Photos: THE HOLLYWOOD RUSH Brings Together McCarthy, Shankman, Black to Benefit FosterMore

The Hollywood Rush returned to Los Angeles Sunday evening, bringing together an acclaimed group of writers, directors and actors for an extraordinary theatrical challenge: creating an original production in less than a day. Held at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the one-night-only event benefited FosterMore, an organization working to create brighter futures for young people who have experienced foster care.

The creative sprint began Saturday evening, September 26, when participating writers were given the theme of 'family' and challenged to incorporate lyrics from the iconic Sister Sledge song 'We Are Family' into their original plays overnight. By Sunday morning, directors joined the writers to review the scripts, while actors arrived to begin rehearsals. Throughout the day, casts and creative teams worked together to bring each piece to life before taking the stage that evening, with each play helmed by its own director and the overall creative production led by Adam Shankman.

The result was a fast-paced, hilarious evening of original theater that showcased the extraordinary talent, spontaneity and collaborative spirit of Los Angeles' theatre and entertainment community, while bringing the heart of FosterMore's mission to life. For many of the evening's participants, the foster care system is personal, making the night about more than the performances on stage, it was a celebration of community, connection and the power of coming together to support young people who have experienced foster care. Through their time, talent and shared commitment, the cast and creative team transformed a one-night theatrical experiment into a meaningful show of support for FosterMore and its mission to ensure every young person impacted by foster care has the opportunity to thrive.

This year's participating writers, directors and actors included Adam Shankman, Alec Mapa, Alli Wullfert, Angel Parker, Angelique Cabral, Andrew Friedman, Andrew Leeds, Annie Gonzalez, Annie Sertich, BEN FALCONE, Benito Martinez, Beth Hall, Cara DiPaolo, Catherine Reitman, Cheyenne Jackson, Chris Redman, Cooper Rebecca Adelman, Darren Le Gallo, Diana Maria Riva, Dustin Lance Black, Edi Patterson, Emily Perdergast, Erinn Hayes, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Isabella Gomez, Jamal Simms, Jason Daley Kennedy, Jeff Meacham, Joel Church, Jordan Black, Kat Foster, Kandyse McClure, Keon Thomas, Kyle Mooney, Lisa Vidal, Lucy DeVito, Melissa McCarthy, Missi Pyle, Mayan Lopez, Nagi Moore, Nicole Sullivan, Paul Ben Victor, Peter Paige, Rachael Harris, Shane McAnally, Steve Mallory, Syke Townsend, Timm Sharp.

Event Highlights and Quotes

A special youth-led partnership with Kids in the Spotlight, supported by members of The Hollywood Rush creative community, provided young storytellers Nagi Moore, Keon Thomas Hill and Brian Noel with an opportunity to work side-by-side with seasoned Hollywood directors on developing original work and experience the process of bringing stories to life onstage.

The evening kicked off with a chaotic behind-the-scenes video giving the audience a sneak peek into Saturday's day-long sprint to write, direct and rehearse ahead of show night. Hollywood Rush producer Kate DiRienzo-Payne took to the stage to open the night and celebrate everyone's non-stop efforts supporting FosterMore, sharing 'You only got a glimpse of what the last 24 hours have been like. Everybody has been working really hard on no sleep, minimal food, and a wing and a prayer. We've had fun all day, and we have some hilarious plays for you tonight, so laugh, hoot, holler but mostly, have fun! We're here for a wonderful organization, FosterMore, and it's going to be a super fun night!'

The night's six original one-act plays all explored the complexity and humor of family dynamics that each brought the house down each with an all-star roster of powerhouse writers, directors and actors. Between main stage acts, Annie Sertich, Jordan Black, and Andrew Friedman kept the room alive and warm with a series of quick-witted commercial parodies for sponsors WB Discovery, Magnatiles, and the Wilshire Ebell.

