Cynthia Nixon and Susan Sarandon to Lead LITTLE LIVES Benefit at The Public Theater

A special benefit reading of LITTLE LIVES, a play by Shara Feit, will take place March 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Barbaralee Theatre at The Public Theater in New York City. The one-night event will star Cynthia Nixon and Susan Sarandon and will raise funds for the Chicago Abortion Fund.

Produced by Rachel Ackerman and directed by Kylie Eustis-Brown, the reading centers on two neighboring organizations with opposing missions: Women’s Choice, an abortion clinic, and Women’s Care, a crisis pregnancy center seeking to shut it down. The play explores shared humanity across ideological lines, as well as themes of queerness, religion, and the human cost of the abortion debate.

The cast will also include Ashlie Atkinson, Delia Cunningham, Haley Wong, Niall Cunningham, and Marlowe Holden. Original music is by Jacob Brandt. Heather Englander will serve as Production Stage Manager, with Ackerman as Executive Producer.

The presentation aims to raise $20,000 in support of the Chicago Abortion Fund, which provides financial and logistical assistance to individuals seeking abortion care in Illinois and beyond. According to the organization, it has supported more than 50,000 people in 45 states since the fall of Roe v. Wade, distributing over $20 million in direct assistance and related support.

LITTLE LIVES has been recognized nationally as a finalist for the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the Terrence McNally New Play Incubator (Rattlestick Theater/Tom Kirdahy Productions). Development has been supported by G45 Productions, Banff Centre/Canadian Playwrights Lab, Geva Theatre Center, the New Harmony Project, and Pipeline Theatre Company.