Broadway veterans, performers and musicians are spearheading a fundraiser for Nassau BOCES Long Island High School for the Arts (LIHSA). This production—which is packed with Tony winners, nominees and Broadway stars—will take place at the Syosset campus, 239 Cold Spring Rd., at 7 p.m. on March 14.
For more than 40 years, LIHSA has been a training ground for public school students who want to pursue a career in the arts. Most recently, LIHSA gained national attention when Billy Joel held a master class for students and pledged $1 million to help support the program. The benefit will also support Nassau BOCES Doshi STEM Institute, a program for high school students who want to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
The fundraiser, Broadway Supports LIHSA, is being co-produced and directed by Jerome Vivona, Broadway veteran and current artistic director of the American Theater Dance Workshop in New Hyde Park, and Stephen DeAngelis, renowned casting director and the producing artistic director of At This Performance, a concert series showcasing Broadway and Off-Broadway standbys and understudies. They are working with The Campaign for LIHSA, which was created more than a year ago to help raise funds and awareness of the program.
Performers will sing, dance and share stories about their experiences in the arts. The evening is scheduled to feature a variety of performers with more than 50 Broadway shows to their credit including Todd Buonopane (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella; Grease; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Chicago), Nick Rashad Burroughs (Kinky Boots), Jeffry Denman (Irving Berlin’s White Christmas; The Producers; Dream; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; Cats), Sara Esty (An American in Paris), Jenny Hill (Something Rotten!; Elf; Spamalot; Seussical), Chad Kimball (Tony Award nominee-Memphis; Lennon; Good Vibrations; Into the Woods; The Civil War), Steffanie Leigh (Mary Poppins; Gigi), Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages; Sweeney Todd), Michael Rupert (Tony Award winner/3X Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award winner/2X Drama Desk Award nominee-On the Town; Legally Blonde; Ragtime; Falsettos; City of Angels; Mail; Sweet Charity; Shakespeare’s Cabaret; Pippin; The Happy Time), Garen Scribner (An American in Paris), Matt Shingledecker (Wicked; RENT; West Side Story; Spring Awakening), Kaley Ann Voorhees (The Phantom of the Opera) and more. The musical director/accompanist will be Jon Balcourt (The Book of Mormon).
Visit www.facebook.com/campaignforlihsa for information about the event or to purchase tickets.
