Alice Ripley and More Sign on for Living For Today's 'MY FIRST TIME' Benefit Concert

Living for Today will present a benefit concert entitled Living for Today: "My First Time", on Sunday, October 30 at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette St) beginning at 7PM.

The concert is produced and directed by David Alpert (IF/THEN, The Trip to Bountiful, Artistic Director of Headline Programming at BroadwayCon) with music direction by Jason Wetzel (After Midnight). Tickets are $20; $35; and $100 (VIP seats which includes an after-show champagne toast with the company) and are available at www.joespub.com.

This year's lineup includes: Erin Davie (Grey Gardens, Side Show); Janine DiVita (Mystery of Edwin Drood, Grease), Carmen Ruby Floyd (After Midnight); Autumn Hurlbert(Legally Blonde); Amber Iman (Shuffle Along, Soul Doctor); Andy Kelso (Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia); Liz McCartney (South Pacific, Les Mis); Alice Ripley (Next to Normal, Side Show) James Snyder (If/Then, Cry-Baby, In Transit); Alysha Umphress (On the Town, American Idiot) The Doo Wop Project, and more to be announced. Ben Cameron (Wicked, Aida) hosts the event. The band includes Jason Wetzel, Gregg Monteith, and Danny Weller.

Living for Today raises money for Gilana's Fund, which provides funding for educational programming promoting acceptance and understanding of our communities, each other, and ourselves. The annual concert series, which serves as a platform to announce the annual recipients of Gilana's Fund, was created in 2008 just a year after the loss of Gilana Alpert at the age of 26, by her brother David, a director in NYC, and has helped raise nearly $50,000. Gilana's Fund has benefited over twenty deserving non-profit organizations nationwide.

"This is a monumental time in our nation's history when it comes to celebrating and encouraging the value of acceptance, and it is crucial that we come together as a community to discuss this issue. The "Living for Today" concert series is a special event for me and one that I'm incredibly proud of as it not only stands for this important cause, but also carries out my sister's legacy. I'm thankful to have this group of Broadway singers join me in raising money for Gilana's Fund, and in honoring the organizations across the country that are doing significant work. This year's concert will be a lot of fun, as each performer sings from the first Broadway show that they ever saw! " said director/producer David Alpert.

Living for Today: "My First Time" will take place on Sunday, October 30 at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette St) beginning at 7PM.Tickets are priced $20 and $35 and are available at www.joespub.com. There are a select number of $100 VIP seats which includes an after-show champagne toast with the company. More information can be found at www.gilanasfund.org/lft.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride