Tony winner Blair Brown should be ordering a lace collar any day now. The stage and screen favorite is set to play late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a Play-PerView virtual reading of Dianne Nora’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Living Document June 12. Other readings in the newly announced lineup include a look at an infamous recording session by The Ramones, starring Tony winner Lena Hall and upcoming Company star Bobby Conte Thornton, plus a reunion of Royal Pains featuring Mark Feuerstein, Campbell Scott, and Henry Winkler.
All readings begin at 7 PM ET (unless otherwise noted) and are available to stream for 96 hours.
AYA or Dear Lover, by Fernanda Coppel, premieres May 22 in a reading directed by Estefania Fadul. Raul Castillo, Tina Huang, and Roxana Ortega star. The play follows Luis Diaz, who is in a dark place. His career is stagnant, he’s suffering from a deep depression, and his wife of 10 years has just left him, so he decides to take a vacation to an Ayahuasca retreat in the Amazonian jungle in order to escape his problems. The reading will benefit NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Next up is an exploration of living while Black in America, How to Raise a Freeman by Zakiyyah Alexander, featuring Jon Chaffin, Aric Floyd, Emmy nominee Karla Mosley, Brandon Scott, Desean Terry, and Nick Unger. Susan Dalian directs. Proceeds from the June 5 presentation benefit JusticeLA: Fighting the L.A. County Jail Expansion.
Play-PerView then offers a reunion of USA’s Royal Pains June 6 with a reading of the comedy series’ finale “Uninterrupted.” HouseCall: A “Royal Pains” Reunion will include cast members Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Reshma Shetty, Brooke D’Orsay, Ben Shenkman, Campbell Scott, Jill Flint, Meredith Hagner, Sarah Mezzanotte, Zachary Hernandez, Anthony Pierini, John Hans Tester, Laura Lanza, and Ivan Quintanilla with series creator Andrew Lenchewski and writer-director Michael Rauch. A talkback will follow the reading moderated by Emmy winner Henry Winkler. Proceeds from the event benefit Feeding America.
Following that is the Brown-led Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Living Document. The work convenes a female and non-binary chorus of nine to tell the story of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice through scenes, stories, and standup, showcasing her enduring legacy as an activist, jurist, and beloved public figure. Directed by Kristina Valada-Viars, the cast also includes Sadieh Rifai, Karen Aldridge, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Sara Sevigny, Esteban Andres Cruz, Fawzia Mirza, Delia Kropp, and Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Proceeds from the reading benefit the ACLU and A Red Orchid Theatre.
A performance of Four Chords and A Gun, by John Ross Bowie, then streams June 26 at 7:30 PM. The reading stars Hall, Thornton, Emmy nominees Ben Feldman, Brendan Hunt, and Justin Kirk, plus Michael Cassidy, under the direction of Jessica Hanna. Forty years ago, Phil Spector made The Ramones a legend and destroyed the band. In Four Chords and a Gun, the punk band records 1979’s End of the Century in a session that sparks both personal tensions among the group’s members and violent struggles with the volatile Spector. Proceeds from the production will benefit Food on Foot.
Finally, Mando Alvarado’s Living and Breathing streams July 10 in a reading directed by Jerry Ruiz and starring Thomas Mejia, Garrett Mercer, Jose Perez, and Johnathan Tchaikovsky. In the play, when Todd purchases a ‘living sculpture,’ the controversial piece of art causes a rift with his old college friends Michael and Jeremy that leads to an examination of the nature of their lifelong bond through a conversation about race, friendship, and art in modern America. Proceeds from this presentation benefit RAICES – Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
So far, Play-PerView has raised over $350,000 in support of arts organizations and other charities across the country impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The programming is produced by Jeremy Wein. For more information, click here.
