S. Epatha Merkerson, Howard McGillin & More Join Blythe Danner and Celia Keenan-Bolger in Our Town Benefit Reading

Two-time Tony nominee S. Epatha Merkerson will join Blythe Danner and B.D. Wong as the Stage Manager in the one-night-only Actors’ Fund benefit reading of Our Town. The performance of the Thornton Wilder classic is set for March 4 at the Gerald Lynch Theatre at John Jay College.

Merkerson will be joined by new cast additions Howard McGillin (as Mr. Webb), Jose Llana (Sam Craig), Jerry Dixon (Howie Newsome), Wally Dunn (Professor Willard), Philip Hoffman (Joe Stoddard) and Annie’s Tyrah Skye Odoms (Rebecca Gibbs). The newcomers join previously announced stars Celia Keenan-Bolger, Danner, Wong, Adriane Lenox, Martin Moran, Leslie Odom Jr., Rebecca Luker and Julia Murney. Additional casting will be announced soon.

Peter Flynn will direct the evening’s production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about everyday life in the small New Hampshire village of Grover’s Corners. The show originally opened on Broadway on February 4, 1938 and has since been revived four times on the Great White Way. An acclaimed revival played the Barrow Street Theater in 2009.

Merkerson is an Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony nominee for her performances in 1990’s The Piano Lesson and 2008’s Come Back, Little Sheba. McGillin is also a two-time nominee for his roles in the original company of The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the first revival of Anything Goes.