For Immediate Release

September 17, 2025

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT'S MULTI-ARTIST CONCERT IN NYC
RAISES $60,000 FOR THE ACLU'S LGBTQ & HIV PROJECT

SOLD OUT ONE-NIGHT-ONLY EVENT CELEBRATING 
THE MUSIC OF JOHN CASSAVETES’ OPENING NIGHT 


WITH APPEARANCES BY SARA BAREILLES, BETSY WOLFE, DARREN CRISS, JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND, PATTI LUPONE, AND ELIZABETH TEETER

Following the release of an original West End cast recording of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night, 3x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright performed a sold out release concert at The Town Hall in New York City on Monday. The special one-night-only event featured appearances by Sara Bareilles, Betsy Wolfe, Justin Vivian Bond, Darren Criss, Patti Lupone, and Elizabeth Teeter, with Jane Fonda, Liz Diller, Stephanie Ruhle, and Rosanna Arquette in attendance. The night ended with Wainwright and Bareilles bringing the audience to tears with their performance of "She Used to be Mine" as the final encore, followed by a standing ovation. A portion of every ticket sold was donated to the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project, with a total of $60,000 raised.

Chase Strangio, Co-Director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said, "I was less nervous arguing in front of the Supreme Court than giving a speech in front after Patti LuPone sang 'Life is Thin.'“

"I could not be happier with the show. Sharing the stage with Broadway and theater legends such as Patti LuPone, Darren Criss, Sara Bareilles and singing with talents such as Elizabeth Teeter or Betsy Wolfe and any opportunity to share a stage with my dear friend Justin Vivian Bond will make anyone happy. To hear the songs that I wrote for Opening Night come alive with these amazing singers and present them to a New York audience was an absolute thrill and doing good by raising funds for the ACLU. What else do you want? Heaven, I am ready!" – Rufus Wainwright

“We are so grateful to Rufus and the entire cast and production team for creating space for art and community. As we continue to fight for LGBTQ rights in the courts and the legislatures, we know that we cannot transform our world without powerful artistic interventions that help us imagine the futures we are fighting for.” – Chase Strangio, Co-Director of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project

John Cassavetes' Opening Night is the first stage musical with music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Rufus Wainwright. It premiered in London at the Gielgud Theater in the spring of 2024. The book and direction were by Ivo van Hove and is based on the 1977 movie Opening Night by American avant-garde director John Cassavetes. It tells the story of an actress, Myrtle Gordon, who is premiering a play written for her that is about a woman coming to terms with aging. Myrtle does not come to terms with her own aging and rebels against the play and throws the entire production into jeopardy. A young female fan asking her for an autograph at the stage door gets killed by a car as she runs off onto the street. Myrtle is being haunted by the ghost of the young girl. On opening night, she arrives completely drunk but ultimately does what she does best: act and improvise. Part "All About Eve" Opening Night is the story of an actress who risks madness for her truth.  

The live album features Wainwright’s songs written for the original London West End production performed by the cast including Sheridan Smith, Nicola Hughes, Benjamin Walker, and Justin Viivian Bond recorded over the last 4 performances of the play at London’s Gielgud Theater.

“(Opening Night) shakes up musical theatre itself”

“While Wainwright has always shown a genius for creating whole sonic and emotional worlds in brief songs, he reaches new heights here.”

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ABOUT THE ACLU:

The ACLU is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, multi-issue public interest organization devoted to protecting the civil liberties of all people in the United States. The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union - beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees. The ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people can live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association. 

ABOUT MURMRR:

Murmrr is an independent, New York-based producer curating world-class performances across music, comedy, literature, film, and the arts. Unbound and creatively driven, we present both iconic and emerging talent while staying deeply rooted in community. We exclusively program premier venues in New York, the Hamptons, Miami, Washington D.C., and beyond—crafting meaningful moments for diverse artists and audiences alike.

ABOUT THE TOWN HALL:

The Town Hall’s mission is to provide affordable world-class entertainment by new and established artists to a diverse audience; to inspire the youth of our community to appreciate and participate in the arts at The Town Hall and in schools through our Education Outreach Program; and to preserve and enhance The Town Hall as a historic landmark venue for the enjoyment and cultural enrichment of generations to come. Originally founded in 1921 by suffragists, this national landmark has played host to countless cultural and musical milestones. Its vibrant, progressive, and diverse programming has solidified its status as an iconic New York City institution.

ABOUT CENTER STAGE RECORDS:

Center Stage Records is the new label from Broadway Records founder, Grammy Award and Tony Award-winner, Van Dean. The label is dedicated to the preservation of Broadway, London, Off-Broadway, new musicals in development and theater-related solo albums. Center Stage Records premiered with the original Broadway cast recordings of How to Dance In Ohio and Gutenberg the Musical, Steven Pasquale’s “Some Other Time” with John Pizzarelli and the Original London Cast Recording of Mandela the Musical. Recent release include the Broadway revival cast albums of Floyd Collins starring Jeremy Jordan, Once Upon a Mattress starring Sutton Foster, Lea Salonga’s “Sounding Joy - The Holiday Album”, JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry’s “Playing With Fire”, Patti LuPone’s new double album “A Life in Notes”, and the London recording of Alice Down the Rabbit Hole. Select highlights of the Center Stage Records back catalog include the Grammy-nominated albums of Burt Bacharach & Steven Sater’s Some Lovers and Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots, as well as the Classic Stage Company hit revival of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins, Lewberger’s The Wizard of Friendship, and the West End cast albums of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Ride. Additionally, solo albums from Norbert Leo Butz, Bobby Conte, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Sierra Boggess, Laura Benanti, Orfeh and Andy Karl, Micky Dolenz, Michael Longoria and many more. To peruse the entire catalog, please visitCenterStageRecords.com. Follow Center Stage Records on all social platforms @centerstagercds.

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CONNECT WITH RUFUS WAINWRIGHT:

OFFICIAL | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE 

Press Contact:

Jim Merlis | Big Hassle Media | Jim@bighassle.com