More than $100,000 was raised at the exclusive one-night-only reading of Terms of Endearment presented by Berlanti Productions and Jessica Queller at the Geffen Playhouse.
All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit Stand Up To Cancer and Geffen Playhouse’s New Play Development Program.
The reading took place Monday, October 1, on the Geffen Playhouse main stage with an all-star cast that included Melissa Benoist (Supergirl, Glee), Kate Burton (Scandal), Calista Flockhart (Supergirl, Ally McBeal), Willie Garson (White Collar), Alfred Molina (The Front Runner, Spider-Man 2), Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), Italia Ricci (Designated Survivor), Chris Wood (Supergirl, The Vampire Diaries) and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off the Boat). Notable attendees at the event include Harrison Ford, Rebel Wilson and Odette Annable. The original Terms of Endearment cast featured Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and John Lithgow.
“We are so grateful to Greg Berlanti, Jessica Queller and the Geffen Playhouse for their willingness to engage in the fight against breast cancer,” said Sherry Lansing, a co-founder and member of the Council of Founders and Advisors of Stand Up To Cancer and a member and former chair of the board of directors of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. “This wonderful reading is yet another example of how the entertainment community has embraced SU2C’s mission to accelerate research into new treatments for patients contending with this devastating disease and to turn every cancer patient into a long-term survivor.”
“At its core, the Geffen is driven by the power of the arts to illuminate the human experience,” said Geffen Playhouse Executive Director Gil Cates, Jr. “Terms of Endearment is a deeply personal, resonant story and we are proud to partner with Stand Up To Cancer to bring awareness to the very important work they do every day.”
Supporting artists is central to the Geffen Playhouse’s mission, and the New Play Development Program is a cornerstone of that support. As one branch of the Geffen’s many efforts to foster new work, The Writers’ Room playwrights group creates community between visionary Los Angeles artists, many of whom are emerging on the national theater scene. This monthly group provides the resources to help writers develop ambitious passion projects — plays and musicals that shed new light on the pressing issues of our city and our time.
Stand Up To Cancer enables scientific breakthroughs by funding collaborative, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional scientific research teams and investigators. Thanks to the support of our dedicated partners and the entertainment community, SU2C is able to bring widespread attention to cancer research. 100% of donations received from the public support Stand Up To Cancer’s collaborative cancer research programs. In just 10 years, SU2C research has contributed to FDA approval of five new cancer therapies, including treatments for breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers and difficult-to-treat leukemias.
