''Stars in the House'' is a daily

live streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

created and hosted by

Seth Rudetsky Seth Dennis Rudetsky (born February 28, 1967) is an American musician, actor, writer and radio host. He currently is the host of ''Seth's Big Fat Broadway'' and ''Seth Speaks'' on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's '' On Broadway''. The show focuses on R ...

and his husband James Wesley to support

The Actors Fund ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and its services. Created in the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

, ''Stars in the House'' debuted in March 2020. ''Stars in the House'' is a combination of music, community, and education (from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook). Originally airing twice daily (at Broadway showtimes, 2 PM and 8 PM), it now streams daily at 8 PM ET across multiple platforms, including

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The show features musical performances by stars remotely from their home and conversations with Seth and James between each tune. Viewers can also donate to the charity and interact with guests in real time. ''Stars in the House'' raised over $50,000 in the first four days of airing and plans to stream daily until

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

re-opens. They have raised a total of $1,074,395 as of September 12, 2021. As of March 8, 2021, they have also raised $203,337 for other 501c3s including

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...

, You Gotta Believe,

NAACP Legal Defense Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...

, Cats4CovidRelief, Broadway at CBST, Greater Orlando Performing Arts Relief,

Cancer Support Community The Cancer Support Community (CSC) focuses on three areas of support: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy. The organization includes an international network of Affiliates that offer social and emotional support for people impacted by c ...

, New York Gay Men's Chorus, Youth Pride Chorus, Tonewall, Bullets to Books, and Waterkeeper Alliance.

Development

On March 12, 2020,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Andrew M. Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

enacted new restrictions to try to stop the spread of the

Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

, which at the time had already infected nearly 100 people. One of the restrictions was banning most gatherings of more than 500 people, which included all Broadway theaters. Quickly after, states like

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

enacted similar guidelines. With thousands of actors instantly out of work and stuck at home, Rudetsky and Wesley came up with the idea as a way to both raise spirits and help those suffering. The first show aired on Monday, March 16, with

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

winner

Kelli O'Hara Kelli Christine O'Hara (born April 16, 1976) is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages. A seven-time Tony Award nominee, O'Hara won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her per ...

Episodes

A complete list of archived episodes is available on The Actor's Fund's YouTube channel.

Segments

"Plays in the House"

''Plays in the House'' are special episodes of ''Stars in the House,'' one-night only live readings of plays featuring the original performers. ''Plays in the House'' streams every Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm EST, Broadway's standard matinee time.

Television cast reunions

Film cast reunions

Musical cast reunions

Broadway Memorabilia Auction

In addition to direct donations made to The Actor's Fund, viewers can also contribute by bidding on memorabilia donated directly from the stars themselves. Items have included

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

's old headshot,

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

's original wig from ''Cats'', and a gown worn by

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

External links

''Stars in the House''
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Stars in the House''
on

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United States 2020 web series debuts Broadway theatre Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts Cultural responses to the COVID-19 pandemic