Tony winners Celia Keenan-Bolger and Chita Rivera will host 2019's Broadway Back to School gala, an annual event supporting theatre education programs for schools in need through the Educational Theatre Foundation. The gala will be held at the Edison Ballroom September 22 at 6:30 PM.
Also scheduled to perform at the event are Keenan-Bolger's To Kill a Mockingbird co-star Will Pullen, Drama Desk nominee Evan Ruggiero, Thespian alum Alex Stone, and Kinky Boots star J. Harrison Ghee.
The evening will also honor Hairspray and Catch Me If You Can songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman with the Broadway Back to School Award, in recognition of their efforts to build access and excellence in school theatre.
Keenan-Bolger will be joined by co-host Brannon Evans of Omaha, Nebraska, the winner of the 2019 International Thespian Society Democracyworks essay contest. Evans wrote about performing To Kill a Mockingbird and how the experience impacted and inspired her.
The fifth annual Broadway Back to School gala has been assembled by a creative team comprising Artistic Director J. Jason Daunter, creative producer Matt Conover, musical director Christine Riley, musical arranger P. Jason Yarcho, and line producer Hans Weichhart.
The Educational Theatre Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Educational Theatre Association, home of the International Thespian Society. ETF supports grants and programs that expand access to theatre education in schools. The foundation awarded more than $650,000 in grants in its first year, impacting high school theatre programs in 50 cities and creating musical theatre programs in underserved middle schools in six states.
For more information, visit EducationalTheatreFoundation.org.
