Tony Award nominee Andrew Rannells, who was just announced to reprise his Broadway performance in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of The Boys in the Band, will be honored by GMHC during the organization’s April 29 cabaret fundraiser at Joe’s Pub.
READ: The Boys in the Band to Be Adapted for Netflix With All-Star Broadway Cast
Rannells will receive the 2019 Howard Ashman Award for his contributions to the LGBTQ community and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
GMHC is honoring the stage and screen star for his advocacy, having made frequent appearances at AIDS Walks around the country, and for using his platform as an out actor to raise funds for and awareness of HIV/AIDS.
Set to honor Rannells during the 7 PM event are Tony winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Jarrod Spector (The Cher Show), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), Zuzana Szadkowski (Gossip Girl, Girls), and Burlesque star Dirty Martini. Emmy winner Lance Horne will lead the musical direction.
Rannells is also slated to perform.
A Tony nominee for The Book of Mormon, Rannells has also appeared in the Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and as Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. He most recently played Larry in the Broadway premiere of Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band, a role he will repeat for the upcoming Netflix adaptation. His memoir, Too Much Is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood, was released March 12.
The honor is named for the Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and the Off-Broadway hit Little Shop of Horrors, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991.
"GMHC was the first AIDS service organization, created by the people of New York to serve the people of New York, and as a New Yorker I’m proud to support the folks who are continuing to fight the good fight,” Rannells said. “I know the history of the epidemic and the history that GMHC has been a part of—as well as the history it’s creating today through its work. I’m thrilled to be a part of that."
For tickets, beginning at $150, visit GMHC.org.
