Tony and Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo, Tony nominee Michael Cera, and stage and screen star Gretchen Mol star in a virtual reading of Kenneth Lonergan's play Hold On to Me Darling October 11.
The 7 PM ET live stream, presented via the new digital platform IN.LIVE, benefits The Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theater in Los Angeles (where Ruffalo studied). Neil Pepe directs.
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All three performers are Lonergan veterans; Ruffalo and Cera starred in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of This Is Our Youth, respectively (Cera's other two Broadway credits are the playwright's Lobby Hero and The Waverly Gallery), and Mol appeared in his 2016 film Manchester by the Sea.
"It’s been a long time since any of us have gotten to act. I can say I miss it for sure," says Ruffalo. "We get to do a Kenneth Lonergan play with a great group of actors for a worthy cause in the time of COVID. What more can you ask for? The play is funny and touching in turns."
The play, which premiered at Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company in 2016, follows fictional country music star Strings McCrane who, upon learning of his mother's death, heads back to his hometown in Tennessee to shed himself of his celebrity and career.
General admission tickets are on sale for $10 and include a post-show Q&A with the cast, Lonergan, and Pepe; VIP packages ($100 and $500) feature such incentives as a signed poster, the chance to ask a question during the discussion, and a personalized video message from Ruffalo. For more information, click here.