Stars in the House, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson's digital series that has raised over $2 million for the Entertainment Community Fund and other organizations in need, will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a performance of the new musical Finn March 17 at The Town Hall.
The Kennedy Center national tour of the children's musical was abruptly canceled last month, and Rudetsky and Jackson have teamed up with Finn creators Chris Nee, Michael Kooman, and Christopher Dimond to present the musical at the Manhattan venue.
Bringing Finn to life will be members of the Kennedy Center cast plus such Broadway favorites as the previously reported Andrew Rannells, Kelli O'Hara, Lea Salonga, Bonnie Milligan, Jessie Mueller, Nikki M. James, Jose Llana, and Hennessy Winkler.
The 8 PM performance will also include the newly announced Michael Urie, Charlotte D鈥橝mboise, Nina West, Peppermint, Adam Pascal, Brenda Braxton, and Zachary Noah Piser.
The evening will also feature a performance by the Gay Men鈥檚 Chorus
of Washington, whose Kennedy Center appearance was also recently
cancelled, with members of New York City Gay Men's Chorus joining in
solidarity.
The children's musical follows Finn, who has never felt like he fits in with the other sharks in his pack. Everyone else is so aggressive, stoic, and鈥ray. When a chance encounter introduces him to the expressive world of the coral reef, a world filled with song, dance, and color, Finn discovers that he might just be a fish at heart. Commissioned by the Kennedy Center, Finn premiered in 2024 to rave reviews, reaching over 4,500 students and 6,000 members of the public.
鈥�Stars in the House was born out of a desperate need to not only raise funds for those in the arts whose livelihoods were shut down by the pandemic, but to also raise the spirits of those struggling at home in the midst of so much uncertainty,鈥� said Rudetsky and Jackson in an earlier joint statement. 鈥淔ive years later, Stars in the House continues to serve as a platform to raise funds and highlight non-profits that are working to support marginalized communities. We are devastated by what has been happening at The Kennedy Center, an epicenter of the artistic community, and when we heard about Finn鈥檚 cancellation, we knew we wanted to find a way to help. We are thrilled to be working with this amazing team and grateful to the performers who are giving this joyful musical the voice it rightly deserves. Art deserves to be seen, not canceled. 鈥�
鈥淲e
are overwhelmed by the support we have received since the Kennedy
Center tour of Finn was canceled just a couple of weeks ago,鈥� added Dimond, Kooman, and Nee. 鈥淲e are doing everything we can to keep the
spirit of the show alive, and to make sure that young audiences still
have a way to see themselves in Finn鈥檚 world and know that they are
perfect and loved just the way they are. Stars in the House is the
perfect platform for this little musical that could, and we cannot wait
for audiences around the country to see it live, and live streamed, next
month.鈥�
The upcoming performance will also be live streamed on .
Tickets for the in-person performance are on sale at . A limited number of $500 tickets are available, which includes VIP seating and a backstage meet and greet. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales and live-stream donations will go to The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people.
