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HAMILTON’S Daveed Diggs
Joins line-up for
6th Annual BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF!
Set for February 29 – Leap Year!
Single tickets on sale Monday, January 25 at 10 a.m.
Mr. Diggs joins quartet of Tony winners and other
Broadway stars and emcee Julie Halston
At Edison Ballroom
Event honors late AP theater critic Michael Kuchwara
and others with Pulmonary Fibrosis
NYC concert is Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s
Is one of its largest fundraisers each year
Nearly $500,000 raised to date
(Aug. 5, 2015 – Source: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images North America)
Daveed Diggs – one of the breakout stars of the Broadway musical HAMILTON – has joined the line-up for BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! – the sixth annual concert, featuring Broadway stars in an evening of music and comedy that benefits the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, it has been announced by the event organizers. BROADWAY BELTS takes a leap this Leap Year and will be presented at a larger venue due to increased demand with more glamour, more songs, more seats (!) on Sadie Hawkins Day, Monday, February 29 at 7 pm at the Edison Ballroom (240 West 47 St.) in New York City.
SINGLE TICKETS TO BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! GO ON SALE STARTING 10 AM ON MONDAY, JANUARY 25. Single seats cost $300 can be purchased online at www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org
An annual sold-out event that is a genuine New York experience, BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! was begun by one of PFF’s leading advocates nationwide, the beloved Broadway actress and comedienne JULIE HALSTON in 2010.
Daveed Diggs is an actor, rapper, poet, teacher and former track star now playing the dual roles of Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway musical HAMILTON. Prior to creating these roles in HAMILTON, Daveed’s stage credits included TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, JESUS HOPPED THE A TRAIN and THE TEMPEST. He has recorded the rap albums CLPPNG, MIDCITY and SMALL THINGS TO A GIANT.
This year’s concert will feature a quartet of Tony Award-winners — ANNALEIGH ASHFORD (“You Can’t Take It With You”), RANDY GRAFF (“City of Angels”), CADY HUFFMAN (“The Producers”) and JUDY KAYE (“Phantom of the Opera,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It”). The line-up of performers also includes TELLY LEUNG (“Allegiance”) and ROBERT CREIGHTON (“The Mystery of Edwin Drood”). Additional performers will be announced at a future date.
Ms. Halston – one of New York’s preeminent emcees – will preside over the event, adding her own unique comedy commentary throughout the evening, which raises money to fight Pulmonary fibrosis, an unforgiving, progressive disease that involves scarring in the lungs. With no cure, many live only two or three years following diagnosis.
BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! is directed by CARL ANDRESS (“The Divine Sister”). CHRISTOPHER McGOVERN serves as Musical Director, with musical supervision by ED WINDELS. The benefit is produced for the sixth straight year by D. MICHAEL DVORCHAK, SUE FROST (“Memphis,” “Come From Away”), JULIE HALSTON and ED WINDELS.
This one-of-a-kind evening of Broadway stars performing some of their favorite songs began as a tribute to the beloved Broadway theater critic Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press, who died suddenly of pulmonary fibrosis in 2010. Coincidentally, Ms. Halston’s husband, the venerated newscaster Ralph Howard, himself was diagnosed with PF and a short time later, received a life-saving lung transplant. People of note who have died from PF include Robert Goulet, Marlon Brando, Evil Knievel, Peter Benchley, James Doohan and John Palmer.
To date, BROADWAY BELTS has raised nearly $500,000 for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and is one of the largest annual fundraisers for the Chicago-based organization.
“What started out as a heartfelt tribute to the legacy of Associated Press Theater Critic Michael Kuchwara has grown into a major fundraising initiative for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, helping to raise awareness, promote research and help those suffering with pulmonary fibrosis,” said Patti Tuomey, EdD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. “We are grateful to our friends Julie Halston and Ralph Howard and to everyone involved with the production. Broadway performers are known for their generosity of time and talent and we are honored to be included in this community.”
Ms. Halston notes that while pulmonary fibrosis is a growing health concern throughout the world — and while the disease is frequently misdiagnosed — two leading pharmaceutical companies are making considerable advances in developing drugs that may not provide a cure for pulmonary fibrosis, but have shown success in slowing the progression of the disease.
Ms. Halston notes, “Watching my husband struggle to breathe was a poignant reminder of never taking for granted this most basic human function. Can you imagine not being able to breathe? That’s what we’re fighting for and why this evening, filled with Broadway’s best ‘belting to the rafters,’ is so important to me. The leap in treatment since 2010 has been astounding, but much more needs to be done until there is a cure.”
The mission of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation is to serve as the trusted resource for the PF community by raising awareness, providing disease education, advancing care and funding research. The PFF collaborates with physicians, organizations, people with PF and caregivers worldwide. For more information, visit www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.
For more information about tickets, sponsorship or donation to BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! visit www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/broadwaybelts.