Alan Cumming, Tom Viola and Rivka S. Katvan Set for BROADWAY BEHIND THE CURTAIN at Soho Photo Gallery, 9/12

Meet Alan Cumming, Tom Viola and Rivka S. Katvan tonight, September 12, 6 to 8 p.m., at Soho Photo Gallery (located at 15 White St. in NYC). Join us for a conversation about fine-art photography, Broadway theater, and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS's fundraising work for critically needed services for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families nationwide. The conversation will be moderated by Randy Gener, New York editor/writer.

RSVP is required as space is limited. TO RSVP, for sales, and for all other inquiries about Rivka's work, contact Gallery 138: contact@gallery138.com, or 212 633 0324

“Broadway Behind the Curtain” is a photography exhibition by Rivka S. Katvan. Her candid fine art portraits of Broadway luminaries are on display at her residency on two floors of the SoHo Photo Gallery in TriBeCa where Katvan is a guest artist. The exhibit is co-presented by Gallery 138 and Soho Photo Gallery. Gallery Hours are Wednesdays to Sundays, 1 to 6 PM and by appointment. For directions, contact: info@sohophoto.com or 212.226.8571

Actor, singer and photographer Alan Cumming is a major presence in Katvan's exhibition "Broadway Behind the Curtain." He appears in three solo portraits, depicting him backstage in Broadway's critically acclaimed hits CABARET and THREE PENNY OPERA. Cumming won an instamatic camera in a raffle when he was 8. Sadly his inability to frame family members in the centre of any picture led to his camera being confiscated and instead he spent his time wandering around the forest he lived in making up stories and pretending to be other people. This eventually led to him becoming an award-winning actor of international renown, storming the West End with his HAMLET, followed immediately by his Emcee in CABARET, which transferred to Broadway and made him an overnight U.S. sensation. He has since graced the New York stages with turns in Chekhov, Coward and as Mack the Knife, the Pope and Dionysus. He returned this summer in a one-man MACBETH.

"The best thing I have learned about being an artist is the fact that you are the most interesting thing about yourself. We are all just trying to tell a story after all, and the more honest and personal we are the stronger we connect with an audience," says Cumming in his artist's statement. "My photographs are all about how I see the world, the incredible experiences I am exposed to and the parts of those experiences I think are worth recording or strike me as beautiful or provocative or weird."

RIVKA S. KATVAN has established a strong reputation for her candid portrayals of Broadway and Hollywood stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Kevin Kline, Gregory Hines, Glenn Close, Angela Lansbury and Alan Cummings...to name just a few. Many of Katvan’s photographs are familiar to Broadway theatergoers, particularly those who regularly go to auctions and special events sponsored and organized by Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. Since 1997, Katvan has photographed male and female dancers and actors, in various stages of dress and undress, before shows, the Tony Awards, and before, during and after the naughty burlesque spectacular, Broadway Bares, conceived and directed by Jerry Mitchell, Tony Award-winning director/choreographer of the Broadway-bound musical KINKY BOOTS.

Katvan explains, "In 1978, during a visit to my friend Natalie Mosco at the Cort Theatre where she was appearing in The Magic Show, I experienced the contrast between the reality in front of the stage and the reality from backstage. Those first photos opened doors to many other shows. To have been a privileged observer, celebrating and sharing life in the theater, has been an honor." For more information, visit www.gallery138.com, 138 west 17th street NYC, or call 212 633 0324 or email contact@gallery138.com. For more about Rivka, go to www.rivkakatvan.com.

Tom Viola was the founding administrative director of Equity Fights AIDS in 1988, saw through its merger with Broadway Cares in 1992 and has been Executive Director of BC/EFA since 1997. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is the nation's leading industry-based not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised more than $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

BC/EFA awards annual grants to more than 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide and is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.

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