Multi-Tony Award-Winner, Bernadette Peters (Hello, Dolly!, Follies, A Little Night Music), along with New York’s theatrical community, will raise funds and awareness for pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a debilitating lung disease, in the 10th annual Broadway Belts for PFF! Hosted by Broadway’s Julie Halston, the celebration benefiting the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) is set for Monday, February 24, at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
This year’s Broadway Belts for PFF! will feature performances by some of Broadway’s biggest stars including J. Harrison Ghee (Kinky Boots, upcoming Mrs. Doubtfire), Jason Gotay (Evita, upcoming Between the Lines), Sierra Boggess (School of Rock, It Shoulda Been You), Tony Award-Winner Annaleigh Ashford (Broadway’s Sunday in the Park With George), Tony Award-Nominees Charles Busch (The Confession of Lily Dare, the Divine Sister, Tony Award-Nominee for The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) and Beth Malone (Broadway’s Angels in America, Tony Award-Nominee for Fun Home), and New York Yankees legend and Latin Grammy-Nominee Bernie Williams. Sponsorships and tickets for this exclusive evening feature a pre-event cocktail reception, elegant dinner, seating for the show, and after-party. Tickets are available at BroadwayBeltsForPFF.org
Broadway Belts for PFF! began as a tribute to Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press theater critic, who died suddenly of pulmonary fibrosis in 2010. Halston, a founding partner of the event, is one of the PFF’s leading advocates nationwide. (Halston’s Broadway credits include Tootsie, Hairspray, Gypsy, and You Can’t Take It With You).
Halston’s motivation for participating in Broadway Belts for PFF! is very personal as her husband, New York newscaster Ralph Howard, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and received a life-extending lung transplant. Howard, a generous volunteer to the PFF and many other organizations and lover of all things New York, succumbed to complications from the disease in August 2018.
Introduced last year in Howard’s honor, the 2020 Ralph Howard Legacy Award will be presented to 12-time Tony award-winning producer, Daryl Roth, whose work includes more than 120 shows on and off-Broadway, including seven Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. Roth’s commitment to advocacy, mentorship, and creating positive change through the work and causes she champions, coupled with her generous support of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation over the past decade, will be recognized at the event.
“Daryl is one of the most respected and beloved people in the Broadway community,” said Halston. “Her taste in theatre is second only to her generous spirit. She has been a dear friend and staunch supporter of the PFF since we started and I can think of no better person to receive The Ralph Howard Legacy Award.”
“For ten years, Broadway’s exceptionally talented and generous performers have shared their greatest hits on stage to benefit the pulmonary fibrosis community,” said William T. Schmidt, president and CEO of the PFF. “With Julie Halston at the helm since day one, Broadway Belts for PFF! has become one of the PFF’s most anticipated fundraising events. It not only raises much-needed funds for programs and research, but it also provides hope and inspiration to patients everywhere.”
Currently, more than 200,000 Americans are living with pulmonary fibrosis. Fifty-thousand new cases are diagnosed annually. There is no known cure.
In 2019, Broadway Belts for PFF! raised more than $410,000. It has become the single largest fundraiser for the Chicago-based PFF.
Broadway Belts for PFF! is directed by Carl Andress (The Confession of Lily Dare, The Divine Sister) with Christopher McGovern (Cagney) as Musical Director, Ed Windels as Music Coordinator, and Greg Santos as Stage Manager. The benefit is produced for the tenth consecutive year by D. Michael Dvorchak, Sue Frost (Memphis, Come From Away), Julie Halston and Ed Windels.
For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit BroadwayBeltsForPFF.org.