Judith Chapman Dishes on Benefit Performance

Judith Chapman is excited about her latest project.

"It's a one-time benefit performance with an all-star soap cast," The Young and the Restless star told Soap Opera Digest.

"[They] include Christian LeBlanc, Vincent Irizarry, Michelle Stafford, Kristoff St. John, Greg Rikaart, Daniel Goddard and Emily O'Brien, John Callahan (ex-Edmund) from All My Children, and Ron Hale (Mike) from General Hospital. We’re doing a staged reading of The Trial of the Catonsville 9, the true story of a group of nuns, priests and laypeople who burned draft cards in protest of the Vietnam War in the late '60s."

Chapman took action after seeing The Actors' Gang's all-star reading of the play, which was led by Martin Sheen and Tim Robbins in Los Angeles this past August.

"It was such a moving story and it's timely 40 years later," she said.

A talk with Robbins later and Chapman was set on producing Catonsville — and raising some money, of course — with a star-studded cast of her peers.

"I've always had a fantasy of having an annual soap opera theater benefit, so this is the pilot project," she said. "Proceeds go to Kiva, an organization that facilitates micro-loans to small businesses in the developing world. These priests and nuns worked with the working poor around the country, so Kiva seemed like a natural choice."

The event promises to be entertaining, and if all goes well, may only be the first: "This is a play that could be taken around the country," Chapman added. "I love theater, and as Greg Rikaart put it, 'I’m going to feed my soul!'"

Visit www.judithchapman.com for updates on ticket information.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.