With Broadway possibly not opening back up until the late summer or early fall, actors have been out of work and struggling for nearly a year.
And though they’ve come together for creative artistic performances during this time, now they can get some extra work thanks to one of NYC’s most iconic shows.
The showrunner of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Warren Leight, shared on social media that they are “trying to hire every Broadway actor” they can while theaters are shut down.
And yes, by Broadway, we of course also mean off, and off-off, and off-off-off.
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) January 6, 2021
Theater fanatics will see Tony-nominated Hadestown actor Eva Noblezada and Beetlejuice actor Alex Brightman in this coming week’s episode, and more Broadway crossover is on the horizon.
“We know how hard the community has been hit here,” Leight said in an interview with Deadline. “The goal is to get as many jobs to as many theater actors as we possibly can.”
Though some of the roles are only for one-off episodes, others are more substantial recurring parts. Even if it is a shorter stint, Leight says it can give actors access to benefits by helping them meet the work day minimum needed to receive union health insurance.
And it also helps the showrunners themselves. Using NYC actors takes away the need for complicated travel arrangements and required quarantines during COVID-19.
Many Broadway actors responded to his Tweet saying they were interested and thanking him for looking out for them during this time.
Warren, I feel like now is the time to tell you that only SVU is missing from my L&O trifecta completion. (Mothership twice!)
— Jennifer Mudge (@JenniferMudge) January 6, 2021
Doin’ the Lord’s work. Thank you.
— ben davis (@bjdavis) January 6, 2021
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