Photo Flash: Broadway Stands Up for Freedom with the NYCLU!

Just last night, the NYCLU (New York Civil Liberties Union) hosted its 15th Annual "Broadway Stands Up For Freedom" Concert, and Mr. Harry Belafonte was honored with the inaugural "Freedom Award" for his lifetime dedication to fighting for civil rights and civil liberties.

At this star-studded event, Broadway's brightest premiered original songs of protest, and the topics included immigration reform, racism, education equality, resisting the Trump regime, and more. Thirteen songwriting teams and performers joined forces, raised their voices in protest and helped to raise funds for the NYCLU and ACLU missions which promote and protect the civil rights and liberties of all.

The show, hosted by Susan Blackwell (title of show), included presenters like Tony Award Nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger (Spelling Bee, Peter and the Star Catcher, The Glass Menagerie), and performers like 2017 Tony Award winner Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!, Hair, The Book of Mormon) who debuted a song he wrote and played called, "Hold You," which was sung by Taylor Trensch (Hello, Dolly!, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). David Cale (Lillian) performed a song titled "Klown with Da Nuclear Code," written by Tony Award Winner Stew. Janet Dacal (Prince of Broadway) sang about education equality with lyrics by Nathan Tysen (Amelie) and music composed by Chris Miller (Tuck Everlasting). Tony Award Nominee Adrienne Warren (Shuffle Along) and Doreen Montalvo (On Your Feet, In the Heights) performed "Back when America was Great," written by songwriter Michael Jackson. Actor Sean Greenbelted a song from composer Georgia Stitt (Little Shop of Horrors) titled, "The Great American Black & White."

Other attendees and performers included Tony Award Nominee Brooks Ashmanskas (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me), Tony Award Nominee Brandon Uranowitz (Prince of Broadway, Falsettos), Andréa Burns(On Your Feet!, In the Heights), Andrew Kober (Sunday in the Park with George, Les Miserables), Jenni Barber (Sundays in the Park with George, Annie), Zach Prince (Honeymoon in Vegas), LuCy Walters(Power), Samantha Sherman (The Mend), musical duo Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk, Shaina Taub (Old Hats), Liana Stampur (founding performer) and Clinton Curtis, among others. Special appearance was made by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

NYCLU is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, we are a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nine offices, including six chapters, and 155,000 members across the state. Our mission is to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the New York Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law for all New Yorkers. For more information on how you can get involved, visit https://www.nyclu.org.

Check out photos from inside the special event below!

Photo Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for NYCLU

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