Tune will be presented with the award at the gala evening, proceeds from which benefit The Auditory Oral School of New York. The event will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center Studios. A cocktail reception and seated dinner will precede the awards ceremony and performances.
In a statement Jennifer Dumas - executive producer of the awards - commented on Tune's work, saying, "His extraordinary career represents the epitome of what Fred and Adele Astaire worked so hard to achieve. They would be proud to honor his work and commitment to dance on Broadway."
Established in 1982, the Fred & Adele Astaire Awards (formerly known as The Astaire Awards) recognize outstanding achievement in dance on Broadway each season. The award was established with the cooperation of Fred Astaire to honor him and his sister, Adele, who starred with her brother in ten Broadway musicals between 1917 and 1931.
The group who will select "nominees from the best of Broadway and film performances and choreography this season" include dancer-choreographer director and National Dance Institute founder Jacques D'Amboise, New York Post senior theater & dance critic Clive Barnes, former New York Times chief dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, Dance Magazine's editor-in-chief Wendy Perron and theatre columnist Sylviane Gold as well as Newsday chief theater critic Linda Winer.
A nine-time Tony Award winner, director-choreographer-actor Tune has helped create such Broadway shows as Nine, My One & Only, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Will Rogers Follies and Grand Hotel. He helmed Off-Broadway's The Club and Cloud Nine, and he spent two years starring in the Las Vegas production of the spectacular EFX at the MGM Grand Hotel, where he was awarded Best Production Star of the Year in 2001. Tune was recently seen in the national tour of Dr. Dolittle. Tickets range $350-$500. A limited number of seats are available at $50 for balcony seating for the awards and performance. Tickets and further information are available by phoning (212) 655-9377.
