Butler, Prince, Kritzer, Evans, Russell and Shindle Will Perform at Actors Fund Gala

By Andrew Gans
May 2, 2008

A host of actors currently on the Broadway stage — including Faith Prince, Leslie Kritzer, Daniel Evans and Kerry Butler — will perform at the Actors Fund of America's annual gala May 5 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

Emmy Award winner Megan Mullally, currently on Broadway in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, will host the event, which will boast performances by Prince, Kritzer, Evans and Butler as well as Jenna Russell, Kate Shindle, Lisette Oropesa and David McFerrin. The evening will also feature appearances by Scott Ellis, Bebe Neuwirth, Patrick Stewart, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the cast of "30 Rock"; the latter will appear via video.

As previously announced, the evening will honor four individuals, whose combined careers "represent the diversity and range of the entertainment industry," according to press notes. Award recipients will include stage and screen star Alec Baldwin, opera singer Renée Fleming and Tony-winning Broadway producers and theatre owners Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley.

Baldwin will receive the Nedda Harrigan Logan Award "in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to all who work in the entertainment community and his ongoing arts advocacy efforts." Fleming will be presented with the Lee Strasberg Artistic Achievement Award, which is given to "an outstanding member of the performing arts community." And, Lane and Comley will receive the Actors Fund Medal of Honor, given to "individuals and organizations that significantly enrich the entertainment community."

Jed Bernstein is producing the evening's entertainment.

The Actors Fund, which was founded in 1882, is a non-profit organization that provides for the social welfare of all entertainment professionals. Some of the many programs The Actors Fund provides include a nursing home and assisted living care facility; senior and disabled programs; mental health services; chemical dependency services; entertainment industry assistance programs; the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative; the AIDS Initiative; and supportive housing on both coasts.

For more information or to reserve tickets to the 2008 Actors Fund Gala, call (212) 763-8597 or visit www.actorsfund.org.