Jennifer Garner reaches out to kids whose shows have been cancelled amid coronavirus


Jennifer Garner reaches out to kids whose shows have been cancelled amid coronavirus: ‘Show us what you’ve been working on!’

It’s a strange time to say the least, and these two stars are trying to ease the burden in a small but special way.

Actresses Jennifer Garner and Laura Benanti both took to their respective Instagrams on Friday with an interesting idea — in light of the crush of cancellations and postponements sweeping the globe in order to stem the spread of coronavirus, Jen and Laura are calling on kids and students to post video of themselves performing, and tag them so they can see.

‘This time of year has so many people, from preschoolers to professionals, working their tails off to perform. And now—the games, the meets, the recitals, the productions, big and small—are shut down,’ the Alias actress, 47, wrote. 

Calling all artists: Jennifer Garner posted on Friday with an interesting idea — in light of the crush of cancellations sweeping the globe, she called on kids to post video of themselves performing, and tag her so she can see and share with her audience

‘Well, the show must go on people!!! Break out your oboes, belt out your torch song, run in place— I don’t care. Show us what you’ve been working on and we will show it to the world. Use #heyjenlookatme, because I want to see.’

Garner captioned the message with, ‘To the Elsas and Matildas; to the Willy Lomans and Romeos. Not to mention the flautists, the pianists, the gymnasts, the shot-putter. 

‘We want to SEE—show us what you’ve got!!’ she concluded, before adding the #heyjenlookatme hashtag.

'Well, the show must go on people!!!': Garner's message on Instagram

‘Well, the show must go on people!!!’: Garner’s message on Instagram 

Benanti, a Tony Award-winning performer whose appeared in productions of Gypsy and much more, had the same sweet idea.

The 40-year-old actress posted a similar call to artists, with a touching video message in which she explained that most of her professional activities have been cancelled since she is ‘in the business of being around lots of people, as most of us are,’ and that she knows that a lot of high school musicals have been cancelled, which is a ‘bummer.’

‘So, if you would like to sing a song that you are not going to get to sing now, and tag me, I wanna see you,’ Benanti said ‘I wanna hear it! Stay safe everybody.’

Great minds: Laura Benanti, a Tony Award-winning performer whose appeared in productions of Gypsy and much more, had the same sweet idea

Great minds: Laura Benanti, a Tony Award-winning performer whose appeared in productions of Gypsy and much more, had the same sweet idea

To caption the video message, Benanti wrote, ‘Dark times for all. Trying to find some bright spots. If you were meant to perform in your High School musical and it was cancelled please post yourself singing, tag me and use the hashtag #SunshineSongs so whoever wants to can be your audience!!’

Both Jennifer’s and Laura’s moves are in response to the waves of shut-downs everywhere, from the NBA, NHL and MLB sporting seasons being put off to Broadway and the West End going dark.

Even Disneyland and Disneyworld have shuttered in light of world events. 

Trying to find the bright side: Both Jennifer's and Laura's moves are in response to the waves of shut-downs everywhere

Trying to find the bright side: Both Jennifer’s and Laura’s moves are in response to the waves of shut-downs everywhere

'Dark times for all. Trying to find some bright spots': Benanti captioned her message

‘Dark times for all. Trying to find some bright spots’: Benanti captioned her message