The Fountain Theatre follows its successful 2018 celebrity reading of “All the President’s Men” with a one-night only, all-star reading of “Ms. Smith Goes to Washington” on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber of Los Angeles City Hall.

Joshua Malina, of “Scandal,” will star in the Fountain Theatre’s production of “Ms. Smith Goes to Washington.” (photo by James Clark)

The production will star Bellamy Young, of “Scandal,” in the title role, along with her “Scandal” co-stars Joshua Malina and Jeff Perry, with more to be announced.

Adapted and directed by Fountain co-artistic director Stephen Sachs, presented by the award-winning Fountain Theatre in partnership with the city of Los Angeles and with exclusive permission from Sony Pictures, this free event will be hosted by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District. A catered reception will follow in the City Hall Rotunda.

In this gender-switched adaptation of Sidney Buchman’s screenplay for the 1939 Jimmy Stewart classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” an idealistic, newly elected female senator finds herself fighting corruption in male-dominated Washington.

“With more than one hundred women newly elected to Congress, this classic movie, reimagined with Smith as a woman, could not be more timely and urgent,” Sachs said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to build on the overwhelming success of last year’s event at City Hall. Councilman Mitch O’Farrell is a longtime friend of the Fountain Theatre and an advocate for the arts in Los Angeles. What other major city in the country would hand over City Hall to its artists for one night? When local artists and city government officials work together, all citizens of Los Angeles benefit.”

“With change in the air in Washington after an unprecedented number of diverse women were just sworn into Congress to counter the corrupt, divisive, and destructive agenda of the Trump administration, I am thrilled to announce a staged reading of a beloved Hollywood classic film at Los Angeles City Hall, but with a modern twist that will no doubt prove more illuminating and poignant than it would have otherwise: ‘Ms. Smith Goes to Washington,’” O’Farrell said. “I am proud to continue what is now an annual artistic tradition at City Hall.”

The event is sponsored, in part, by the Feminist Majority Foundation, and in association with the League of Women Voters.

Admission is free, but seating is limited and will be distributed via a ticket lottery system.

Los Angeles City Hall is located at 200 N. Spring St. For information and to enter the ticket lottery, visit mssmith.org.