|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A familiar face from the small screen will come to the Peninsula stage this summer to help TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kick off its 23rd annual New Works Festival, the company announced July 6. Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-winning actor Mariska Hargitay will appear in three performances of “Every Brilliant Thing” Aug. 7-8, straight from her Broadway run in the uplifting solo show. Audiences may know Hargitay from her longstanding role in the TV show “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” It was reported July 7 that Hargitay will host the 78th annual Emmy Awards this fall — the first female host in 15 years.
The local performances will benefit TheatreWorks and Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization founded by Hargitay to support survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.
TheatreWorks will host a post-show reception with Hargitay as well as a panel discussion with the actor and her half-sisters, TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli, and Las Vegas producer Pietra Sardelli, that in addition to covering “Every Brilliant Thing” will delve into Hargitay’s documentary “My Mom Jayne,” about her mother, the late actor Jayne Mansfield.
“Every Brilliant Thing,” written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, and co-directed on Broadway by Macmillan and Jeremy Herrin, features a character looking back on their life and pondering all the many things, big and small, that have made life worthwhile. The Tony Award-nominated show opened on Broadway in February with Daniel Radcliffe, with Hargitay following his run — the performance marked her Broadway debut. Tracee Ellis Ross will next perform the role.
TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival will run Aug. 7-16, highlighting new plays and musicals in development. Over the years, the festival has helped in the creation of many new works, including the Tony-winning musical “Memphis.”
Other special guests at the festival will include “Come From Away” composers Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who will bring their new musical “Vienna” to the festival. The duo will also appear in a fundraising performance of “Come From Away,” a musical about travelers stranded after 9-11 that TheatreWorks staged this spring, and take part in a behind-the-scenes talk about the process of creating the show.
Mariska Hargitay will perform in “Every Brilliant Thing” Aug. 7, 7 p.m., and Aug. 8, 2 and 7 p.m., at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $270-$400. For more information, visit theatreworks.org or call 877-662-8978.
