Cast and company members from virtually every Broadway show on the boards will attend the annual Broadway Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 13 in Duffy Square.

Presented by the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), the League of American Theatres and Producers and the Times Square Business Improvement District (TS-BID), the ceremony takes place at 5:15 PM on Dec. 13.

The names of the Broadway cast members that are expected to attend will be released in November but, for the third year, producers say that TDF and the League will present "a $5,000 gift to a not-for-profit organization in recognition of their outstanding service to the theatre community." Past recipients of this gift included the Actors' Fund of American and Encore Community Services.

Event organizers will also call for a moment of silence on Dec. 13, recognizing those members of the theatre community who have died in the past year.

-- By Murdoch McBride