From finding ways to help others cope to sheltering in place to canceling events, here’s a look at some of the ways the entertainment industry is reacting to the spread of the coronavirus, which most people recover from but can cause severe illness in the elderly and those with preexisting medical conditions.
ROSIE RAISES LOTS OF CASH
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Rosie O’Donnell's streaming Broadway charity show raised over $600,000 for virus victims.
Sunday's show featured Kristin Chenoweth singing “Taylor the Latte Boy,” Gavin Creel singing “You Matter to Me,” Darren Criss singing “Being Alive” and Gloria Estefan singing “There’s Always Tomorrow.”
The special was streamed live on Broadway.com and their YouTube channel. The money went to The Actors Fund to help those suffering the the coronavirus.
Other highlights included Neil Patrick Harris performing a magic act with his children, Patti LuPone performing “A Hundred Years From Today” and Adrienne Warren live from her bathtub singing “Simply The Best.”
AMAZON MAKES KIDS' SHOWS AVAILABLE FREE
Amazon is giving parents free streaming access to more than 40 children’s shows, including “Pete the Cat” and “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and select seasons of PBS Kids shows including “Arthur,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”
Interested users can access the free kids’ titles with a valid Amazon account, which is free. The shows are available to the company’s customers worldwide. Usually, the shows are behind the Prime Video paywall.
Others shows now free include “Jesse and Nessy,” “Bug Diaries,” “Costume Quest” and “The Snowy Day.”
RITA WILSON SHOWS NAUGHTY SIDE
Actress and singer Rita Wilson showed off another side to her musical repertoire while riding out the virus stuck inside.
The performer, married to actor Tom Hanks, posted a video on Instagram over the weekend in which she is seen reading the sci-fi novel "Ender's Game." Then the classic Naughty by Nature 1992 hit “Hip Hop Hooray” begins playing and she raps along nonchalantly — and gamely.
“You drew a picture of my morning/But you couldn't make my day/I'm rockin' and you're yawning/But you never look my way,” she rapped.
Wilson titled the video “Quarantine Stir Crazy.” Hanks and Wilson are in self-isolation in Australia, where the actor was filming Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic when the couple received the diagnosis that both have COVID-19.
Wilson's vocal skills delighted many on the social network: "The best video EVER!!!!! Kim Kardashian commented. "Yessssssss R Greeky!" Jennifer Aniston chimed in.
FALLON'S GOT LONG-DISTANCE COMPANY
Moving “The Tonight Show” to his house hasn't left host Jimmy Fallon without guests.
The late-night host's “At Home Edition” will include Trevor Noah and D-Nice on Monday; John Legend on Tuesday; Niall Horan, Wednesday; Alec Baldwin, Thursday, and Tina Fey on Friday.
The segments, with guests talking to Fallon from their homes, are part of continuing “hybrid episodes” that include highlights from past shows, NBC said Monday.
Sirius XM HOST TAKING GUESTS ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’
Broadway figure Seth Rudetsky is taking a bunch of celebrities back to high school during the coronavirus shutdown.
The longtime SiriusXM talk show host has a new podcast debuting Tuesday in which he interviews celebrities about their high school experiences and how those experiences continue to shape them.
Guests include Tina Fey, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Sean Hayes, Rosie O'Donnell, Allison Janney, Bebe Neuwirth, Bob the Drag Queen and Jason Alexander.
Rudetsky promises some wild stories, like how Williams accidentally planted marijuana in her mother's greenhouse and the accident that almost killed Janney when she was 17. Fey's will reveal her real-life influences for “Mean Girls.”
“Seth Rudetsky's Back to School” will be available weekly on SiriusXM On Demand and Pandora.