Written by Morning, Busy Philipps Joins The 24 Hour Plays on 42nd Street
The Cougar Town star, David Cross and Hugh Dancy perform brand-new plays at the Todd Haimes Theatre on November 2 in a gala honoring Hamilton director Thomas Kail
Busy Philipps, Shannon Purser, James Lance and Constance Zimmer have joined The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the one-night gala of brand-new plays at the Todd Haimes Theatre on Monday, November 2, Playbill reported on Wednesday.
The idea is simple and slightly mad. Stars of stage and screen write, rehearse and perform new plays inside a single day, as The 24 Hour Plays describes it. The audience shows up at seven on West 42nd Street to see what survived the night.
The scripts do not exist yet. That is the whole point.
Who Is in This Year's Company?
A crowd of familiar faces from television, film and Broadway. Playbill's announcement adds seven names to the cast. They are Ruby Cruz (Bottoms), Patrick Heusinger (Absentia), James Lance (Ted Lasso), Busy Philipps (Cougar Town), Shannon Purser (Stranger Things), Mickey Sumner (Frances Ha) and Constance Zimmer (Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette).
They join a group announced earlier. That list includes Justin Bartha, David Burtka, Chris Chalk, David Cross, Hugh Dancy, Jin Ha, Josh Hamilton, Alano Miller, Keith Nobbs, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Amber Tamblyn. More names are promised.
Rubin-Vega has had a busy week. She was back with the original company for Rent's 30th anniversary concert on West 46th Street on Monday.
Who Writes the Plays?
Six playwrights with serious Broadway credits. Eboni Booth (Primary Trust), Sarah Burgess (Dry Powder), Julia Jordan (Murder Ballad), Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen), David Lindsay-Abaire (Kimberly Akimbo) and Jonathan Marc Sherman (Things We Want) are writing, Playbill reports.
Six directors take the scripts from there. They are Sherri Eden Barber, Tiffany Nichole Greene, David Ruttura, Kate Sullivan, Patrick Vassel and Deanna Weiner.
Here is Suite 646's tally of the lineup as announced on Wednesday. There are 18 performers, 6 writers and 6 directors, or 30 artists in all, with more performers still to come. That works out to three performers for every writer so far.
Why Is Thomas Kail the Honoree?
Because the event helped build his circle. Kail, the Tony-winning director of Hamilton, is a longtime supporter, and he says in a statement quoted by Playbill that many of the assistants and associates he went on to hire were directors he first met through The 24 Hour Plays.
Two of this year's directors, Greene and Vassel, carry Hamilton credits in Playbill's listing. Kail sounds pleased about it. "I can't wait to see what this talented group of theatre-makers cook up for the evening," he said.
I can't wait to see what this talented group of theatre-makers cook up for the evening.
Kail also turns up in the organization's own list of past participants, along with names such as Oscar Isaac, Julianne Moore, Chris Rock and Laverne Cox. Kail is one of the producers of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Warriors on Broadway, so his calendar is not exactly empty.
The organization lists sponsors for the night that include the Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The money raised goes to its year-round work, which includes The 24 Hour Plays Nationals, partner productions and education programs.
Mark Armstrong, the artistic director, called the company a mix of "repeat offenders and new friends," Playbill reports.
How Long Has This Been Going On?
Twenty-five years. The first gala took place on September 24, 2001, according to the organization, with Rosie Perez, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore and Andre Royo in the company and plays by Warren Leight and Christopher Shinn.
By our arithmetic, Monday's gala comes 25 years and 39 days after that first night. That first night came 13 days after September 11, 2001. The format has not changed since.
What to Know Before You Go
The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway is Monday, November 2, at 7 p.m. at the Todd Haimes Theatre, 227 West 42nd Street. Tickets are sold through the organization's Broadway page, which does not list prices. The money supports its arts education and artist service programs, including programs for students from middle school through college.
Come with low expectations and you will be wrong. Come with high ones and you might also be wrong. That is the fun.
Today, not one of Monday's plays has been written. By seven o'clock on Monday, Philipps and company will have to say them out loud.
