Lea Salonga Joins 'Broadway Backwards 5' Concert Line Up

Tony Award-Winner Lea Salonga has joined the line up for BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5, an annual benefit concert presented by Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 is a one night only event and will hit the stage at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Monday, February 22nd at 8pm.

Having created the role of the orphaned "Kim" in Miss Saigon and brought to life the singing of Disney's Mulan ("Reflection") and Princess Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin - it's truly "A Whole New World," for Salonga and her angelic voice. Salonga has become the national treasure of her Philippine homeland as she captivates audiences the world over - playing to SOLD OUT houses at Carnegie Hall, Hong Kong's Cultural Centre and the historical Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Salonga has been singing since the age of ten when she made her theatrical debut in the King and I and has gone on to release three studio albums. She began an illustrious career in Broadway musicals when she was cast to play Kim in Miss Saigon after a world-wide talent search. Additional credits include Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Grease, The Sound of Music, Annie and Cinderella among many others

Salonga will join previously announced performers Tituss Burgess (Guys and Dolls, The Little Mermaid), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City, Laugh Whore), Raul Esparza (Speed-the-Plow, Company), Becki Newton (ABC's "Ugly Betty", Girl Crazy at Encores!), Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change; Jelly's Last Jam), Gary Beach (Tony-winner for The Producers), Len Cariou (Tony-winner for the original Sweeney Todd), Tony Goldwyn (upcoming revival of Promises, Promises and the film Ghost), Aaron Lazar (A Little Night Music, The Light in the Piazza), Michele Lee (Two-time Tony Award nominee) and Julia Murney (The Wild Party, Wicked).

Florence Henderson will serve as host for this year's BROADWAY BACKWARDS.

Never underestimate the power of a pronoun! BROADWAY BACKWARDS will feature some of Broadway's biggest names singing songs originally written for the opposite gender: women singing songs written for men and men singing song written for women. By keeping all of the lyrics intact, including the original pronouns, each song takes on an entirely new dimension, sometimes with hysterical results and sometimes with immensely touching results. BROADWAY BACKWARDS will give its audience a chance to see and hear some of the most treasured songs of the Great White Way in a whole new light.

BROADWAY BACKWARDS creator Robert Bartley is returning as director and choreographer of this special evening with musical direction by Wayne Barker.

Tickets are available starting today at www.BroadwayCares.org or by calling 212-840-0770, ext. 268. Ticket packages are available which include tickets to the concert and VIP reception. In addition single tickets only are available for the concert only.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors' Fund - including The AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers' Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center provides innovative social service, youth programs and activities, educational and cultural/recreational programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of all ages. Since its inception, the Center has been the only LGBT-identified resource delivering a continuum of substance abuse prevention and treatment services to LGBT communities in and around NYC. More than 3,000 clients use Center Counseling, Advocacy, Recovery and Education (Center CARE) annually, which offers low-cost/no cost professional counseling and social services for substance abuse prevention and related HIV/AIDS, mental health and gender identity issues. More than 1,000 adolescents participate in our LGBT youth prevention program, the Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program. In September 2007 the Center opened Center CARE Recovery, the first and only licensed outpatient substance abuse treatment program for LGBT communities in New York State.

Follow BC/EFA on Twitter: @BCEFA. Find BC/EFA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCEFA.

For more information, visit www.BroadwayCares.org or www.GayCenter.org.

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