The 24 Hour Plays Honors Hamilton Director Thomas Kail

Photos by Ben Bomier for Mia Isabella Photography

Imagine having only 24 hours to write, direct, stage, costume, and learn a play to be performed at the end of the 24 hours. That’s exactly the concept behind The 24 Hour Plays whose motto is “What Can You Do in a Day?” They run events nationwide all year long, culminating in a benefit gala on Broadway. The one-night-only benefit returned to Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre on Monday, November 2 at 7 PM. This year’s event honored Tony Award-winning director and Kennedy Center honoree Thomas Kail (Hamilton, In the Heights, Sweeney Todd, Disney’s live-action Moana), bringing together artists from across his career to create six brand-new plays in just 24 hours.

The 24 Hour Plays Broadway is New York City’s annual celebration of creativity, community and nerve. The marathon process began at 7 PM on Sunday, November 1, when writers, directors, actors and production staff gathered for a short orientation. After the cast departed for the evening, playwrights Eboni Booth (Primary Trust), Sarah Burgess (Dry Powder), Julia Jordan (Murder Ballad), Warren Leight (Side Man), Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen), and Jonathan Marc Sherman (Things We Want) began crafting 10-minute plays for the sleeping actors. Monday morning, actors received their roles and directors arrived to begin rehearsal. At 7 PM that very night, six brand-new plays were presented in a one-night-only production before a live audience at the Todd Haimes Theatre, followed by a reception. The evening is also set as a fundraiser with some live and silent auction items.

When the actors meet with the writers the night prior, they are told to bring an interesting prop that may be used to inspire the playwriting or to tell the writers something they would like to try on stage. This year, a funny Kool-Aid Man headpiece found its way into three of the plays. The plays this year all relied on humor at their core. I was impressed with the ability to get a story across in 10 minutes, and also the actors’ ability in having their lines and staging memorized. It was hard to believe they learned it all that day. I particularly liked Trapdoor Tramadol by Warren Leight and Face Time by Eboni Booth. Constance Zimmer cracked me up in the latter. Face Time also felt the most complete of the stories. All of the short plays had relatable moments and were well-received by the audience which included Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Art, Damn Yankees), Michelle Williams (Anna Christie, Fosse/Verdon), and Dan Lauria (Lombardi).

Shannon Purser, Alano Miller, and Keith Nobbs

Participating actors included Justin Bartha (The Hangover), David Burtka (It Shoulda Been You), Chris Chalk (IT: Welcome to Derry), Maddie Corman (Seven Minutes in Heaven), David Cross (Arrested Development), Ruby Cruz (“Bottoms”), Hugh Dancy (“Hannibal”), Jin Ha (Proof), Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade), Patrick Heusinger (“Absentia”), Gwen Homerding, James Lance (“Ted Lasso”), Margarita Levieva (Daredevil: Born Again), Alano Miller (Loving), Keith Nobbs (“The Blacklist”), Busy Philipps (“Cougar Town”), Shannon Purser (“Stranger Things”), Alysia Reiner (“Orange Is the New Black”), Noah Robbins (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Mickey Sumner (Frances Ha) Amber Tamblyn (“House”) Donald Webber, Jr. (Hamilton), Constance Zimmer (“Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette”), and more. The participating Directors were Sherri Eden Barber (The Bad News Bears), Tiffany Nichole Greene (resident director, Hamilton), David Ruttura (Electra in a One-Piece), Kate Sullivan (Nineteen), Patrick Vassel (supervising director, Hamilton), and Deanna Weiner (Townhall’s Spring Shout Gala).

Mark Armstrong helmed the evening presenting Thomas “Tommy” Kail with his award. Prior to Tommy’s warm and humble acceptance speech, directors Patrick Vassel, Deanna Weiner, David Ruttura, Kate Sullivan, Tiffany Nicole Greene and Sherri Eden Barber all spoke lovingly about their experiences working with Tommy over the years. The recurring theme was how kind Tommy was to all of them and how he was a great mentor and inspiration to them all.

Directors Patrick Vassel, Deanna Weiner, David Ruttura, Kate Sullivan, Tiffany Nicole Greene and Sherri Eden Barber

The 24 Hour Plays Creative Team includes Artistic Director Mark Armstrong, Co-Producer Ivey Lowe, Producing Associate Harry White, Production Manager Rachel Oshrin, Sound Designer Bart Fasbender, Lighting Designer Jeff Croiter, Costume Designer Katja Andreiev, Scenic/Prop Designer Courtney Kupferschmidt, and Production Stage Manager Kat West.