Stan Zimmerman's play Right Before I Go has added an additional two-performance weekend to its upcoming benefit run, due to start at Off-Broadway's The Tank September 7. The run, coinciding with Suicide Prevention Month, will benefit SL24 Unlocke the Light, and their work to arm young people with the tools needed to understand mental health.
Joining the company for the newly added performances September 21-22 will be Seth Rudetsky (Disaster) as Narrator, Nik Dodani (Atypical), Ward Horton (The Gilded Age), Juliana Joel (Raven's Home), and Christine Taylor (The Brady Bunch Movie).
The production is featuring different casts each week of its run. Zimmerman himself (Gilmore Girls) will serve as the narrator for performances September 7-15. The September 7-8 performances will star Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland), Patrick Page (Hadestown), Maulik Pancholy (30 Rock), and Peppermint (RuPaul's Drag Race). For performances September 14-15, Zimmerman will be joined by Emily Kuroda (Gilmore Girls), Danny Pintauro (Who's the Boss?), Hill Harper (The Good Doctor), and Pooya Mohseni (English).
Performances will be followed by talkbacks, with the first week's moderated by NYC Councilman Erik Bottcher, the second's by And Just Like That writer Keli Goff, and the third's by Broadway alum Paige Davis (Chicago). Also featured will be a local mental health professional.
The work, which premiered at the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival, collects real suicide notes from war veterans, bullied kids, celebrities, and more, ultimately building to a message of hope.
"SL24 is honored to be the beneficiary of this thoughtful and impactful production of Right Before I Go. We so appreciate the work of Stan Zimmerman and the actors to bring this subject matter to the forefront in an engaging manner," says SL24 Co-Founder Chris Locke in a statement. "SL24 is committed to removing the stigma of mental illness and then helping those find resources and supporting people in their journey. This play will achieve this mission."
Zimmerman has written scripts for TV series including The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Gilmore Girls, and served as executive producer of the 2008 series Rita Rocks. He was also co-writer for the 1996 feature film A Very Brady Sequel. As a director, Zimmerman helmed Off-Broadway's recent Hyprov. He released a memoir, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore, last year.
This performance of Right Before I Go is being licensed by TRWPlays, which also represents Zimmerman's Yes Virginia and Silver Foxes.
Tickets are at TheTankNYC.org.