Conceived and directed by David Alpert (If/Then, The Trip to Bountiful, The Best Man), the concert featured Emmy, Tony and Grammy nominee Vanessa Williams (Into the Woods, The Trip to Bountiful), Tony Award winner Alice Ripley (Side Show, Next to Normal) and Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid, "30 Rock") as well as The Skivvies members Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages, Sweeney Todd) and Nick Cearley (All Shook Up).
The lineup also included Tony nominee Kerry Butler (Hairspray, Xanadu), Tony Award winner LaChanze (The Color Purple, Once on This Island), Drama Desk nominee Eric Anderson (Soul Doctor, Kinky Boots) Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Landing), DeQuina Moore (Legally Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors), Autumn Hurlbert (NBC's The Sound of Music Live!, Legally Blonde), Hannah Elless (Godspell), Nicholas Kohn (Avenue Q), Eric William Morris (Coram Boy, Mamma Mia!), Ashley Loren (Jekyll & Hyde) and Thay Floyd (A Christmas Story, The Musical).
The concert included the actors performing songs that celebrate their "favorite things." Jason Wetzel (After Midnight) was musical director. Band members included Jason Wetzel, Kris Rogers and Gregg Monteith. Living for Today was created in honor of the late Gilana Alpert by her brother, David Alpert, and is now in its sixth year. Gilana's Fund was established in 2007 following the loss of Alpert at the age of 26. The fund, which has raised over $30,000, "celebrates and encourages educational programming promoting acceptance and understanding of our communities, each other, and ourselves."
Visit Gilanasfund.com and Facebook.com/livingfortodaynyc for more information.
