Marisa Tomei and Matthew Broderick will lead a staged reading of The Big Chill on August 31 at Guild Hall in East Hampton. The one-night event also brings Amy Brenneman, Spencer Garrett, Frederick Weller, Ilana Levine, and Jumaane D. Williams into Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek’s 1983 screenplay.
The reading will be followed by a talkback, giving the benefit a format that stretches beyond a single performance. David Saint is directing, while Julianne Hoffenberg, Debby Hirshman, and Madelyn Paquette are producing the event with support from Columbia Pictures.
Debby Hirshman at Guild Hall
Debby Hirshman, the Center Executive Director and a producer on the reading, said the group is back at Guild Hall after last summer’s staged reading of All the President's Men. “It's a tremendous privilege for The Center at West Park to serve audiences across New York and to continue our summer performance tradition in East Hampton at Guild Hall,” she said.
She added, “After the incredible response to last summer's staged reading of All the President's Men, we're thrilled to return with The Big Chill—a timeless film whose humor, heart, and unforgettable characters continue to resonate.” That places the event squarely in the Center’s live-performance fundraising model, not as a one-off nostalgia piece.
1983 Film, 1984 Awards
The Big Chill arrived in 1983 and went on to draw three 1984 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture. Its original cast included Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams.
For this staged reading, the role assignments are not spelled out yet, so the draw is the ensemble itself and the chance to hear the screenplay performed live rather than revisited as a conventional revival. That structure keeps the focus on the text, the cast, and the benefit format in the same room.
Center at West Park
The unfinished part is the cast list. Additional casting will be announced, which means the August 31 lineup is still expanding even as the event is already on sale as a benefit for The Center at West Park.
For readers deciding whether to go, the practical read is simple: Marisa Tomei, Matthew Broderick, and the announced company are already attached, the talkback adds a second layer to the evening, and more names are still coming. The smart move is to watch for the next casting announcement, because that will tell you how far this reading reaches beyond its first six announced performers.
