Aaron Lazar to Host Arts For All's 6th Annual Benefit at Joe's Pub, 4/28

Arts For All has announced this year's annual benefit concert at Joe's Pub on April 28th, hosted by Aaron Lazar, star of Sting's upcoming, new musical, The Last Ship, and directed by Alexander Gemignani, currently appearing in Violet on Broadway. The evening will feature performances by other Broadway performers, donating their time and talents to raise money and awareness for Arts For All's free arts programming with in-need children in all five boroughs of New York City. Tickets are available now through Joe's Pub.

Aaron Lazar (Host), star of Sting's upcoming, new musical, The Last Ship, is a near constant presence on Broadway having appeared in eight Broadway shows over the last 10 years. He originated roles in the world premieres of Impressionism with Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen and A Tale of Two Cities, and appeared in the revival of LES MISERABLES (Drama Desk Award nomination), the revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, and Elaine Stritch, The Phantom of the Opera, and the revival of Oklahoma!. Mr. Lazar starred in the Tony Award winning production of The Light in the Piazza and the 'Live from Lincoln Center' broadcast on PBS. Most recently, he starred opposite 'Smash' star Megan Hilty in Encores' critically acclaimed production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Mr. Lazar appeared in the concert staging of Stephen Sondheim's Company with Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, and Patti LuPone at Avery Fisher Hall. Other notable appearances include: Carousel in concert with the Boston Pops and South Pacific at The Hollywood Bowl with Reba McEntire and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Mr. Lazar's solo concert, "Look For Me in the Music," garnered critical acclaim at the Kennedy Center and has played multiple venues in Manhattan. Film and TV credits include: The Wolf of Wall Street, J. Edgar, The Notorious Bettie Page, Company live with The NY Philharmonic, 'Person of Interest', IFC's 'Onion News Network', 'A Gifted Man', 'Ugly Betty', 'White Collar', 'New Amsterdam', and appearances on The Today Show and The View.

Alexander Gemignani (Director): Upcoming Broadway: Violet (Father). Broadway: Chicago(Billy), LES MISERABLES (Valjean, Drama League nomination), Sweeney Todd (Beadle, Drama Desk nomination), Assassins (Hinckley, Theatre World Award), The People In The Picture (Moishe), Sunday in the Park With George (Boatman/Dennis). Off-Broadway: Road Show at the Public (Addison Mizner, Drama League nomination), Headstrong at EST (Nick) and Avenue Q at the Vineyard Theatre (Brian). Favorite Regional: The Three Sisters (Andrei) at Cincinnati Playhouse, The Boys From Syracuse (Sergeant) at The Shakespeare Theatre of D.C. and the title character in the world premiere musical Saint-Ex at The Weston Playhouse. Concerts: Sondheim! The Birthday Concert with The N.Y. Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, The N.Y. Pops at Carnegie Hall, and The L.A. Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl as well several appearances as performer and director in the Broadway By The Year series at The Town Hall. TV/Film: Homeland, The Good Wife, Empire State (pilot), Passion (Live From Lincoln Center), South Pacific (Great Performances) and the film The Producers. His solo show, All At Once, premiered at the Kennedy Center as a part of Barbara Cook's Spotlight Series. As a composer/lyricist, he is currently developing three new musicals and recently composed the incidental music for the plays Cadence: Home, swingset/moon and currently, Katzenjammer. He also recently served as co-music director and conductor for the University Of Michigan's production of Sunday In The Park With George and created a new orchestration and musically directed Ragtime for Tisch School Of The Arts at NYU. He is on the faculty at CAP21, a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Arts For All offers accessible artistic opportunities to children in the New York City area who face socio-economic, physical, or emotional barriers to exploring the arts. Through Arts For All, professional artists work with youth organizations to build self-confidence, self-expression, teamwork, resilience, and creativity in children. 2014 marks Arts For All's 6th year as a 501(c)3 non-profit, and the organization's 10th year of serving the community. Arts For All currently reaches over 3,500 in-need children annually with our free arts programming.