RTKids Gala to Honor ASCAP's Elizabeth Matthews and Ben Stiller, Rosie O'Donnell To Host

ROSIE'S THEATER KIDS celebrates their 16th anniversary by honoring Elizabeth Matthews, CEO of ASCAP and actor, director, writer, producer, and philanthropist Ben Stiller at their annual gala hosted by Rosie O'Donnell on Monday, November 18 at New York Marriott Marquis.

Every day, Elizabeth and ASCAP help to steward the history of music by representing some of the world's greatest songwriters and composers, and for years The ASCAP Foundation has provided grants that enable RTKids' students to experience musical theater. ASCAP is a membership association of over 700,000 US songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP licenses the public performance of its members' musical compositions. Under her leadership, ASCAP has achieved record-breaking financial results, topping $1 billion in annual revenue and driving record-high distributions of royalties to ASCAP songwriters, lyricists, composers and music publishers. She has driven advocacy efforts to modernize music licensing, including passage of the Music Modernization Act, as well as pioneering transparency and technology innovations, and new service initiatives to support music creators.

Ben is a tremendous advocate for the arts, and through his foundation supports education initiatives for children worldwide. He is one of Hollywood's most successful and acclaimed multihyphenates. As an actor, director, writer, and producer, Stiller's global box office stands at nearly $3 billion, making him one of the highest-grossing stars of all time, and also one of the most versatile, effortlessly moving between major franchises such as Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum, the animated Madagascar films, critically-acclaimed arthouse hits, The Royal Tenenbaums, Meyerowitz Stories and While We're Young, his legendary sketch television series The Ben Stiller Show, and the Oscar-nominated Tropic Thunder, which he starred in, directed, co-wrote, and produced, to massive acclaim under his production company, Red Hour. Stiller recently directed and produced critically-acclaimed Showtime limited series Escape at Dannemora, starring Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano, and Patricia Arquette. For his work on the series, Stiller won the Directors' Guild Award for "Best TV Movie or Limited Series" and was nominated for a Producers' Guild Award.?The show also garnered 5 CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS nominations and 2 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS nominations, both including nominations for "Best Limited Series" and two "Best Actress in a Limited Series" wins for Patricia Arquette's captivating performance as Tilly Mitchell. We are honored to celebrate these two fantastic philanthropists as we raise support to ensure RTKids can continue to grow and reach more children through the arts.

Rosie O'Donnell, who founded ROSIE'S THEATER KIDS with Artistic and Executive Director Lori Klinger, states, "We are honored to celebrate these two fantastic champions of the arts as we raise support to ensure RTKids can continue to grow and reach more children through the arts."

For information about purchasing tables and tickets for the gala on November 18, please call Buckley Hall Events at 914-579-1000, email RTKids@buckleyhallevents.com, or visit https://rosiestheaterkids.org/rtkids-gala-2019/

RTKids was launched in 2003 at PS 51, a Title I public school bordering on the theater district where students would walk by Broadway theaters daily, and never have the opportunity to go inside. Rosie noticed this, and thought it was, "...like living in Hawaii, and never having access to the beach." Together with Rosie, Artistic and Executive Director Lori Klinger developed PS Broadway - RTKids foundational program. In 2003, all 40 fifth graders at PS 51 participated in 15 weeks of singing and dancing training, and every single fifth grader went to see their first Broadway show - all free of charge.

Over the years since its debut, RTKids has blossomed into much more than simply a song and dance venue. The dedication and inspiration of its expert staff and generosity of its guest Broadway professionals have yielded truly remarkable results. Today, RTKids services have expanded to include ACTE II (A Commitment to Excellence), which includes performing arts instruction, life skills development, academic tutoring, and college and financial aid guidance and support at Maravel Arts Center, RTKids home just west of the theater district.

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