Love is hardly the only thing there’s just too little of in today’s day and age; rational thought and effective policies on public safety rank as pretty formidable company in that lot, as a matter of fact. But love fits significantly more comfortably in the realm of song, so we can just make tacit note of the present world’s other shortcomings as we appreciate the ballad below.
In recognition of the shooting that took place at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in the early hours of June 12, and what’s more of the inconceivable hate and bigotry that fueled the shooter’s actions, the Broadway community has banded together to develop an appropriate tribute: a rendition of the Hal David and Burt Bacharach song “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” retitled “Broadway for Orlando.”
After the announcement of the project only a few days after the attack, a new video has released in promotion of the song’s availability:
Up for purchase on iTunes and BroadwayRecords.com, all proceeds will benefit the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida.
As seen in the above video, a great number of Broadway icons participated in the tribute in the name of humanity and tolerance. Present were Lin-Manuel Miranda, Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Carole King, Rosie Perez, Gloria Estefan, Sara Bareilles, Whoopie Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, Sarah Jessica Parker, Wayne Brady, and many others.
While the love, thoughts, and prayers espoused by the stars in the video are hardly all it takes to combat the kind of tragedy that took place in Orlando, they can play a pivotal role when accompanying acts of charity and the spreading of necessary messages. Again, you can find the full song at iTunes or BroadwayRecords.com if you’d like to send some much needed funds down the way of the GLBT Community Center; you can also visit the still-active GoFundMe page to benefit the shooting’s victims and their families in other ways.
Featured Image: Playbill