshana Bean, Annette Bening, Alexandra Billings, Tommy Bracco, Kristin Chenoweth, Harvey Fierstein, Mandy Gonzalez, Ann Harada, Ruthie Henshall, Judy Kuhn, Linda Lavin, Andrea Martin, Laurie Metcalf, Jessie Mueller, Bebe Neuwirth, Bernadette Peters, Conrad Ricamora, Chita Rivera, Krysta Rodriguez, Lea Salonga, Stephen Schwartz, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Allyson Tucker, with special performances by Billy Porter, Megan Hilty and Brian Gallagher, and Lorna Luft.