WORDTheatre event March 19 features all-star cast, 16-piece orchestra for one-night ocean celebration and fundraiser.
Lily Tomlin and Sharon Stone will open a one-night-only benefit concert titled “The Ocean: Our Liquid Universe” on March 19 at the Saban Theatre, where an all-star cast of actors and singers, backed by a 16-piece orchestra, will perform music, stories, poems and scientific narratives celebrating the ocean.
The WORDTheatre production, following its UK debut, blends songs, myths and scientific insights in a call to action for ocean conservation. Grammy Award-winning musical director Starr Parodi and conductor Anthony Parnther will lead the ensemble, which includes drummer Bernie Dresel, bassist Nedra Wheeler, saxophonist Logan Richardson, guitarist Janet Robin and vocalist Amy Keys.
Special musical guests include Dave Bayley of Glass Animals, Louis Price (former lead singer of The Temptations and The Drifters) and Mehro, performing a song with blessings from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
The acting cast features Bellamy Young (“Scandal”), Bruce Vilanch (“Hairspray”), Cassidy Freeman (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Gina Bellman (“Leverage: Redemption”), Jason George (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Jason Butler Harner (“All’s Fair”), Kimmy Shields (“Big Little Lies”), Rhashan Stone (“Hollington Drive”), Stephen Tobolowsky (“Freakier Friday”), Tracie Thoms (“Rent”) and Xander Berkeley (“The Walking Dead”). Narration will be handled by Iona Morris and Dave Fennoy.
The event, curated and produced by Cedering Fox, begins with a 6 p.m. red carpet and silent auction, doors and bar open at 6 p.m., and the performance runs from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
More information and tickets are available at the WORDTheatre website.
