[title of show] Cast Talks Real-Life Friendship, Shares Onstage Mishaps & More on STARS IN THE HOUSE

By: Apr. 06, 2020
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[title of show] Cast Talks Real-Life Friendship, Shares Onstage Mishaps & More on STARS IN THE HOUSE

The Actors Fund has teamed with SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, to produce a daily mini-online show, entitled Stars in The House, featuring stars of stage and screen singing and performing live (from home!) on social media to promote support for The Fund's services for those most vulnerable to the effects of virus.

Stars in The House continued last night (8pm) with the original [Title of Show] cast, Heidi Blickenstaff, Hunter Bell, Susan Blackwell, Jeff Bowen.

Jeff Bowen shared how [Title of Show] came to be:

"We believed somewhere deep in our souls that this story about people creating musical theater needed to be told on Broadway. And for whatever reason, we just didn't give up. We kept going and going until lo and behold we found ourselves at the Lyceum."

Heidi confirmed that the cast's friendship is not just for "show": We are truly friends. We were friends and we are still friends in real life. What was super special about the show was that it was chronicling an authentic friendship."

The cast shared the story of when Jeff tripped and nearly broke his ankle onstage. Heidi recalled:

"I didn't exactly know what had happened. All I heard was a thud, and Jeff Bowen was down, and half of his body was out of the door, and the rest of him was still onstage, and then he slowly started to snake out the door. But I remember thinking, 'What happened?' I had no idea it was an ankle injury, I thought it was a massive heart attack. I had no idea what it was, and Susan and I were left to deal with that emergency, not knowing what had happened to our best friend who was being dragged off stage as if he were unconscious. It was insanity. And when [Jeff] came back onstage, Susan and I had no idea, and I remember, Jeff, I tackled you, I hugged you because I was just happy you were alive!"

Click HERE to watch the full episode!

New shows will be produced DAILY at the traditional theater times of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET. Each star will be singing a mix of their hit songs and/or something unexpected. Between each song, Seth will interview the star as he does on SiriusXM, leading them to give fun, inside stories about their careers. Both the star and Seth will encourage people watching to donate at ActorsFund.org/Donate and James will be giving updates from The Fund as well as giving shout-outs to people donating in real time.

You're reading the official blurb, or short summary, of [title of show]. Blurb. That's a funny word. We spent a lot of time on this blurb so please read the whole blurb. [title of show] is a musical about two nobodies named Hunter and Jeff who decide to write a completely original musical starring themselves and their attractive and talented ladyfriends, Susan and Heidi. Their musical, [title of show], gets into the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and becomes a hit. Then it gets an off-Broadway production at the Vineyard Theatre, and wins three Obie Awards! Then (drumroll if you've got a drum) it's announced that their musical is going to Broadway (hooray!) and people start seeing this blurb everywhere! They read that The New York Times called [title of show] "DELECTABLE ENTERTAINMENT! A postmodern homage to the grand tradition of backstage musicals like Babes in Arms, Kiss Me, Kate and A Chorus Line." Fully intrigued, those people snatch up tickets and help make Hunter and Jeff's life-long dream come true!

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos



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