Marcia Cross, Bryan Batt & Ron Canada Use Premiere Of ‘Pay The Writer’ To Benefit WGA Strike

Marcia Cross, Bryan Batt and Ron Canada starred in the opening night of the Off-Broadway play, Pay the Writer. The first performance of the comedy-drama was held in benefit of the Writers Guild of America, which is currently on strike.

Producer Sandy Marshall said the actors wanted to show support for the writers’ union because “without their members, there would be no stories to experience and no escape from the difficulties of the human experience that are often cast upon us. Simply, the artist must support the art.”

The plot of Pay the Writer follows literary agent Bruston Fischer (Batt) and his complex friendships with his most successful client, Cyrus Holt (Canada), and Holt’s ex-wife Lana (Cross). Fischer is a gay man who faces “social persecution” while trying to succeed in his publishing career while Holt is a black writer attempting to get noticed.

The play is Cross’s return to stage productions after appearing as Bree Van de Kamp in the ABC series Desperate Housewives as well as Fox’s Monarch and Netflix’s You.

Batt is best known for his role as Salvatore Romano in Mad Men. He also made appearances on Broadway in Beauty and The Beast and Sunset Boulevard.

Canada starred in the Broadway adaptation of Network and appeared in films like An American President and Cinderella Man.

Pay The Writer is playing until September 30 at the New York’s Pershing Theater. Get tickets here.