Merle Dandridge & Jenna Ushkowitz to Host Harvest Home L.A. Benefit on 4/21

Join Merle Dandridge (The Last of Us, Station 19) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Glee, Waitress) for Jenna, Merle, and Friends: A Night of Song a night of pop and Broadway performances.

The starry benefit will feature Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Cheyenne Jackson (American Horror Story) , Katie Lowes (Scandal) , Kevin McHale (Glee), Austin Mackenzie (Spring Awakening), Adam Shapiro (Never Have I Ever), Tracie Thoms (9-1-1),  Carly Thomas Smith (RENT), Rachel Bay Jones, Carly Hughes, Ty Taylor, Troy Baker (The Last of Us) and Kim Dawson (NBC’s Sing Off) with Musical direction by Seth Rudetsky (Disaster! The Musical) and James Wesley (Stars in the House), with staging by Lee Martino (Les Girls). 

The evening will be hosted by longtime friends Merle Dandridge and Jenna Ushkowitz in partnership with Seth Rudetsky, James Wesley, and their organization Your Kids, Our Kids.

Dandridge and Ushkowitz most recently collaborated on the Tony winning Broadway revival of Once on This Island, Dandridge in the role of Papa Ge with Ushkowitz producing. In the last 10 years, Dandridge has volunteered, mentored and now serves on the board of Harvest Home. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Rudetsky and Wesley launched Stars in the House, a daily live-stream series supporting The Actors Fund featuring music, community, and education, including remote performances and interactive donations, raising over one million dollars.

The show, set for Sunday, April 21 at 7:30pm, will take place at The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica with proceeds benefiting Harvest Home L.A., a Los Angeles based non-profit started in 1985 to provide a safe and nurturing environment for unhoused pregnant women. Harvest Home has since provided housing and support to more than 650 families, transforming the lives of unhoused pregnant women and their children through programs designed to empower and equip residents during the critical periods of pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum bonding. 

In 2022 Harvest Home opened a second home to nearly triple service capacity and launched a new 2-Step program model through two residential sites: the Venice Home (Step 1, 30-60 days) and the Pico Home (Step 2, up to six months postpartum) to expand their continuum of care and improve health outcomes and long-term stability for families. Upon completion of the program, graduates receive ongoing case management and support through the Alumnae program. To learn more, donate, or volunteer, visit harvesthomela.org. 

“We are so grateful to Jenna and Merle for coming together with their friends to amplify the experience of unhoused pregnant mothers who are working to end generational homelessness for their families,” said Sarah Wilson, Executive Director at Harvest Home. “This event will not just raise awareness and funds, but honors capable and resilient women who are too often marginalized.”

“The women at Harvest Home are a constant inspiration. The courage, the spirit, and the joy that erupts while embarking on motherhood during the toughest of circumstances…well, it puts the enormous heart-capacity and ferocious fire of being a woman on full display,” said Dandridge. 

“As a new mother, I felt compelled to support and serve other mothers in need within my local community. Some wonderful friends, who are also moms, introduced me to Harvest Home. The organization's mission and dedicated work resonated deeply with me. And I feel privileged to contribute a small part in the work they do,” added Ushkowitz. 

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