The annual AIDS benefit will be presented March 21 at 8 PM and March 22 at 3 PM at the newly renovated Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA. David Galligan will direct the concerts with musical direction by Mary Ekler.

Artists from the worlds of theatre, television, film and cabaret will perform the songs of the award-winning composers. Those taking part in the annual event will be announced shortly.

Expect such classics as "I Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "They Can't Take that Away from Me," "Our Love is Here to Stay" and "Summertime."

The concert will also feature the presentation of the S.T.A.G.E. Producers Award to Michael Kearns, an actor, writer, producer, director, teacher and one of the four co-founders of S.T.A.G.E.

The S.T.A.G.E. concerts are the longest continuously running AIDS benefit in the world. Proceeds from this year's event will go to AIDS Project Los Angeles. The first S.T.A.G.E. benefit took place in October 1984, honoring the music of Leonard Bernstein. Subsequent presentations have paid tribute to Stephen Sondheim (1985, 1987, 1996), Jule Styne (1988), Jerry Herman (1989), John Kander and Fred Ebb (1990), Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein (1991), Irving Berlin (1992), George and Ira Gershwin (1993), Harold Arlen (1995), Cole Porter (1997), Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe and Burton Lane (1998), Richard Adler, Jerry Bock and Cy Coleman (1999), Charles Strouse, Arthur Schwartz and Stephen Schwartz (2000), Jerome Kern (2001), Johnny Mercer (2002), Frank Loesser (2003), Andrew Lloyd Webber (2004), Marvin Hamlisch and Harry Warren (2005), Betty Comden and Adolph Green (2006), Stephen Sondheim (2007) and Burt Bacharach (2008).

The Wilshire Theatre is located in Beverly Hills, CA, at 8440 Wilshire Blvd. For ticket information call (866) 679-0958 or visit www.stagela.com.