A Constellation of Broadway Stars
On October 14, 2024, we attended the most amazing special event: Broadway Rallies for Kamala. I had learned about it the previous day and bought tickets for just $25 apiece. What better place than Broadway to attend my first political rally? I was excited!
I did two hours of phone banking for Kamala Harris that afternoon, canvassing people in the swing state of Pennsylvania. There was a web tool that placed the calls and automatically connected me without revealing my personal phone number. I used my cellphone to speak, and my laptop to view the suggested script and record my results. There were plenty of hangups, and a couple of polite staunch conservatives, but I did manage to have a handful of real conversations. As a special treat, Anne Hathaway joined our Zoom and gave us a little pep talk!
The location of the rally was kept hush-hush until just eight hours before curtain. We walked over to The Town Hall and joined a long queue that stretched all the way around two corners, to the other side of the block. After a long wait, the line moved quickly, and we had no problem getting seats.
The hosts were our beloved Seth Rudetsky and his husband, James Wesley Jackson. There was a long succession of Broadway stars, interspersed with political figures. It was magical, and astounding, and inspiring! Highlights:
Bucket List I: Audra MacDonald singing a brilliant mashup of “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” and “Children Will Listen”
Bucket List II: Billy Porter being fabulous
Beloved Favorite: Kelli O’Hara singing “Back to Before”
Classic: Lilias White singing “Respect”
Funny: Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie Perez
Surprise Treat: Stephen Schwartz accompanying Ana Gasteyer for “Gravity”
Clever Re-write: Kristin Chenoweth and fellow Glindas singing “Kamala” to the tune of “Popular”
Bonus Hollywood Celebrity: Anne Hathaway with a rousing rendition of “Somebody to Love”
The event was also live-streamed. I’m linking to the complete recording here, so I can re-watch it later.
