The coronavirus pandemic is inspiring plenty of comedians to perform sets from their homes, and musicians to give mini concerts from the comfort of their living rooms.
Now, Auli’i Cravalho, the voice of “Moana,” and “Detective Pikachu” star Justice Smith are among a group of young actors coming together to perform a live play reading to raise money in aid of arts students whose schools have been closed due to the pandemic.
At 2 p.m. PT today, the duo will join MC Brando Crawford in a performance of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which will be live streamed on the Facebook page of Acting For a Cause, the organization behind the reading.
Other participants in the play reading will include “Hereditary” star Alex Wolff, “Ozark” season 3 actor Jessica Frances Dukes, “Parenthood” alum Sarah Ramos, “Cirque du Freak” actor Jessica Carlson, and “Assassination Nation” star Odessa Young.
The money raised will go towards supporting fine arts and private school students from low income backgrounds in West Chicago who have been affected by the closures caused by COVID-19.
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According to Crawford, who founded Acting For a Cause, this will be the first in a series of readings to raise money to help relieve people affected by coronavirus. Next in Crawford’s list of ideal works to perform live are Shakespeare and “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank. The organization has already raised $20,000 pre-live stream through private donors, according to Crawford.
The reading is the latest example of stars continuing to use their talents to entertain while in self-isolation. Among the scores of other examples is Sir Patrick Stewart, who is reading a sonnet every day to his 3.4 million Twitter followers.
