National Dance Institute Honors LuPone & Cerveris, 7/19

The National Dance Institute will honor Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris--both currently Tony-nominated for their work as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, respectively, in the Sweeney Todd revival--on July 19th at 6:30 PM at at the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts Concert Hall (65th St. between Amsterdam and West End Avenues).

The annual Event of the Year evening will feature 200 National Dance Institute children in a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. All funds will benefit NDI.

"National Dance Institute (NDI) is a not-for-profit arts education organization founded in 1976 by Jacques d'Amboise. Through in-school partnerships, workshops, and public performances, NDI uses dance as a catalyst to engage children and motivate them towards excellence," states the organization's website.

LuPone, who recently released the CD "The Lady with the Torch,"has been one of Broadway's foremost leading ladies since her star-making performance in 1979's Evita, for which she won a Tony Award. The star, who graduated from Julliard and was a member of John Houseman's famed Acting Company in the '70s. Broadway credits include Noises Off, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class, Anything Goes (Tony nomination), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Oliver!, Working, The Three Sisters, The Robber Bridegroom (Tony nomination) and The Beggar's Opera; she has also starred in Pal Joey and Can-Can at Encores! Additionally, she originated the role of Fantine in the London production of Les Miserables, starred as Norma Desmond in the 1993 West End production of Sunset Boulevard (her last appearance in a fully-staged musical), and played Genevieve in the original production of The Baker's Wife. She will next appear at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago as Rose in Gypsy this August.

Cerveris is a 2004 Tony Award-winner for his performance as John Wilkes Booth in the Roundabout Theatre production of Assassins. Other Broadway credits include Titanic and The Who's Tommy, while he has appeared off-Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Wintertime. Cerveris was featured in the Ravinia productions of Anyone Can Whistle, Sunday in the Park with George and Passion (repeating the role of Giorgio at Lincoln Center, which he also played in the acclaimed Kennedy Center production in 2002). Cerveris is also known as a rocker; he heads a band titled after his surname. Dog-Eared is his band's debut album.

An 8 PM dinner will follow the performance; it will take place on the Promenade of the New York State Theatre, located at Broadway and 63rd Street.

Show-only tickets available at $100, while tickets for both the show and dinner begin at $500. Call (800) 807-1787 or visit www.nationaldance.org for more information.