Theater News

Michael Emerson and Sally Field to Lead Gross Indecency Reading

Michael C. Hall, David Hyde Pierce, Tony Kushner, and more are also set for the one-night reading of Moisés Kaufman’s play about the trials of Oscar Wilde.

Michael Emerson will lead the cast of a one-night New York reading of Gross Indecency.
Michael Emerson will lead the cast of a one-night New York reading of Gross Indecency.
(© David Gordon)

The Tectonic Theater Project has announced plans for a one-night-only benefit reading of Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. The event, set to take place on October 5 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, will benefit the Tectonic Theater Project and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Moisés Kaufman will direct.

This New York reading of Gross Indecency comes on the heals of a canceled production of the play scheduled to run in Moscow. Earlier this year, Moisés Kaufman and Tectonic Theater Project were working with the Moscow New Drama Theatre and the U.S. State Department to produce the revival, but the Kremlin blocked the production because of its LGBTQ content. The October benefit reading is intended to bring attention to the suppression of the rights of the LGBTQ community in Russia.

Two-time Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson (Lost), who played the role of Wilde in the original production of Gross Indecency at the Minetta Lane Theatre in 1997, will reprise the role. He will be joined by Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field (Lincoln), Michael C. Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Dexter), Tony Award and four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce (Curtains, Frasier), Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner (Angels in America), Tony and Emmy Award winner Judith Light (Other Desert Cities), Darren Criss (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Glee), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), David Burtka (It Shoulda Been You), Andy Mientus (Les Misérables, Smash), Jose Llana (The King and I), Will Carlyon (Cabaret), and Jake Shears (Bent), with additional casting to be announced.

Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde focuses on Oscar Wilde and the trials for his "crime" of homosexuality. The upcoming reading is sponsored by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Hilda Mullen Foundation. All funds raised will benefit Tectonic Theater Project and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

For tickets and more information, click here.

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