Jane Fonda Will Lead DEAR EVERYTHING: A Musical Uprising For The Earth at BAM

Academy Award winner and climate activist Jane Fonda will star in the New York premiere of Dear Everything: A Musical Uprising for the Earth at BAM on Earth Day, April 22, 2026. Written by Tony Award winner V (formerly Eve Ensler) and directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus, the urgent new folk-pop musical arrives at the Howard Gilman Opera House for a one-night engagement that places art at the center of the climate conversation.

Created as an artistic response to our climate emergency, Dear Everything centers youth leadership, intergenerational responsibility, and collective action. The work extends V's decades-long commitment to harnessing storytelling as a force for cultural and political transformation.

“At a time when we are witnessing extreme weather across every region of the world, the violent dismantling of emissions protections, and the rapid deforestation, drilling, and opening of sacred lands, this musical feels more urgent than ever. Dear Everything offers an antidote — the voices of visionary youth, powerful storytelling, inspirational music, and a deep devotion that opens portals to other realms. After traveling the country with this piece, we have witnessed firsthand the power and joy it ignites, and we are thrilled to bring it to BAM and New York City.” — V (formerly Eve Ensler)

Fonda, whose Jane Fonda Climate PAC focuses on defeating Big Oil by helping elect climate champions on the state and local level, lends her voice to the production as narrator.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to stand on the BAM stage, alongside these powerful performers to bring Dear Everything to New York. Our planet is burning from human-made climate catastrophe, and we need to join together to confront this. Dear Everything is about the power of solidarity and it gives us the anthems we need for the job." — Jane Fonda

In the face of a full-blown climate emergency, can we band together and intervene before it's too late? This is the question at the core of Dear Everything.

When the adults in a small town try to sacrifice the nearby forests for money, teenager Sophia galvanizes her fellow young people to stop it, endowing them with a sense of empowerment they never thought possible. With an electrifying rock score, Dear Everything is a thrilling call to collective action addressing one of the most pressing issues of our day.

The musical was born through the collective synergy of Tony Award-winning playwright V; the Tony-winning director and Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), Diane Paulus; Grammy and Golden Globe-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter; singer and songwriter Caroline Pennell; songwriter and music producer Eren Cannata; and orchestrator Daniel Crean; with contributions by Tony Award winner Idina Menzel. Originally developed and produced by A.R.T., produced by V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women, gender expansive people, and the Earth, in association with A.R.T., the work now makes its New York premiere at BAM. Dear Everything marks the first artistic piece centering around climate from V-Day, long known for its vast survivor-led, grassroots, anti-violence work on college campuses and in communities.

The cast of Dear Everything includes Crystal Monee Hall, YDE, Paravi, Luke Ferrari, Michael Williams, Brittany Campbell, Javier Muñoz, Terence Archie, and Benny Elledge. Casting by Whitely Theatrical.

Youth participation is central to the production's framework. The performance incorporates young artists and climate advocates, reinforcing its intergenerational structure and grounding its message in lived urgency. Local youth choirs (early teens to 18 years old) are featured in the central role of the “Earth Choir.” At BAM, the choir will include the Broadway for Arts Education Choir and the Brooklyn Music School Choir.