Broadway stars rally behind Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight ahead of Georgia elections
The star-studded casts of “Hamilton,” “Rent,” “This Is Us” and more want Americans to keep Georgia on their minds as early voting begins in the state’s Senate runoff elections.
Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bernadette Peters, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Idina Menzel and other entertainment luminaries have joined forces for “Broadway for Georgia,” a virtual cover of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” in support of voting rights champion Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action initiative.
“Georgia, Georgia / The whole day through,” the stars sing relay-style in the single, released Monday via Broadway Records. “Just an old, sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind / ... I said Georgia, Georgia / A song of you / Comes so sweet and clear / Like the moonlight through the pines.”
After Abrams and her team played a pivotal role in electing Joe Biden over Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, Fair Fight is now rallying behind Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in an attempt to repeat their success and flip the Georgia Senate blue.
“Now more than ever it is crucial for every American to have access to the resources to make their voices heard during an election, whether that be on a national scale or in their local races,” said McDonald in a statement.
“We are in awe of the work that Stacey Abrams and Fair Fight have been doing to ensure that that is a reality for all Georgians and knew that we wanted to raise our own voices to raise awareness about this important election in the way we know best — through music.”
Other Broadway heavyweights who participated in Monday’s musical call-to-action include Josh Gad, Danielle Brooks, Keala Settle, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tracie Thoms, Rosie Perez, Phillipa Soo, Anika Noni Rose and BD Wong. Their soulful rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” — and accompanying patchwork-Zoom music video — is presented by McDonald, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley as well as director Schele Williams.
Williams is also among the stacked lineup of performers, which additionally features Andréa Burns, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Raúl Esparza, Santino Fontana, Mandy Gonzalez, Celia Rose Gooding, Angela Grovey, Crystal Monee Hall, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Carly Hughes, James Monroe Iglehart, Jeremy Jordan, LaChanze, Jose Llana, Allen Louis and Beth Malone.
On Sunday, “Hamilton” stars Miranda, Goldsberry and Soo staged a cast reunion in support of Warnock and Ossoff. And so did Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel and the reunited “Elf” cast Saturday as part of a larger push by Hollywood to put more Democrats in office.
The energy I’ve seen from young Black people who went to the polls came from a desire to oust a far-right president who shows no respect for American democracy. But that energy cannot be taken for granted.
Rounding out Monday’s “Broadway for Georgia” singers are Anastacia McCleskey, Michael McElroy, Ruthie Ann Miles, Bonnie Milligan, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Javier Muñoz, Jesse Nager, Kelli O’Hara, Adam Pascal, Steven Pasquale, Peppermint, Conrad Ricamora, Lauren Ridloff, Jai Rodriguez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Rashidra Scott, Ephraim Sykes, Will Swenson, Chris Sullivan, Anastasia Talley, Allyson Tucker, Leslie Uggams, Blair Underwood, Jenna Ushkowitz, Fredi Walker, Adrienne Warren, Susan Kelechi Watson, Lillias White, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Vanessa Williams.
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