Dozens of Broadway stars are teaming up to record a new version of the iconic 1965 song “What The World Needs Now Is Love,” with all the proceeds going to help the LGBT Center of Central Florida.
The Broadway for Orlando project was created by SiriusXM radio host Seth Rudetsky and his husband/producer James Wesley.
“The Broadway community was so terribly shaken and devastated by the horrific tragedy in Orlando. Everyone wanted to do something as quickly as possible that would truly make a difference,” said Rudetsky in a press release.
After the couple made some calls to friends and colleagues on Monday, “suddenly [they] had tons of theater actors along with an orchestra and the services of a fully-staffed recording studio, all willing to donating their time and talent,” he continued. “Our community of artists has banded together as we always do to show we can end this cycle of violence and intolerance. Love WILL prevail!”
#BroadwayForORLANDO pic.twitter.com/ieVtSgDCIv
— Blake Ross (@PlaybillBlake) June 15, 2016
The project – inspired by 1985’s “We Are The World” for Africa – will feature Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bernadette Peters, Carole King, Jane Krakowski, Sara Bareilles, Kristen Bell, Wayne Brady, Matthew Broderick, Gloria Estefan, Sutton Foster, Kimiko Glenn, Whoopi Goldberg, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Sean Hayes, Megan Hilty, Nathan Lane, Andrea Martin, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Rosie O’Donnell, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Perez, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, Roger Bart, Andrea Burns, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Len Cariou, Paul Castree, Michael Cerveris, Joshua Colley, Lilla Crawford, Carmen Cusack, Darius de Haas, Fran Drescher, Christopher Fitzgerald, Joel Grey, Heather Headley, Nina Hennessy, James Monroe Iglehart, Bill Irwin, Judy Kuhn, Anika Larsen, Jennifer Lewis, Zachary Levi, Jose Llana, Rebecca Luker, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Donna Murphy, Rory O’Malley, Orfeh, Billy Porter, Alice Ripley, Keala Settle, Kate Shindle, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Will Swenson, Rachel Tucker, Tommy Tune, Jonah Verdon, Lillias White, Marissa Jaret Winokur, BD Wong and Tony Yazbeck.
The Burt Bacharach/Hal David song will be available for digital download ($1.99) starting Monday, June 20th on Broadway Record’s website and shortly thereafter on iTunes.
#BroadwayForOrlando pic.twitter.com/sarUoGymIb
— Blake Ross (@PlaybillBlake) June 15, 2016
