Anne Hathaway, Billy Porter & More at BROADWAY RALLIES FOR KAMALA!

On Monday, October 14, Broadway for Harris presented Broadway Rallies for Kamala!, a special event in New York City to mobilize audience members and remote viewers across the country to get involved in supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the final weeks leading up to Election Day, November 5th. The one-night-only event was performed in front of a sold-out crowd at NYC’s historic Town Hall and live streamed via BroadwayWorld, which, combined with social media impressions, reached nearly 3 million people nationwide. See photos here! 
 
Directed by Schele Williams with music direction by Seth Rudetsky, co-hosted by Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson, and the evening included musical performances and energizing calls-to-action by a diverse slate of leaders, celebrities and surrogates.
 
Highlights of the evening included Anne Hathaway recreating her “Ella Enchanted” song “Somebody to Love,” relating it to undecided voters who are searching for the right candidate. She ended the number by proudly proclaiming her support for Kamala Harris. Audra McDonald sang a stunning rendition of “Carefully Taught” mixed with “Children Will Listen” to remind people that voting blue will help all of our future generations, something echoed by another guest, Chasten Buttigieg. Billy Porter inspired the audience with a 5-minute sermon that culminated in a rousing version of his new song “Not Today!” Lilli Cooper and Lillias White raised the roof with Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” which they performed after bowing to US Representative Jasmine Crockett, who spoke with Rosie Perez about what’s at stake in this year’s election. White then went off script and told everybody that Brooklyn is her home, and this planet is our home and we have to protect it. She then performed an impromptu version of Dorothy’s “Home” from The Wiz, a role she played more than 40 years ago. White received a full-house standing ovation! 
 
Broadway Rallies for Kamala! featured appearances and performances by Ana Gasteyer, Anne Hathaway, Arielle Jacobs, Audra McDonald, Avery Wilson, Billy Porter, Chasten Buttigieg, Coby Getzug, Hennessy Winkler, Isabelle McCalla, J. Harrison Ghee, Jasmine Crockett, Javier Muñoz, Jenn Gambatese, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Judy Kuhn, Kate Reinders, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Kyle Freeman, Laura Bell Bundy, Liam Pearce, Lili Thomas, Lilli Cooper, Lillias White, Patti Murin, Priscilla Lopez, Raúl Esparza, Rosie Perez, Shaina Taub, Stephen Schwartz, Whoopi Goldberg, Wilson Cruz and cast members from Broadway’s SUFFS (Ally Bonino, Chessa Metz, Dana Costello, Jenna Bainbridge, Monica Tulia Ramirez and Tsilala Brock), as well as Christian Arredondo, Isaac Kueber, Lindsay Lavin, Luis Mora, Luke Islam, Morgan Smart, Regina Famatigan, Sabrina Shah, Samantha Joy Pearlman, Sean-Michael Bruno, Ta’Nika Gibson and Will Jackson.
 
The creative team for Broadway Rallies for Kamala! also included David Rockwell (scenic design), Jamie Roderick (lighting design), Andrew Lazarow (video design) and Shannon Slaton (sound design), and producers James Wesley Jackson, Seth Rudetsky, Bruce Cohen, Robb Nanus and Jeff Metzler.
 

Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman & Marc J. Franklin