'FLIBBERTIGIBBET' written by Steve Mallory and directed by BEN FALCONE, starring Melissa McCarthy, Missi Pyle, Nicole Sullivan, Kyle Mooney, and Jason Daley Kennedy

'Charades' written by Gloria Calderón Kellett and directed by Kat Foster alongside KITS director Nagi Moore, starring Mayan Lopez, Isabella Gomez, Kandyse McClure, Timm Sharp, and Jordan Black

'Chat Bots' written by Cara DiPaolo and directed by Peter Paige alongside KITS director Keon Thomas Hill, starring Emily Pendergast, Andrew Friedman, Beth Hall, Skye Townsend, Lucy DeVito, and Alec Mapa

'Family' written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Darren Le Gallo, starring Angelique Cabral, Angel Parker, Paul Ben-Victor, Benito Martinez, and Erinn Hayes

'The Dead Elephant in the Room' written by Joel Church-Cooper and directed by Rebecca Addelman, starring Rachael Harris, Diana Maria Riva, Alli Wulfert, Chris Redman, and Jeff Meacham

The final performance was a showstopping musical featuring matching T-shirts, barefoot choreography and an electric energy that had the audience clapping along, bringing the evening to a high-energy close. 'We Are Family' was written by Andrew Leeds, with music and lyrics by Shane McAnally, directed and choreographed by Jamal Sims, and starring Cheyenne Jackson, Annie Gonzalez, Catherine Reitman, Edi Patterson, Adam Faison and Lisa Vidal.

FosterMore cofounders David Ambroz and Jennifer Perry took the stage to share the organization's origin story and highlight the importance of the meaningful cause behind this annual showcase, telling the crowd, 'Our pitch was really clear: we were going to leverage Hollywood and all of its immense power to show the resilience, the strength, and the power of the youth in foster care. We want to make sure that every kid knows where their toothbrush is every night, has parents who go to every soccer game, someone to tuck them in, and someone to walk them down the aisle. We're committed to making sure that youth in foster care succeed and thrive. Tonight, we're so grateful to have the most awesome cast of storytellers, directors, actors, and writers bringing this message to you and reminding us that we are a village working together to change lives.'

Hollywood Rush's Creative Director Adam Shankman, who served as the driving creative force behind the ambitious one-night production, alongside producers Kate DiRienzo-Payne and Jason Daley Kennedy, closed the show with a curtain call that filled the stage from end to end and a roaring standing ovation from the audience.

The Hollywood Rush was produced by NightKAP Entertainment, Zibby Allen, Kate DiRienzo-Payne and Jason Daley Kennedy. All proceeds from the event benefited FosterMore, a Hollywood-driven effort working to change the narrative and outcomes for youth in foster care through positive storytelling, educational and career opportunities, and foster parent recruitment.

The Hollywood Rush 2026 Host Committee included Rachel Griffin, Sara and Todd Schulman, Jennifer Lavin, Joy Gorman Wettels, Peter Mutabazi, Jeremy Blacklow, Kevin Burkhardt, Truc and AD Rastogi, Romi and Tom Lassally, Maya Collins, Heidi Scheeline, Brittany Balbo, Christopher Landon, Hilary Carr and Steve O'Dell, Kelly Brock, Kerry Roberts, Jay Gendron and Randy Gardner, Claudia Martinez, Montre Burton and Nii-Quartelai Quartey, Bryn Freedman, Alan Poul, Sam Champtaloup, David Ambroz, Heather Simpson, Nancy Daniels, Lara Alameddine and Daniel Dubiecki, Sheroum Kim, and Stacey Hoppe.

Sponsors for this year's event included WB Discovery, Magnatiles, the Office of Lindsey Horvath, 1800 Vine, Capri Coffee & Gelato, Angels Nest and UG2.

For additional information about The Hollywood Rush and FosterMore, please visit fostermore.org/thehollywoodrush.

About The Hollywood Rush

The Hollywood Rush brings the entertainment community together for a one-day creative sprint where writers, directors and actors collaborate to create original stage productions. Built around the belief that storytelling can be a force for connection and change, The Hollywood Rush pairs the creative energy of Hollywood with opportunities to support causes and organizations making a difference.

Photo Credit: Getty Images for The Hollywood Rush

Photo Credit: Getty Images