THE 24 HOUR PLAYS Virtual Gala Now Available for On Demand Streaming

The performance was live and streamed in living rooms around the world!

by BWW News Desk Dec. 2, 2020

A who's who of stage, screen, and music stars came together virtually last night to help The 24 Hour Plays celebrate its milestone 20th Annual Broadway Gala. Hugh Dancy, Rachel Dratch, Carly Hughes, Gillian Jacobs and Bebe Neuwirth were among the incredible talents who teamed up to write, rehearse, produce, and perform six original plays in 24 hours. The performance was entirely LIVE and streamed in living rooms around the world!

The evening raised funds for The 24 Hour Plays' year-round non-profit programs, including The 24 Hour Plays National Fellows (our free professional intensive for young theater artists), The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues (over 342 free-to-view socially-distanced theater pieces during the pandemic), productions of The 24 Hour Plays with theater partners worldwide, and subsidized productions for schools and colleges.

The marathon process for The 24 Hour Plays began at 9 PM the night before the performance. The writers, directors, actors and production staff-many of whom had never worked with or met one another! -gathered virtually for an orientation where each performer shared one costume piece, one prop, a special skill, and revealed something that they have always wanted to do in performance. Using this as inspiration, writers spent the night developing 10-minute plays, with rehearsals beginning the morning of December 1st for an 8 PM performance that very night.

Jarly, Janna, Jeila, and Jag (Carly Hughes, AnnaSophia Robb, Sheila Vand, and Dagmara Domìnczyk) meet virtually in THE COATROOM to discuss their fabulous furs. What they don't realize is that someone among them is hiding a life-altering secret. THE COATROOM was written by Rachel Axler, directed by Kate Sullivan, and featured a surprise cameo by Diane Neal.

In THE BALLAD OF BOBBY BRADY, The Brady Bunch (Bebe Neuwirth, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Joel Marsh Garland) is happily living out their quiet lives - until Bobby Brady (David Cross) realizes one morning that nothing is as it seems. When Bobby decides to strike out on his own, an eccentric cast of characters (including a surprise cameo from Kathryn Gallagher) leads him through a chaotic string of misadventures. THE BALLAD OF BOBBY BRADY was written by Lauren Yee and directed by Victor Malana Maog.

THE FAR-FLUNG FOUR - Ben (Clark Gregg), Johnny (Noah Galvin), Susan (Katherine McNamara), and Reed (Josh Hamilton) - have regular virtual double dates to get them through the pandemic, along with a few more unconventional (and painful?) coping mechanisms. THE FAR-FLUNG FOUR was written by Jonathan Marc Sherman and directed by Gordon Greenberg, and featured a surprise cameo from Charitybuzz walk-on winner Phillip Lin.

As Henry (Russell G. Jones) and Harrie (Portia) celebrate their six-month anniversary in HINDSIGHT IS..., Harrie has a moment of hesitation when she realizes Henry is just "nice." The pair's off-kilter exes (Kelly AuCoin, Michelle Gomez, David Krumholtz, and Genevieve Angelson) appear in flashbacks as they reflect on how they've loved before, and how they want to love one another now. HINDSIGHT IS...was written by J. Holtham and directed by Taylor Reynolds.

FOUR YEARS AGO, Hugh Dancy, Solea Pfeiffer, Matt Lauria, Michael Zegen, and Merle Dandridge were together at a truly wild party. Since then, their lives have completely transformed. As they reunite and catch up, Hugh and Merle reveal that they are ready to change everything once again, and Solea and Michael see something strange (a surprise cameo by Lora Lee Gayer) that may change them... FOUR YEARS AGO was written by christopher oscar peña and directed by Patricia McGregor.

Fran (Rachel Dratch) needs to speak to an Amy (Amy Hargreaves, Gillian Jacobs, or Rahne Jones) - but a MISDIAL leads to a wild goose chase to find the right one, with her ex Malcolm (Jason Butler Harner) along for the ride. MISDIAL was written by David-Lindsay Abaire and directed by Carolyn Cantor.

A group of incredible musical artists had guests dancing in their seats between plays. Andra Day, Mike Doughty, LOLO, and M. Ward performed hits; while Adam Gwon, Jesse Eisenberg (who had help from friends Jason Robert Brown and Laura Benanti), and Impromptu Beats, a musical performance group featuring alumni of The 24 Hour Plays: National Fellows intensive for young artists, sang original tunes all about this moment in time and The 24 Hour Plays! During a special preshow toast, fans also enjoyed a special performance by 2020 Tony Award nominee Kathryn Gallagher, who sang favorite songs from Jagged Little Pill. Alex Edelman kept things moving as host for the evening.

Tickets for on-demand viewing of The 24 Hour Plays (virtual) Broadway Gala are available now through December 5. For more information, please visit http://24hourplays.com/broadway.