Monday night saw the thirteen annual 24 Hour Plays event in New York City at the American Airlines Theater, and if the event by its nature wasn’t confined to a single day one would expect that the popular fundraiser was long overdue for expansion.
Actors participating this year included Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rachel Dratch, James McAvoy, Anthony Mackie, Rosie Perez, Jason Biggs, Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez and each brought their own props and costumes. Levi’s and Rodriguez’s participation is particularly impressive considering they are currently starring in First Date on Broadway and this would have normally been their night off!
They performed works written for the event by David Lindsay-Abaire, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Lynn Nottage, Theresa Rebeck, Rachel Axler and Devin Mojica, a sophomore from New York University who won the chance to participate. However, the actors had plenty of say in their characters.
According to reports, comedian David Cross was the star of the show by delivering just one line in each of the last four plays: “Oh, come on. It’s just milk.” Cross is a long-time participant in the annual event, and admits that although he didn’t have enough time to devote as much time as he wanted to the event he was still adamant about participating.
The event began at 10 PM on Sunday when the playwrights each wrote a 10 minute play. At 7 AM the playwrights picked their casts and the material was rehearsed until showtime at 8 PM.
Proceeds from the performance support the Urban Arts Partnership, which supports arts education programs in New York City public schools. Sponsoring the event for its eighth year is Montblanc, which also sponsors the Young Writer’s Program that selected the New York University who served as one of the playwrights.
via The Associated Press
