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.