S

aturday Night Seder, a star-
filled entertainment take on 
Passover traditions, was a 
full-fledged online production 
mounted from home to raise 
money for the CDC Foundation’
s 
Coronavirus (COVID-19) 
Emergency Response Fund.
The show streamed live via 
YouTube April 11 for the fourth 
night of Passover and is now 
available to watch anytime at 
SaturdayNightSeder.com. It cap-
tivated audiences with a long list 
of celebrities paired alongside reli-
gious figures. From their homes, 
in keeping with social distancing 
guidelines, they sang, joked and 
recalled personal Passover cele-
brations to provide fresh luster for 
the fundraiser.
So far, the special has raised 
more than $2.3 million for the 
foundation, which supports the 
work of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention. The 
money will fund access to medical 
supplies, increased lab capacity, 
emergency staffing for public 
health agencies, resources for 
vulnerable communities, clinical 
research and much more. 
Among the participants were 
actor-singer-comedian Jason 
Alexander (Seinfeld), stage and 
film composer Alan Menken 
(Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast), 
comedian Andy Cohen (Watch 
What Happens Live) and singer-ac-
tress Idina Menzel 
(Wicked), as well as 
non-Jewish celebs 
who dabble in Jewish 
entertainment, like 
The Marvelous Mrs. 
Maisel lead actress 
Rachel Brosnahan. 
Two participants 
— producer Rachel 
Sussman and Rabbi 
Dana Benson — 
were raised in Metro 
Detroit and became enduring 
friends while performing in a 

Bloomfield Hills youth theater. 
They both attended Temple Israel. 
Jewish actor James Wolk (TV’
s 
Watchmen), another former Metro 
Detroiter from Farmington Hills, 
lightheartedly added his thoughts 
on Passover food. 
“In my gut, I felt Saturday Night 
Seder was going to be a very mov-
ing project,” said Sussman, 30, a 
New York University graduate 
who has worked with many the-
ater companies and is co-founder 
of The MITTEN Lab, an emerg-
ing theater artist residency pro-
gram outside of Traverse City. 
“I couldn’
t get most of the songs 
out of my head, which is really a 
good sign. 
“The team of people just said 
‘
yes’
 even though they had no 
idea what they were signing up 
for. They felt it was a way to cel-
ebrate our Jewish identity, foster 
community, [inspire] everyone 
lost and afraid right now, and 
bring people together.”
The seder was the idea of 
another Sussman friend, song-

writer Benj Pasek (Dear Evan 
Hansen and La La Land), who 
studied at the University of 
Michigan, and his producing 
partner Adam Kantor. Pasek 
brought Sussman into the proj-
ect at the end of March, and her 
responsibilities included deter-
mining ways to capture talent, 
whether through individuals 
sending videos or getting on 
Zoom. Sussman, in turn, invited 
Rabbi Benson.
One of the directions taken 
by the rabbi was singing par-
ody lines from the rousing 
“Everything’
s Coming Up 
Roses,” written by Stephen 
Sondheim and Jule Styne 
for Gypsy. Lyrics became 
“Everything’
s Coming Up 
Moses,” as developed by Barbara 
Sarshik for her website “Passover 
Song Parodies.”
“Saturday Night Seder allowed 
Jewish communities across 
America to see Jews supporting 
each other, talking about their 
own Judaism and engaging with 

non-Jewish entertainers mistak-
en as Jewish,” said Benson, 31, 
who serves Temple Beth Am in 
Seattle and gave up acting ambi-
tions for the rabbinate while 
traveling with Birthright Israel.
As part of the rabbi’
s early 
ambitions — and her only 
professional stage work— she 
appeared in Fiddler on the Roof 
for the Jewish Ensemble Theatre 
(JET), then located in West 
Bloomfield.
“I think it was beautiful seeing 
the Passover story told as well 
as showing how you can have a 
little bit of fun with it and make 
it feel personal,” said Benson, 
who studied theater and com-
munication at Michigan State 
University before transferring 
to Hebrew Union College in 
Cincinnati. 
“I’
ve been doing Passover 
parody songs for a number of 
years, and I put something more 
together with someone keeping 
clips for his own Haggadah. I’
m 
nourished by my work, whether 
it’
s being with people at their 
most enjoyable moments or 
their hardest moments.”
During these hard moments 
of social distancing, neither 
Sussman nor Benson is alone. 
Sussman, in New York, is with 
an isolation cell of three friends 
and two dogs. Benson, across 
the country, is with her fiancée, 
Gina Rome.
“Saturday Night Seder has 
helped with resilience and hope 
in this process of staying at 
home,” Benson said. “I didn’
t 
do a lot of social media prior to 
this, but waking up to so many 
messages from across the coun-
try has made me very grateful.
“It brought me a new platform 
to offer and enjoy. I’
ve been 
posting more songs. I believe 
everybody can share a little 
something that gives strength to 
someone else.” 

SCREENSHOT

Sussman

Arts&Life

entertainment

Saturday Night Seder

Metro Detroit natives help put on 
star-studded online fundraiser.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

32 | APRIL 23 • 2020 

TOP: Jason Alexander, upper right, invites non-Jews Josh Groban, upper left, 
Darren Criss, lower left and Rachel Brosnahan to join in a virtual seder webcast 
on YouTube, April 11, 2020.

Benson

details 
Saturday Night Seder is available for views and donations at 
SaturdayNightSeder.com. 

