Congressional Republicans and Democrats Reach Across the Aisle for Will on the Hill
(© U.S. Congress)
On Monday, June 7, Members of Congress and distinguished Washington personalities will participate in the annual Will on the Hill fundraiser to benefit Shakespeare Theatre Company's education and community engagement programs.
The event casts some of Washington's favorite local actors and politicians in a staged reading. This year's script is by Nat Cassidy and is titled Will on the Hill and Far Away. It follows a definitely-not-mad scientist who crashes a Congressional hearing held to determine once and for all what's so great about the works of the Bard. In a nod to old sci-fi classics, a hapless handful of politicians are transported directly into the world of Shakespeare's plays when a time machine backfires. A virtual reception at 6pm will be followed by the virtual performance at 7pm.
This year's reading will feature performances by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Rep. André Carson (D-IN), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Rep. French Hill (R-AR), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT).
In addition to the congresspeople, other notable participants include Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States Dame Karen Pierce, Ian Liddell-Grainger (a conservative member of Parliament in the UK), Nury Turkel (who serves on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom), Grover Norquist (founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform), and and longtime Will on the Hill supporters Marla Allard and Maggie Coons. All cast members are subject to change.
Some of DC's favorite actors, including Felicia Curry (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!), Yonatan Gebeyehu (Timon of Athens), Christopher Michael Richardson (Macbeth), Tom Story (Peter Pan and Wendy), Holly Twyford (Old Times), and Gregory Wooddell (The School for Lies) will join with members of Congress on the virtual stage. Bianca Amato (Nöel Coward's Private Lives), Tẹmídayọ Amay (School Girls: or, The African Mean Girls Play), Zoë Sophia Garcia (The Oresteia), Kimberly Gilbert (Marie Antoinette), television star Harry Hamlin (Mad Men, Law & Order), Tony Award nominee Patrick Page (Hadestown), Tristan André Parks (The Amen Corner), Tony Roach (The Metromaniacs), Faran Tahir (Othello), Broadway star Tracie Thoms (Rent), Craig Wallace (A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre), Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story), and Jacob Yeh (Julius Caesar) will appear in cameo performances.
The evening's event will also feature cameos and performances by students from STC's various educational programs, showing the variety and importance of arts education.
Click here for tickets and more information about Will on the Hill.
