WILL ON THE HILL RAISES $479,000 FOR SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Members of Congress, distinguished Washington influencers and professional actors took to the stage on June 10, 2019 to raise vital funds for the Company’s education and community engagement programs

Directed by Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Associate Craig Baldwin and written by Michael Trottier with assistance from D.C.’s West Wing Writers, Good Morrow America presented a humorous take on morning news shows with Shakespeare’s scheming spouses fighting against each other as feuding cohosts. REED BIRNEY (House of Cards) played a chipper Macbeth and CONSTANCE SHULMAN (Orange is the New Black) was the Pulitzer-focused Lady Macbeth in Good Morrow America.

To open the show, students from Duke Ellington School of the Arts performed Duke Clarence’s dream and death scene (act 1, scene 4) from Richard III. Students devised every aspect of the performance and created a balletic chorus of spirits accompanying the Duke in his final tormented hours. The young actors are part of STC’s Text Alive! program, one of STC’s many educational, artistic and community engagement programs that deepen the connection to classical theatre in learners of all ages.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company reaches nearly 20,000 students, teachers and community members every year through education and community programs, and Will on the Hill remains vital to its continued success and scope. Each year STC’s Engagement and Education Department serves students in every D.C. Public and Public Charter High School, providing in-school workshops, free supplemental material and free or deeply subsidized tickets and transportation to theatrical performances.

ABOUT THE CAST

Tony Award-winner Reed Birney starred on House of Cards as hapless Vice President Donald Blythe and later as U.S. Attorney General Thomas “Tom” Connolly on Blacklist. Constance Shulman stars as good-natured Erica “Yoga” Jones on Orange is the New Black, for which she was recognized with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and she also voiced the character of Patti Mayonnaise on beloved Nickelodeon cartoon Doug.

ABOUT THE CAST

Tony Award-winner Reed Birney starred on House of Cards as hapless Vice President Donald Blythe and later as U.S. Attorney General Thomas “Tom” Connolly on Blacklist. Constance Shulman stars as good-natured Erica “Yoga” Jones on Orange is the New Black and voiced the character of Patti Mayonnaise on beloved Nickelodeon cartoon Doug.

Members of Congress who appeared on stage included: Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rep. Ted Deutch  (D-FL), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (D-OH), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX), Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL), and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV).

Ian Liddell-Grainger, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, joined the cast as the Pre-Prologue.

Other illustrious cast members included: Marla Allard, Natasha Bertrand (National Security Correspondent, POLITICO ), Carrie Budoff Brown (Editor, POLITICO), Steve Clemons (Editor-at-Large, The Hill), Maggie Coons, Bob Cusack (Editor-in-Chief, The Hill), Melissa Fitzgerald (Director, Advancing Justice, National Association of Drug Court Professionals), Kevin Hassett (Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers), Wesley Lowery (National Correspondent, The Washington Post), Rachel Martin (Host, NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First), Grover Norquist (President, Americans for Tax Reform), Ajit Pai (Chairman, U.S. Federal Communications Commission), Abby Phillip (White House Correspondent, CNN),  Christina Sevilla (Deputy Assistant, U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business) and Michael Steele (Political Analyst, MSNBC; Host, The Michael Steele Podcast) and Margaret Talev (Senior White House Correspondent, Bloomberg).

The Honorary Co-Chairs for this event are U.S. Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Co-Chair of the Senate Cultural Caucus, Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair of Conference, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC), U.S. Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-NM), Chair of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and U.S. Representative David E. Price (D-NC), Chair of the Congressional Humanities Caucus.

SUPPORT FOR WILL ON THE HILL

Will on the Hill is made possible in part by its Lead Sponsors: Intuit Inc. and Viacom, Media Sponsor: THE HILL, and Executive Level Sponsor: McDermott Will & Emery.

Director Level Sponsors: Aflac | Nick and Marla Allard | Altria Group | Capital One | Eversheds Sutherland LLP | FOX Corporation | Green Dot Corporation | Humana Inc. | K&L Gates LLP | Stephen and Lisa Ryan | WilmerHale

Producer Level Sponsors: Computer and Communications Industry Association | Cozen O’ Connor | Goldman Sachs & Co.| Nissan North America, Inc. | Vulcan Materials Company Foundation | West Wing Writers | Lynn and Jonathan Yarowsky

Patron Level Sponsors: Americans for Tax Reform Foundation | AT&T Services, Inc. | Ballard Partners | Bloomberg Philanthropies | Charter Communications | Comcast | Deloitte | The Dow Chemical Company | Ernst & Young LLP | Mike and Gina House | Gail and Jeff MacKinnon | Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals | Bernard and Mary McKay | Motion Picture Association of America | | Oracle Corporation | Karishma and Jonathan Page | Quicken Loans | Roberti Global | Sovereign Strategy Limited | Story Partners | Wells Fargo Philanthropy | Whirlpool Corporation

Benefactor Level Sponsors: Association of Flight Attendants-CWA | Janet C. Boyd | Capitol Counsel LLC | Capitol Tax Partners | Cornerstone Government Affairs, LLC | Cox Enterprises | Fierce Government Relations | Forbes Tate Partners | Franklin Square Group | FTI Consulting | Greenberg Traurig LLP | National Association of Realtors | National Credit Union Foundation | National Multifamily Housing Council | Navigators Global | The OB-C Group, LLC | OCNC Group | Reset Public Affairs | The Smith Free-Group LLC | Software and Information Industry Association | Southern Company| United Airlines | The Walt Disney Company | Xcel Energy

Supporter Level Sponsors:  Paul and Sonya Brathwaite | Ms. Carol Danko | Davis & Harman LLP | Grant Thornton LLP | International Brotherhood of Boilermakers | Andy Navarrete | Red Hat | Ms. Julie Slocum | Washington Resource Associates

The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Company does not retain or employ registered lobbyists or foreign agents.

ABOUT SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) is the nation’s leading premier classical theatre company. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible to audiences in and around the nation’s capital. Under the leadership of retiring Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Executive Director Chris Jennings, STC’s innovative productions inspire dialogue that connects classic works to the modern human experience. The Company focuses on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced in order to preserve and promote classic theatre—ambitious, enduring plays with universal themes—for all audiences. With the arrival of new Artistic Director Simon Godwin, the Company’s mission expands with a three-year initiative to produce family-friendly theatre during the holidays, and an expansion of the definition of “classic” to include playwrights previously excluded from the canon to produce high-quality, exciting, inclusive theatre.

A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and adult acting classes to accessible community programming like play-relevant discussion series and the Free for All. For the past 27 years the Free For All program has offered an annual remount of a popular production completely free of charge to all audience members. Located in downtown Washington, D.C., STC performs in two theatres, the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre and the 761-seat Sidney Harman Hall. In addition to STC productions appearing year-round, these spaces also accommodate presentations from outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. The Company has been a fixture in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood since 1992.