A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK ran Off-Broadway for 6 months in 2018. Members of the original cast have reunited for an online benefit presentation of the hit musical which streams from April 22 through 25, 2021.
Money raised will benefit The Actors Fund and HIAS.
San Francisco. 1986. What could Harry, an amiable but lonely retired kosher butcher, have in common with Barbara, his young lesbian writing teacher at the senior center? Is it enough to bridge the divide? When Harry fulfills a writing assignment to compose a letter to someone from his past who's dead, he writes not to his late wife Frannie but Harvey Milk, the first openly gay political leader in California. Barbara is stunned. Harry's letter evokes life-changing revelations that neither could have foreseen. With its soaring score and deeply-felt, surprisingly funny lyrics, this musical deals with issues of friendship and loss, the grip of the past, and the hard-won acceptance set in motion by the most unexpected people.
Based on the short story by Lesléa Newman, the musical A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK has music by Laura I. Kramer, lyrics by Ellen M. Schwartz, with additional lyrics by Cheryl Stern, book by Jerry James, Laura I. Kramer, Ellen M. Schwartz, and Cheryl Stern and direction by Evan Pappas with music direction by Jeffrey Lodin, orchestrations by Ned Ginsburg, casting by Stephanie Klapper. Set design/ virtual background by David Arsenault, the stage manager, is Will Chaloner, the technical producer, is Ruby Locknar, and video editor is Seth Walters. A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK is executive produced by Lisa Dozier King.
