Local celebrities take part in Tampa play focusing on mental health and suicide

TAMPA, Fla. — As part of Suicide Prevention Month, a play will be taking place this weekend focusing on mental health and suicide.

ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan and Chief Meteorologist Denis Phillips were both asked to participate in the production.

It’s called ”Right Before I Go” and it takes the letters of people lost to suicide and has their words read on stage.

ABC Action News spoke with Karla Hartley, the play’s director, about the show and how the script’s writer put it all together.

“He collected all of these actual suicide notes from actual humans and put them together into a play. So, it’s the lived experience of various people, who have either attempted suicide or completed their suicide and the messages they left behind for their loved ones, right before they went,” explained Hartley.

Following the performance, there will be a talkback with the show’s writer Stan Zimmerman. He also wrote on Gilmore Girls, The Golden Girls, and Roseanne.

Along with Ryan and Phillips, other celebrities, including Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Rob Zettler, former Miss World USA and Miss Florida USA Cloe Cabrara, and several others are involved.

You’ll also be able to meet the celebrities involved in the play after the production.

The show will run on Sept. 20 and 21 at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. All money raised through ticket sales will go to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.

You can learn more and purchase tickets by clicking here.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at (800) 273-8255 or just dial 988.