Get involved, internet: Neil Gaiman is going to read the Cheesecake Factory menu
Neil Gaiman, who’s had a hell of a year with the hit TV adaptation of his 2001 novel, American Gods, is well-known to have a fantastic voice, which he’s leant to narrating many of his own audiobooks, as well as odds and ends like a Christmastime reading of “The Raven” last year. Gaiman could read, say, the Cheesecake Factory menu and still captivate an audience. And it turns out that very well may happen.
A huge Gaiman fan, comedian and writer Sara Benincasa has organized a Crowdrise campaign to benefit the United Nations Refugee Agency. If she can raise $500,000 by June 20 (World Refugee Day), then Gaiman will regale an audience, be it live or via live stream, with the chain restaurant’s voluminous, thematically deprived selection of dishes.
Benincasa writes:
I’ll arrange with Neil at his convenience to do the reading within the next year in a public setting, whether onstage or online. If it’s onstage, I’ll sell tickets and donate profits after costs to UNHCR. Regardless, I will make the event available to the general public via livestream or a lovely video you can watch later whilst weeping at the beauty of Neil Gaiman saying “avocado egg rolls.”
Everyone’s on board, too, including Cheesecake Factory, who tweeted out the cause along with the rest of the key players.
As of this writing, the campaign has raised just over $5,000 of its goal, so start donating now. It’s certainly worth it, not just for the charitable cause, but also because Gaiman’s reading would provide as much entertainment as his current Starz season is across an entire season.