Zach Rand Creates Benefit To Raise Awareness For Pulmonary Hypertension in Celebration of World PH Day

On Thursday, May 6th, 2021, at 8PM, the Rand Family and many popular and talented Broadway performers invite you to "plug in for PH" as they shine a light on Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) at the 6th annual "Breathless on Broadway" in celebration of WORLD PH DAY.

To register for this FREE event, click HERE. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ehsib4246c2a5c94&llr=sm5hsquab

Streaming virtually this year, the event includes some of Broadway's favorites, including Aaron Lazar (The Phantom of the Opera, The Last Ship, A Little Night Music, Impressionism, The Light in the Piazza, Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities, Dear Evan Hansen - National Tour, Filthy Rich - TV, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame) Tally Sessions (Big Fish, School of Rock, Falsettos, Anastasia, Company) David Josefsberg (Grease, Motown the Musical, Waitress, The Prom, Beetlejuice) T. Oliver Reid (Hadestown, Once On This Island, Disney's Mary Poppins, Follies, Kiss Me Kate, Chicago, Sister Act), Laurissa Romain (Broadway: South Pacific, Spike Lee's Film: Son of the South, Chris Rock's Film: Top Five) Ali Ewoldt (The Phantom of the Opera, The King and I, Les Miserables), Maria Briggs (Disney's Frozen, Hello Dolly!, Cats, Mean Girls The Musical), Kevin Schuerig (National Tour: King and I), Zachary Sayle (Alliance Theatre's Becoming Nancy, National Tour: Newsies, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, International Tour: Sound of Music, World Premiere: A Christmas Story The Musical) Max von Essen (Les Miserables, Evita, An American in Paris, Anastasia), Katie Micha (Gypsy, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Billy Elliot National Tour), Giuseppe Bausilio (Hamilton, Hello Dolly, Cats, Aladdin, Newsies the Musical and BIlly Elliot: The Musical), Nicolas Dromard (Oklahoma, Jersey Boys, Disney's Mary Poppins, Mama Mia - National Tour, Wicked - National Tour), Desiree Davar (West Side Story, Peter Pan - National Tour) Ellen Harvey (How to Succeed, Phantom of the Opera, Disney's Mary Poppins - National Tour, Disney's High School Musical - National Tour), Q Smith (Les Miserables, Disney's Mary Poppins, Come from Away), Samantha Blaire Cutler (Dear Evan Hansen, Billy Elliot - National Tour, Orange is the New Black - TV) Carol Angeli (Miss Saigon, Disney's Mary Poppins - National Tour), Jesse Swimm (School of Rock The Musical, Disney's Mary Poppins), Kevin Massey (Big River, Disney's Tarzan, Memphis, Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, World Premiere: Bonnie & Clyde The Musical), Kara Lindsay (Wicked, Disney's Newsies, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Raymond Lee (Goundhog Day, Disney's Aladdin, Anything Goes, Marriage Story - Netflix, Billions - Showtime) Ryan Silverman (The Phantom of the Opera, Cry Baby, Side Show, Wicked - Chicago) Maia Katz (Innovative Artists), Liv Rand (Disney Parks Live Entertainment) and Ava Rand (Marymount Manhattan College).

These stars will raise awareness for Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), a rare disease that currently has no cure but can be managed with proper care and treatment. Broadway's Zach Rand (Les Misérables & Disney's Mary Poppins, World Premieres: A Christmas Story The Musical, Bonnie & Clyde The Musical, National Tours: Disney's Mary Poppins, Radio City Christmas Spectacular) will co-host the event with his siblings Liv, Ava and Elijah in honor of their sister Chloë and all whose lives are touched by PH.

"My family and I are honored to be hosting this event to raise awareness for a very personal cause. And while my sister Chloë isn't here to witness this, we continue our fight for the many other families affected by Pulmonary Hypertension, like Broadway's Phyllis Newman and jazz legend Natalie Cole. This year we are able to reach beyond the doors of Sardi's and share our story with the PH and Broadway communities alike. So many of our PH specialists have been working the front lines, and this is just as much for them." said Zach Rand.

Liv Rand said "Music has always been a vital aspect of communication for our family, and we are elated to bring together performers from over 30 different shows to unite their voices and raise awareness for those who often lack the breath to speak. Likewise, we're bringing Broadway into the comfort of home in an accessible way that brings many of our friends back into the spotlight. We've also been working on some new and exciting projects with Noah Sunday Lefkowitz (Disney Parks Live Entertainment, Walt Disney Imagineering) that are going to be featured this year!"

Tune in to Virtually Breathless for some great surprises!

"The idea for breathless on Broadway began in the car driving home one night when Zach was appearing in Les Miserables on Broadway. He asked if someday his voice would be big enough to help other people. He was nine years old. Just before Zach's eighteenth birthday, the first breathless on Broadway happened. We are grateful Virtually Breathless is generously supported by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Acceleron, United Therapeutics Corporation, GossamerBio, Altavant Sciences, Inc. and Stage Door Designs." said Marie Mascia-Rand.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a rare, life-threatening disease affecting the arteries of the lungs that can lead to right heart failure. PH patients experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue. While there's currently no cure, there are 16 FDA-approved therapies available to help patients live better lives. Without treatment, mean survivability is only 2.8 years.

The Breathless franchise is dedicated to raising global pulmonary hypertension awareness and raising funds for critical PH research. Learn more at: breathlessonBroadway.com.