William Shatner, Tim McGraw brush up on the Bard

(CBS/AP) It was billed as an all-star reading of William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

But it's not the classically trained performers you might expect who turned up this week at UCLA's Royce Hall to read.

Celebrity Circuit: Shakespeare in Los Angeles

Among the participants in the program to benefit The Shakespeare Center in Los Angeles were Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Christina Applegate, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Eric Idle, Tracey Ullman, Martin Short, William Shatner and Eugene Levy.

"It's a cavalcade of celebrities in here, some of whom have done Shakespeare before, some of whom not,'' said Tom Hanks in an interview before the event. "And it's a one-time only. We sell it out. We rehearsed it today. We're performing it tonight. Hardly anyone knows what they're doing in there. So anything could happen. It could be 'Hellzapoppin' in here, by way of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor.'"

One performer with a little experience with the Bard is Kevin Branagh ("Henry V'' and "Much Ado About Nothing") and he thinks a show like this brings Shakespeare back to its roots.

"Shakespeare talks a lot about clowns,'' Branagh said. "He talks a lot about clowning. He's a popular entertainer."