In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift in education across the country, Tony Award nominee and Executive Producer Hailey Kilgore presents PROJECT SING OUT!, a one-night-only live-streamed event to raise funds for the Educational Theatrical Foundation (ETF) to support arts education, specifically in low-income communities and communities of color.
The live-streamed event will take place on Monday, July 20 at 7 pm (EST) in partnership with Playbill.com and can be viewed exclusively on Playbill.com’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page. Donations to support the Educational Theatre Foundation can be made at www.projectsingout.org.
Project Sing Out! will feature musical performances, spoken word and special appearances from a variety of Broadway and TV’s biggest names including Broadway legend Chita Rivera, Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle (“House of Lies,” Topdog/Underdog), Tony Award nominee Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty,” Into the Woods),Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (“Private Practice,” “The Good Fight,” Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill), Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple, Once On This Island), Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles ( The King and I, “All Rise”), Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Primetime Emmy Award NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Hamilton, The Color Purple), Tony Award nominee Hailey Kilgore (Once On This Island), Tony Award nominee Ramin Karimloo (Les Miserables, Anastasia), Tony Award winner Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), Tony Award nominee Will Swenson (Hair, Les Miserables), Javier Muñoz (Hamilton, In The Heights), Jordan Fisher (“Rent: Live,” Dear Evan Hansen), Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee,” Waitress), Peppermint (Head Over Heels), activist Jamie Brewer (“American Horror Story”), Celia Rose Gooding (Jagged Little Pill), Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Ana Villafañe (On Your Feet), Rodney Hicks (Come From Away, The Scottsboro Boys), Jon Rua (Hamilton), Telly Leung (Aladdin, In Transit), Quentin Earl Darrington (Once On This Island, Ragtime), Jelani Alladin (Frozen), Joshua Castille (Deaf West’s Spring Awakening), Antonio Cipriano (Jagged Little Pill), Ilda Mason (West Side Story). The performance line-up is subject to change and additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We have talked about the effects of COVID-19 on Broadway, but my thoughts are with the kids who will be the future of Broadway. We need to ensure young thespians don’t lose their safe, creative spaces at school,” said Executive Producer Hailey Kilgore. “I was one of those kids and it is our responsibility as the Broadway community to raise up the next generation of designers, directors, stage managers, choreographers and artists as they are the future of Broadway.”
Julie Cohen Theobald, President of the Educational Theatre Foundation said, “This is a time of incredible need for under-resourced schools and those with high percentages of BIPOC enrollment. Historically, only 28 percent of public high schools in high poverty areas offer theatre instruction. With the anticipated cuts in 2020-2021 state education budgets, these theatre programs will be at even greater risk, at a time when theatre and arts education is more essential than ever for students’ social and emotional wellbeing.”
Theobald added, “Thanks to the Project Sing Out! team for their vision and passion for positive change. The Educational Theatre Foundation is honored to be their beneficiary. Donations will fund grants to support Title 1 schools’ theatre programs. Together we can make a real difference, providing critically needed funds for school theatre programs.”
Additional producing and creative team for Project Sing Out! includes producers Yael Silver, Robin Carus, Eric Cornell, Chase Thomas; consulting producer Celia Rose Gooding; educational producer Erin Carr; general manager/art director Sam Cornbrooks; audio editors and mixers Michael Croiter and Matthias Winter; video editor Ethan Judelson; associate video editor Alexander Rios; music director Ted Arthur, casting director Robin Carus; writer Simon Henriques; co-director of sponsorships Lori Tishfield; and educational advisors Melody Herzfeld and Corey Mitchell.
For more information visit www.projectsingout.org.