Wesley Taylor's BRIDGING THE GAP Benefit Reading, with Nathan Lane, Debra Messing & More, Held Tonight

The sold-out benefit evening of "BRIDGING THE GAP AND OTHER SHORT PLAYS BY WESLEY TAYLOR" -- an evening of readings of a collection of six new short plays by actor and playwright WESLEY TAYLOR to benefit The Actors Fund -- is held tonight, October 26, 2015 at 7:30 pm at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Previously announced cast including Golden Globe, Emmy, and two-time Tony Award winner NATHAN LANE and Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winner DEBRA MESSING will be joined by Emmy and Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee STOCKARD CHANNING ("Six Degrees of Separation"/"The West Wing"/Other Desert Cities), TRACEE CHIMO(Bad Jews/Lips Together, Teeth Apart), Obie winner DANE DEHAAN ("The Amazing Spider-Man: 2"/The Aliens), Tony nominee BILLY MAGNUSSEN ("Into the Woods"/Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike), Tony nominee BRYCE PINKHAM (The Heidi Chronicles/A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder), "Smash" actress KRYSTA RODRIGUEZ (First Date/Deaft West's Spring Awakening), BECCA TOBIN ("Glee"/Rock of Ages), KYLE BELTRAN (Fortress of Solitude/In the Heights), LOGAN FAHEY("Masters of Sex/"Grey's Anatomy"), MAX JENKINS ("The Mysteries of Laura"/Unnatural Acts), ALICE LEE (ABC's "Rising Star"/Heathers: The Musical), VICTORIA MACK (Venus in Fur/"The Good Wife), ADRIENNE WARREN (Bring it On: The Musical/"Orange is the New Black") Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and with Roger Clark on stage directions.

The evening will be hosted by Susan Blackwell and will feature direction by Michael Arden.

The evening will consist of six ten minute play readings, written by WESLEY TAYLOR, including "Bridging the Gap"; "Spark"; "Mother"; "Cuckold"; "Little Monsters"; and "Billy Green Auditions for Juilliard." The director and host will be announced at a later date. All cast members are subject to change.

ABOUT THE ACTORS FUND: The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone-performers and those behind the scenes-who works in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 21,000 people directly each year, and hundreds of thousands online. Serving professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance, The Fund's programs include social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and employment and training services. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Actors Fund has-for 133 years-been a safety net for those in need, crisis or transition. Visit www.actorsfund.org.

WESLEY TAYLOR (Playwright) most recently premiered his short play, "Cuckold" at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. His countless sketch comedy and web content led him to Co-creating, writing, and starring in "It Could Be Worse," which was sold to Participant Media. The series premiered on Pivot TV, and now streams on Hulu. International fans can access via Vimeo on Demand. He holds a BFA in Drama from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. A Theatre World Award Winner and Outer Critics Circle Nominee, Taylor was in the original Broadway casts of Rock of Ages and The Addams Family. He recently starred as 'the Emcee' in Signature Theatre's acclaimed production of Cabaret, and has extensive credits Off-Broadway and Regionally. His TV credits include "The Good Wife," "Looking," "The Tomorrow People," "One Life to Live," "The Tony Awards," and 26 episodes as 'Bobby,' the sassy chorus boy on "Smash."