Celebrities drawn into podcasting in upcoming “Anthem”

John Cameron Mitchell, Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, and Laurie Anderson are a few of the celebrated performers attracted to podcasting. They, and others, will be featured in an upcoming podcast call Anthem, produced by Topic Studios (producer of the hit, Missing Richard Simmons).

Anthem is a musical, so naturally attracts musical performers, and more than a couple of Tony Award-winning actors are involved — LuPone and Close probably the best known. Other notables signed onto the production include Denis O’Hare, Simone, Christopher Hanke, Ben Foster, Madeline Brewer, James Monroe Iglehart, Justin Vivian Bond and Bridget Everett.

Announced today, the show will debut “later this year” with 10 episodes of 30 minutes each, featuring more than 30 original songs. Each season tells one episodic story, and the producers promise to highlight “neglected corners of the country.”

Bryan Weller is a director and songwriter on the project, and Howard Gertler executive produces.

Brad Hill