Photos & Video: Adam Jacobs, Stephen Schwartz & More Raise Money at ARTS FOR AUTISM

This week marked a triumphant return for Arts for Autism, an annual Broadway benefit held at the Gershwin Theater, with over $35,000 raised to expand access to the arts for those impacted by Autism. The one-night-only concert featured a constellation of the biggest names on Broadway performing with the stars of tomorrow - student groups from across the nation.

Check out photos and video!

Adam Jacobs (Aladdin, The Lion King, Les Misérables) hosted the event, which featured legendary Oscar, Grammy, Tony Award®-winning composer Stephen Schwartz on the keys for musical numbers from The Baker's Wife and Wicked. Talia Suskauer, the current Elphaba in Wicked, sang "For Good," with Atypical star Naomi Rubin - an artist on the Autism Spectrum. Gay Marshall (Jacques Brel) and Jacque Carnahan (Arts for Autism Executive Producer) sang "Chanson" from The Baker's Wife.

Elaine Hall, founder of The Miracle Project - a performing arts and social skills program profiled in the HBO Two-Time Emmy winning film Autism: The Musical - served as the Keynote Speaker, and encouraged the students in the audience to stand up against bullying.

Zachary Noah Piser, star of Dear Evan Hansen, closed the concert with 15 year-old Emily Weller of Young Actors Theatre of Tallahassee, Florida in a duet "If The World Only Knew" written by students from P94M Spectrum School, with vocal support from the student groups and Arts for Autism Company.

To mark Juneteenth, Paradise Square's Gabrielle McClinton sang "Breathe Easy." Additional Broadway artists who participated in Arts for Autism include Kevin Smith Kirkwood (Kinky Boots), Gay Marshall (Jacques Brel), Kelvin Moon Loh (Beetlejuice), Brynn Williams (Spongebob), Natalie Charle Ellis (Beetlejuice), and Marty Thomas (Grammy Award winner, Wicked).

Under the stewardship of an advisory board of artists and activists, funds garnered at the concert will be distributed in $1,000 to $5,000 grants designed to expand access to the arts for people impacted by autism. Grants are available on a rolling basis and the deadline to apply is October 1, 2022. For more information, visit: https://www.artsforautism.net/

Arts for Autism is a production of Educational Travel Adventures and Believe NYC - two organizations that educate and enrich the lives of young people through performance and travel opportunities. It is produced by Jacque Carnahan and Michael Holzer, directed by Natalie Malotke with musical direction by Paul Staroba.