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Katrina Benefit Concert — with Bevy of Broadway Stars — Raises Impressive Sum
By Andrew Gans
26 Sep 2005
A slew of Broadway stars joined forces Sept. 25 at the Gershwin Theatre to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Broadway's Celebrity Benefit for Hurricane Relief, according to a spokesperson for the concert, raised over $200,000.
The proceeds will be donated to Second Harvest and Quilts for Kids, two organizations working directly with the Katrina victims.
The one-night-only event — produced by the company of Wicked and made possible by the Nederlander Organization — boasted performances by Bernadette Peters ("No One Is Alone"), Idina Menzel ("I'll Cover You"), Ben Vereen ("Corner of the Sky"/"Memory"), Liza Minnelli ("New York, New York" and "What Did I Have?"), Julia Murney ("It's Amazing the Things That Float"), Bebe Neuwirth ("And the World Goes Round"), Megan Hilty ("Alto's Lament"), Brian d'Arcy James ("When I Reach the Place Called Home"), Susan Lucci ("Winning Isn't Everything"), Judy Kuhn ("Finding Home"), Shoshana Bean ("Coronet Man"), Patrick Wilson ("But Not for Me"), Shuler Hensley ("You'll Never Walk Alone") and Adriane Lenox ("Ordinary People"). The evening also featured the casts of Wicked ("Conviction of the Heart"), Light in the Piazza ("Migratory V"), Hairspray ("I Know Where I've Been"), Avenue Q ("For Now"), Spelling Bee (an interpretive dance), All Shook Up ("If I Could Dream"), Mamma Mia! ("Beautiful City") and Rent ("Seasons of Love"). Appearances were also made by Bill Irwin, James Naughton, Phyllis Newman, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Elizabeth Parkinson, Keith Roberts, Jai Rodriguez, Rue McClanahan, Rosie Perez, Patrick Quinn, Jed Bernstein, David Hyde Pierce, Christopher Sieber, the Broadway Inspirational Voices, Jack Klugman, Carole Shelley, Isabel Keating, Phylicia Rashad, Denis O'Hare, Felicia Finley, Nicole Sutherland, Frederick Weller, Daniel Sunjata and Bryan Batt.
In a previous statement, Wicked's Ben Vereen said, "On Monday August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast like no other storm in recorded history. For hundreds of thousands of people just like you and me, life will never be the same again. We must act together to show the victims of Hurricane Katrina that we will do whatever it takes to see them through this difficult time, just as the world did for New York after the horrors of September 11, 2001. When ticket sales hit an all time low and businesses were struggling to keep their doors open, our fellow Americans rallied around our city. They came to stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, shop in our stores... and they came to see our shows!"
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