The evening of new work was inspired by President-Elect Donald Trump’s tweet, “The theater must always be a safe and special place,” which followed Vice President-Elect Mike Pence's visit to Broadway's Hamilton, where he was greeted by a mix of cheers and jeers and a heartfelt curtain speech from the cast.
A Safe and Special Place will feature original works by composer/lyricist/writer César Alvarez, Tony Award-winning playwright Christopher Durang, playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, award-winning playwright Eve Ensler, composer Michael Friedman, playwright Javier Antonio González, playwright Sam Hunter, playwright Mike Lew, Liz Meriwether, playwright and performer Rachel Shukert, composer/lyricist Michael R. Jackson, playwright Kim Rosenstock, Daniel and Patrick Lazour, playwright/singer-songwriter Dan Fishback, and more.
Special guest appearances will include actors/comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney (Oh, Hello), Zosia Mamet (Girls), Andrew Rannells (Falsettos, The Book of Mormon, Girls), Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black), Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Whiskey, Tango, Bravo), Chris Gethard (Career Suicide, Broad City), Jennifer Ikeda (Vietgone, Love and Information), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Love, Loss and What I Wore), and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Gypsy, She Loves Me) as Melania Trump.
Tickets are $40; all proceeds from ticket sales will go to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24; and KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), the leading organization for the protection of children who enter the U.S. immigration system alone and strives to ensure that no such child appears in immigration court without representation.
There is also an associated fundraising campaign for individuals who are unable to attend the event but would still like to contribute. To learn more and/or to purchase tickets, click here.
Watch Benanti's Melania Trump impersonation below: