Hanks, Bening, Shatner and others will read ‘Shrew’ for Shakespeare Festival/LA fundraiser

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Annette Bening, William Shatner, Christina Applegate, Sean Astin, Zach Braff and other celebrities will perform a staged reading of “The Taming of the Shrew” – with live music and songs provided by Lyle Lovett – as a benefit for Shakespeare Festival/LA Monday evening at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

In addition, a personal phone message recorded by Hanks, tickets to the New York premiere of the film version of “Mamma Mia!” and a speaking role in the show – including an onstage food fight with Hanks and Wilson – are up for bid on EBay through Thursday.

By Tuesday morning, bidding for the speaking role had reached $12,200.

It’s the 17th year that Hanks and Wilson have led “Simply Shakespeare.” The event supports SFLA’s annual free production of a Shakespeare play performed in downtown L.A. each summer and the 22-year-old company’s Will Power to Youth educational outreach programs.

“Every year it’s a little different, but we’ve had a lot of the big stars support us on this,” said Ben Donenberg, SFLA founder and artistic director. Last year, the amount raised topped $460,000. For more information, call (310) 201-5033.

 lynne.heffley@latimes.com