Scarlett Johansson, Kenny Leon Lead Benefit Reading Of ‘Our Town’
To benefit hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, actress Scarlett Johansson has organized a reading of Thornton Wilder’s classic play “Our Town.” True Colors Theatre founder Kenny Leon will direct the performance, which takes place Monday at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.
Evan Agostini / Invision/AP
Actress Scarlett Johansson has organized a reading of Thornton Wilder’s classic play “Our Town” to benefit hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. She will be joined by her fellow cast members from the “Avengers” movie that is currently being filmed in Atlanta.
True Colors Theatre founder Kenny Leon is set to direct.
Leon admits to being starstruck when he got a phone call from Johansson, but the two quickly settled on the idea of doing a staged reading. They settled on Wilder’s “Our Town” after discovering they both had an affinity for the show.
“She mentioned how much she liked ‘Our Town’ growing up,” Leon tells “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes, “and I said, ‘Wait a minute, that’s it!’” noting that he had directed the show here in 2010.
“Growing up, I thought that ‘Our Town’ was that high school play for white citizens. When I had an opportunity to direct it in Atlanta, when I diversified the cast, I could hear Thornton Wilder’s story. I could hear his beautiful words, which were really about all of us and about living life and about how time gets away from us.”
“It’s now probably my top one or two plays ever put on paper,” he says.
The two decided to schedule the staged reading in Atlanta to coincide with her and her “Avengers” castmates’ shooting schedule.
Robert Downey Jr. will play the part of the stage manager with Johansson playing Emily opposite Mark Ruffalo as George. Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner round out the cast alongside notable Atlanta talent, including Tess Malis Kincaid and Rob Demery.
The benefit reading of “Our Town” takes place at 8:30 p.m. Monday night at the Fox Theatre.
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