Goldberg, Foster and Thompson to Appear on "The Battery's Down" Aug. 1

By Adam Hetrick
July 30, 2009

Tony and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg will make a special appearance on the Aug. 1 episode of Jake Wilson's web series "The Battery's Down."

Connor Gallagher directs and choreographs the episode, which in addition to Goldberg (Xanadu, "The Color Purple," "Ghost"), will also feature Tony winner Sutton Foster (Shrek, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Jennifer Laura Thompson (Urinetown, Wicked), Christine Pedi (Forbidden Broadway), Alysha Umphress (Green Day's American Idiot), Jenna Coker Jones (Evil Dead), Sas Goldberg (Stunning), Kyle Harris (Mrs. Sharp), Ellen Harvey (Mary Poppins), Marla Mindelle (South Pacific) and Ana Nogueira (Knives and Other Sharp Objects).

In "The Battery's Down" Jake Wilson stars as a young performer who, along with his friends, navigates the world of showbiz in New York City. Series regulars include Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Mary Poppins, Spelling Bee), Dani Spieler (Legally Blonde) and Nina Sturtz.

The latest installment features three original songs contributed by series musical supervisor Adam Wachter and creator Jake Wilson, Emmy winner Lance Horne, and Tony nominees Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan.

The online series regularly features songs by numerous young theatre writers, including Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges), Laurence O'Keefe (Legally Blonde, Bat Boy!), David Kirshenbaum (Vanities, Summer of '42), Michael Patrick Walker (Altar Boyz), Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk (The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown), Nick Blaemire (Glory Days), Josh Salzman and Ryan Cunningham (I Love You Because), Sean Mahoney (Factory Girls), Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary (Secondhand Lions) and Ryan Scott Oliver and Kirsten A. Guenther (Mrs. Sharp).

Created by and starring University of Michigan graduate Wilson, "The Battery's Down" made its online premiere Feb. 1, 2008, with a slew of Broadway talent.

New episodes of "The Battery's Down" will premiere at 12:01 AM on the first of each month. To view the series, visit TheBatterysDown.