Annaleigh Ashford News

Tonight, September 24, 2013, The Broadway League and The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) will present the fifth annual Broadway Salutes, a celebration -- free and open to the public - which honors the countless professionals who have made Broadway great for decades. In this industry-wide event, which will take place at the Times Square Visitor Center (1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) in the heart of the theatre district, theater professionals will receive special recognition for having worked 25, 35, and 50 years in their respective theatrical craft. The event will begin at 3:30PM with red carpet arrivals, and the public ceremony will begin at 4:00PM.

Even the threat of rain didn't stop the biggest day of the year for Broadway fans from turning into a bright and sunny day for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as the 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction raised an outstanding $631,222.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, September 22, 2013 - Sunday, September 22, 2013.

More than 50 beloved and rising stars of stage and screen--including 19 Tony Award winners--signed autographs on Sunday, September 22, at the 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction (#bwayflea), presented by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Check out Part Two of BroadwayWorld.com's special photo coverage below!

Yesterday's SIP lineup featured a Facebook video from KINKY BOOTS' Lena Hall and Annaleigh Ashford, a little shoe swapping from CINDERELLA's Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana, Broadway's MATILDA, plus ANNA NICOLE Opera, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, Crown Uptown's CATS and more!

Peter Scolari (TV- 'Girls,' 'Bosom Buddies,' Broadway- 'Lucky Guy'); Annaleigh Ashford (Tony nom, 'Kinky Boots'), Karen Akers (2 time Tony nom, original casts of 'Nine' and 'Grand Hotel'), Aaron Lazar ('Mamma Mia,' 'Les Miserables'), John Tartaglia (Tony nom, 'Avenue Q'),Howard McGillin (longest running Phantom in history, 2 time Tony nominee, 'Drood' and 'Anything Goes'), Ali Stroker (Glee Project/Glee) and others have join the cast of BORN FOR BROADWAY, the fourth annual celebrity cabaret, featuring Broadway and TV stars donating their time and talent to raise money for paralysis-based organizations has been announced. The evening will take place at 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, on Monday September 30, 2013. Doors will open to the public at 8:45 PM with a 9:30 PM curtain. Hosts and full talent will be announced in the weeks ahead. www.bornforbroadway.com

Leading Broadway actors, including Annaleigh Ashford, Phoebe Strole, Lauren Pritchard and Chuck Mead, will perform in the Third Annual "James Moye's Boogie in the Butt Benefit" concert tonight at 7pm at Stage 72. All proceeds from the event will benefit The Foundation for Nutrition and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in Children (NIBD).

On Tuesday, September 24, 2013, The Broadway League and The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) will present the fifth annual Broadway Salutes, a celebration -- free and open to the public - which honors the countless professionals who have made Broadway great for decades. In this industry-wide event, which will take place at the Times Square Visitor Center (1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) in the heart of the theatre district, theater professionals will receive special recognition for having worked 25, 35, and 50 years in their respective theatrical craft. The event will begin at 3:30PM with red carpet arrivals, and the public ceremony will begin at 4:00PM.

The biggest day of the year for Broadway fans will include one-of-a-kind opportunities to own a part of theatre history or to step into the footlights as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS presents the 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction (#bwayflea).

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents the Tony Award-winning songwriting team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island, My Favorite Year, Seussical, Lucky Stiff, the upcoming Rocky, and more) in celebration of their thirty years of collaboration. In 'Nice Fighting You: A 30th Anniversary Celebration,' September 26 - 28, Ahrens and Flaherty will offer six very special concerts featuring their best known songs, rare gems and even some never-before-heard material, performed by a rotating cast of Broadway stars including Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots), Stephanie J. Block (Anything Goes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Liz Callaway (Baby,Miss Saigon, Anastasia), Kevin Chamberlin (Seussical, Dirty Blonde), Lilla Crawford (Annie),Lewis Grosso (Newsies), Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple, Ragtime, Once on This Island), Quentin Earl Darrington (Ragtime), Rebecca Luker (Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Nine), Marin Mazzie (Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, Passion), Sean McCourt (Wicked, A Man of No Importance), Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, Women on the Verge...),Jessica Molaskey (Sunday in the Park With George, Songs for a New World, A Man of No Importance), Bobby Steggert (Big Fish, Ragtime), Mary Testa (42nd Street, Lucky Stiff), and Tony Award Winner, Director/Music Director Ted Sperling (South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza, andThe Other Josh Cohen).

This September and October, 54 BELOW, the performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife, presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Set to perform are: Brian d'Arcy James, Duncan Sheik, Tony Desare, Charles Busch, Emily Skinner, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Laura Benanti, Alice Ripley, Telly Leung, John Tartaglia, MOrgan James, Ann Morrison, Christine Andreas, Shelly Burch, Ahrens & Flaherty, Frances Ruffelle and more.

The music of composer Will Van Dyke -- currently serving as associate music director of KINKY BOOTS on Broadway -- will take center stage when Tony Award-winner Billy Porter and other Broadway stars perform the one-night-only concert WILL VAN DYKE AND FRIENDS on Monday, October 14 at 9:30 p.m. at 54 Below (254 W. 54 St.) in Manhattan.

Yesterday, August 8, Tony's Di Napoli (147 West 43 Street) hosted a birthday party for Buyer & Cellar star Michael Urie and celebrated by unveiling his very own portrait. BroadwayWorld was there for the special occasion and you can check out photo coverage below!

Even the most tragic stories need a bit of comic relief, and that rule that holds up on the Great White Way. Broadway certainly has a sense of humor this season, with hilarity popping up in musicals and plays alike. Below, BroadwayWorld features Broadway stars that are making 'em laugh eight times a week.

BroadwayWorld sends its congratulations to Broadway's Annaleigh Ashford and actor Joe Tapper, who were married in a ceremony at Devil's Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Colo., on July 29!

LIVE! WITH KELLY & MICHAEL's very own Michael Strahan showed off his theatrical side by joining the spirited cast of Broadway's biggest new hit, KINKY BOOTS, for a special one night only performance in honor of LIVE!'s ongoing Broadway Week.

Ashley Kate Adams (La Cage Aux Folles), with aka Studio Productions, will present a one night only NYMF Special Event Concert, Dawn Cantwell: WHERE IS SHE NOW: Dawn Cantwell & FRIENDS, tonight, July 21 at 8:30pm. The show will be directed by D.B. Bonds (associate director of Kinky Boots) with musical direction by Ryan Cantwell (La Cage Aux Folles).

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) presents Tony nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Dogfight) and Amelia Ryan in Where She Is Now: Dawn Cantwell and Friends beginning July 21 at The Studio at The Pershing Square Signature Center.