Vereen, Minnelli, and Slew of Broadway Celebs Perform for Katrina Relief at Gershwin Theatre September 25

By: Sep. 13, 2005
LIZA MINNELLI
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On Sunday evening, September 25 at 8:30 PM, the New York theatrical community will join forces in one of the most important evenings of the season. In an incredible demonstration of support and camaraderie, scores of Broadway performers will take the stage at the Gershwin Theatre (222 W. 51st St.) for Broadway's Celebrity Benefit for Hurricane Relief. 100% of the profits from this spectacular event will go directly to America's Second Harvest and Quilts for Kids, two charitable organizations working directly with the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Produced by company members of Wicked and made possible through the generosity of the Nederlander Organization, the event will star Ben Vereen & Liza Minnelli and feature Bryan Batt, Shoshana Bean, Victoria Clark, Charlotte D'Amboise, Jill Eikenberry, Raul Esparza, Shuler Hensley, Megan Hilty, Bill Irwin, brian d'Arcy James, Isabelle Keating, Adriane Lenox, Terrence Mann, Rue McClanahan, Michael McElroy, Julia Murney, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O'Hara, Denis O'Hare, David Hyde Pierce, Carole Shelley, Christopher Sieber, Michael Tucker, Frederick Weller and The Broadway Inspirational Voices, plus the casts of The Light in the Piazza, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, All Shook Up, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Wicked.

"On Monday August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast like no other storm in recorded history," says Ben Vereen. "For hundreds of thousands of people just like you and me, life will never be the same again. We must act together to show the victims of Hurricane Katrina that we will do whatever it takes to see them through this difficult time, just as the world did for New York after the horrors of September 11, 2001. When ticket sales hit an all time low and businesses were struggling to keep their doors open, our fellow Americans rallied around our city. They came to stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, shop in our stores... and they came to see our shows!"

America's Second Harvest is the largest domestic hunger relief organization in the United States, feeding over 23 million hungry Americans each year. As of September 12th, fourteen days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, America's Second Harvest has delivered 20.7 million pounds of food and groceries to displaced Americans.

Quilts for Kids is a grass-roots organization founded to transform discontinued designer fabrics into quilts for battered and abused children as well as children suffering from life-threatening illnesses. In its five years of existence, they have distributed nearly 30,000 quilts worldwide. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, 140 families have been relocated to the Philadelphia area, with more to come. As Quilts for Kids has its headquarters in Yardley, PA, the organization has expanded its mission to include the collection and distribution of clothing, toiletries, linens and everyday necessities for these displaced families.

Tickets for Broadway's Celebrity Benefit for Hurricane Relief are $100 and $300, and are available at the Gershwin Theatre box office (222 W. 51st St.) or through Ticketmaster, 212-307-4100 or www.ticketmaster.com.

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