Anything Helps

Anything Helps brings a heartfelt solo theatre experience to the Hudson Guild Theatre, blending humor, humanity, and spiritual reflection into a deeply personal story about generosity and connection. Written and performed by Mark E. Lanham and directed by Chris Clavelli, the show follows a late-bloomer New York City actor who commits a singular act of charity: serving free coffee to a small segment of the city’s more than 150,000 homeless residents living around affluent Union Square. Through this act, he encounters a colorful but wounded community of people whose stories lead him toward unexpected kinship, self-examination, and compassion.

As COVID overtakes Manhattan, the character’s experiences among the city’s poor pull him into a profound “dark night of the soul,” ultimately guiding him toward reconciliation, faith, and a renewed understanding of the Franciscan belief that “it is in giving that we receive.” The production carries the warmth of a personal confession, the immediacy of a one-person performance, and the social consciousness of a timely urban story. With its themes of hope, service, faith, and human dignity, Anything Helps offers an intimate and uplifting theatre experience that feels both contemporary and timeless.

Performance schedule: Friday, June 19 at 8:30PM; Saturday, June 20 at 6:45PM; Friday, June 26 at 6:30PM; Saturday, June 27 at 7:00PM; and Sunday, June 28 at 5:30PM.