Julia Roberts, Lily Gladstone, Wilson Cruz and Peppermint will participate in next month’s “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” organized by the Jane Fonda-led Committee for the First Amendment.
The quartet joins an all-star lineup that already boasts performances and special appearances by Fonda, Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Joy Reid, Rufus Wainwright, Sasha Allen and Broadway Inspirational Voices. Also new to the bill are Jenn Colella, Alex Joseph Grayson, Singing Resistance, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Kayla Davion and Rev. Adriene Thorne.
“We can’t sit idly by while our rights are at stake. History shows us that when democracy is threatened, song becomes one of our most powerful weapons,” said Fonda in a statement about the show. “Right now, we are at a critical crossroads. It’s time for us to rise up, raise our voices and stand up against a government that refuses to put its people first. We are fighting back the best way we know how to: with our community and in solidarity.”
“Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment” will take place on Sunday, June 14 — which is Flag Day — at Town Hall in New York City and will also be free to watch via livestream. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. ET, with the show to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster or via the concert website.
All proceeds will support the Committee for the First Amendment, a collective of artists, storytellers and cultural leaders standing together to defend free expression against government repression, industry complicity and intimidation. Last October, Fonda publicly announced the relaunch of the coalition — a McCarthy-era initiative founded in the 1940s to protect free speech, of which her father, Henry Fonda, was an original member — with the support of more than 550 A-listers, including Aaron Sorkin, Anjelica Huston, Barbra Streisand, Ben Stiller, Billie Eillish, Hannah Einbinder, Janelle Monae, John Legend, Judd Apatow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julianne Moore, Kerry Washington, Lily Tomlin, Melanie Griffith, Natalie Portman, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Rosie O’Donnell, Sean Penn, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Viola Davis, Wanda Sykes and Whoopi Goldberg.
“Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment” will be directed by Schele Williams, and the music will be directed by Mary Mitchell Campbell and written by Bess Kalb. The show will feature lighting design by Jamie Roderick, sound design by Cody Spencer and projection design by Daniel Brodie & Olivia Sebesky. Linda Marvel will serve as production stage manager. The evening is produced by Bruce Cohen and rigor + ruckus (Robb Nanus, Heather Shields & Rachel Sussman).
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