20 Tony Winners, Nominees and Broadway Stars to Host Fundraiser for Long Island High School for the Arts

Twenty of Broadway’s top veterans, star performers and musicians are spearheading a fundraiser for Nassau BOCES Long Island High School for the Arts (LIHSA). The production, Broadway Supports LIHSA, will feature popular musical numbers performed by the Tony winners, nominees and Broadway stars who will sing, dance and share stories about their experiences in the arts. The event will take place on Monday, March 14 from 7 - 9 p.m. in the Seymour Weiner Theatre at the LIHSA campus, located at 239 Cold Spring Road, Syosset, NY. LIHSA, which has been experiencing declining enrollment, is the only Long Island performing arts high school program that offers world-class training and preparation for students who are interested in exploring and pursuing careers in the arts.

“It is deeply touching for these talented Broadway entertainers to donate their time to put together an unprecedented performance to support LIHSA,” said Nassau BOCES District Superintendent Dr. Robert R. Dillon. “The evening will not only help raise awareness of our enrollment issues and stellar arts programs, it will also provide our current and future LIHSA students the opportunity to see how successful they can become!”

For more than 40 years, LIHSA has been a training ground for public school students who want to pursue a career in dance, drama, filmmaking, instrumental and vocal music, musical theatre, theater technology and visual arts. Most recently, LIHSA gained national attention when international superstar, pianist and singer-songwriter Billy Joel held a master class for students and pledged $1 million to help support the program.

“My daughter is a senior in the musical theater department, and I believe Long Island must do more to provide for and protect public arts institutions,” said Jerome Vivona, co-producer and co-director of Broadway Supports LIHSA. “LIHSA provides a supportive and safe environment for young artists to grow and flourish. Access to professional feedback and guidance during the formative years prepares young performers for the rigors of a career in the arts. This school must remain open for the next generation of Long Island’s most talented and gifted artists, and I intend to support the mission of the school for as long as humanly possible.”

Broadway Supports LIHSA is being co-produced and co-directed by Vivona, a Broadway veteran and current artistic director of the American Theater Dance Workshop in New Hyde Park, N.Y. and Stephen DeAngelis, renowned Casting Director of the upcoming Broadway revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice and producer of over 200 different Broadway concerts in NYC and across the United States. They are working with The Campaign for LIHSA, which was created more than a year ago to help raise funds and awareness of Nassau BOCES Long Island High School of the Arts programs.

"My 30 year career as casting director has taught me that nurturing the future of the Arts is necessary and of utmost importance,” stated Stephen DeAngelis, co-producer and co-director of Broadway Supports LIHSA. “New talents and new voices must be seen, heard and developed to benefit talent and audiences alike. I am so grateful to the over 20 Broadway performers with over 80 Broadway shows to their credit who have generously donated their time and talent to support LIHSA. The concert is certain to be a truly special, memorable and impactful event."

The evening is scheduled to feature a variety of performers with over eighty Broadway shows to their credit. Performers include Todd Buonopane (Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella; Grease; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Chicago), Nick Rashad Burroughs (Kinky Boots), Jeffry Denman (Irving Berlin's White Christmas; The Producers; Dream; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; Cats), Sara Esty (An American in Paris), David Garrison (Tony Award nominee & Drama Desk Award nominee- On the Town; Legally Blonde; A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine), Jenny Hill (Something Rotten!;Elf; Spamalot; Seussical), Liana Hunt (Newsies, Mamma Mia!), Chad Kimball (Tony Award nominee-Memphis; Lennon; Good Vibrations; Into the Woods; The Civil War), Steffanie Leigh (Mary Poppins; Gigi), Brandon Nierauer (School of Rock), Julie Reiber (Wicked; Newsies; Priscilla Queen of the Desert, All Shook up; Brooklyn), Michael Rupert (Tony Award winner/3X Tony Award nominee & Drama Desk Award winner/2X Drama Desk Award nominee- On the Town; Legally Blonde; Ragtime; Falsettos; City of Angels;Mail; Sweet Charity; Shakespeare's Cabaret; Pippin; The Happy Time), Garen Scribner (An American in Paris), Abigail Shapiro (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas), and Tony Award Winner Milly Shapiro (Matilda the Musical), Matt Shingledecker (Wicked; RENT; West Side Story; Spring Awakening) and Kaley Ann Voorhees (The Phantom of the Opera) and more. Musical Director/Accompanist will be Jon Balcourt (The Book of Mormon).

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit www.facebook.com/campaignforlihsa or https://tickets.shovation.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=240 Attendees also will have an opportunity to purchase special tickets that entitle them to a meet and greet after the show with its stars.

To learn about the programs, visit www.nassauboces.org/lihsa or www.nassauboces.org/stem.