Florence Henderson Hosts BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 at Vivian Beaumont in Lincoln Center, 2/22

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) have announced BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5, a one night only concert, will be held Monday, February 22 at 8 PM at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center (150 West 65th Street). BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 is produced by BC/EFA and will benefit BC/EFA and The Center.

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.

This will mark the first year that BC/EFA will partner with The Center to present BROADWAY BACKWARDS.

Tom Viola, Executive Director of BC/EFA said, "BC/EFA is a longtime supporter of The Center. They were one of our first grantees nearly 20 years ago. We're thrilled now to add BROADWAY BACKWARDS to the BC/EFA annual events calendar and to share proceeds with The Center, where the event first took root and has become such an audience favorite."

In a statement, Glennda Testone, Executive Director for The Center said, "BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 is a wonderful opportunity to see The Center's community represented in theater. In particular, the gender-bending nature of this performance allows us the unique experience of seeing our relationships played out on a Broadway stage."

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

Florence Henderson, who was an audience favorite at last year's BROADWAY BACKWARDS, will serve as host for this year's concert.

Additional participants for BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5 will be announced in the coming weeks.

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.

SINGLE TICKETS TO CONCERT ONLY:
Left/right of center orchestra or center front loge ($250)
Far left/right orchestra or mid-loge ($150 each)
Rear or extreme left/right loge and extreme left/right orchestra ($75 each)

BENEFACTOR ($25,000)
VIP Seating for 12 guests at the performance and 12 passes to the post-performance party
Full-page VIP ad in the event Playbill with priority placement
Priority "Benefactor" credit in event Playbill and event promotion on BC/EFA's website
A matted and framed poster from the event autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5
Playbill autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5

PATRON ($10,000)
VIP Seating for 8 guests at the performance and 8 passes to the post-performance party
Full-page ad in the event Playbill and listing as "Patron" in the event Playbill
Poster from the event autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5
Playbill autographed by stars of BROADWAY BACKWARDS 5

SPONSOR ($5,000)
VIP Seating for 4 guests at the performance and 4 passes to the post-performance party
Half-page ad in the event Playbill
Listing as "Sponsor" in the event Playbill

PREMIUM VIP ($1,000)
1 extraordinary orchestra seat and 1 pass to the VIP post-performance party
Listing as "Premium VIP" in the event Playbill

VIP ($500)
1 Premium Orchestra Seat and 1 pass to the VIP post-performance party
Listing as "VIP" in the event Playbill.

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.

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

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