Saturday Night Seder

The Saturday Night Seder was a Passover Seder held on April 11, 2020 by StoryCourse in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; to provide relief and support to the public in an effort to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The seder was sponsored by BuzzFeed and aired on their Tasty YouTube channel.[2]

Saturday Night Seder
Created byStoryCourse
Written byAlex Edelman (head writer)
Hannah Friedman
Sas Goldberg
Josh Harmon
Adam Kantor
Michael Mitnick
Benj Pasek
Mark Sonnenblick
Presented byJason Alexander
Opening themeDayenu!
Country of originUnited States
Original languagesEnglish
Hebrew
Production
Executive producersErich Bergen
Talia Halperin
Adam Kantor
Benj Pasek[1]
ProducersRebecca Halpern
Jen Snow
Rachel Sussman
Production locationVirtual
EditorsEllen Callaghan
Shirley Chan
Lindsay Gordon
Mark Hall
Andrew Keenan-Bolger
David Mishler
Nick Shakra
Khaled Tabbara
Kelly Teacher
Jake Wilson
Camera setupVideotelephony
Running time71 minutes
Production companyStoryCourse
Release
Original networkBuzzFeed
YouTube
StoryCourse
Original release11 April 2020 (2020-04-11)

Overview

The seder was hosted by Jason Alexander on the fourth night of Passover. The Saturday Seder coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in many physical seders being canceled throughout the world.[3] The seder aimed to raise funds to benefit the CDC Foundation's Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. In total, the seder raised more than $2.9 million for charity.[4]

The seder covered the story of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt in a humorous light. It featured both Jews and non-Jews.[5]

Participants

Appearances

* Rabbis who appeared in the seder.

Performances
Performers and songs
Artist(s) Song(s)
 "Dayenu!"
Alan Menken "Kiddush"
Ben Platt "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Idina Menzel "Ma Nishtanah"
 "Go Down Moses"
 "When You Believe"
Mark Sonnenblick
Shaina Taub
Skylar Astin		 "Next Year"

Broadcast

The Saturday Night Seder could be seen on BuzzFeed's Tasty YouTube Channel and was simulcasted on Saturday Night Seder's website and the CDC Foundation's website. In total, more than 1 million people watched the Saturday Night Seder.[6]

Performance of "When You Believe"
Cynthia Erivo (left) and Shoshana Bean were praised for their performance of "When You Believe".

Following its broadcast, the program became notable for Cynthia Erivo and Shoshana Bean's performance of "When You Believe" from the DreamWorks film The Prince of Egypt (1998), an animated depiction of the Exodus story. The song's composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz provided the piano accompaniment. This performance received widespread acclaim as the program's highlight, thanks in part to the song's resurgence in visibility and popularity through the film's stage musical adaptation, which was running in the West End and suspended performances in response to the pandemic at the time. This led to Erivo and Bean's rendition receiving a studio recording and being released as a single (alongside the program's closing number "Next Year"), on June 30, 2020 by Ghostlight Records. The proceeds from the digital purchases of both songs benefitted the Jews for Racial and Economic Justice organization.[7][8][9]

See also

References
  1. Gray, Ellen (April 10, 2020). "Ardmore's Benj Pasek sets the table for an all-star 'Saturday Night Seder'". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. "Virtual 'Saturday Night Passover Seder' featured star-studded acts like Ben Platt's hauntingly beautiful rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'". Insider. April 12, 2020.
  3. "What Can You Do for People in Crisis? Put on a Seder Show". The New York Times. April 9, 2020.
  4. "Actors, Singers Raise Money For CDC Charity With Virtual Seder". NPR. April 13, 2020.
  5. "Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, Fran Drescher, Billy Porter and more raise $1.5m for CDC with remote Seder". The Independent. April 13, 2020.
  6. "Stars' Saturday Night Seder: 1m viewers, $2.6m in charity, 4 big Jewish insights". The Times of Israel. April 15, 2020.
  7. "This Saturday Night Seder performance of 'When You Believe' makes us believe in miracles". Entertainment Weekly. April 13, 2020.
  8. "Songs From Virtual Passover 'Saturday Night Seder' Released for Charity". Variety. June 30, 2020.
  9. Malone Kircher, Madison (April 30, 2020). "Why Is This Rendition of 'When You Believe' Different From All Other Renditions?". Vulture.
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