Special guests have been announced for the 2009 Emery Awards, which will take place Tuesday, November 10th. The guests will include Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, Ben Zebley, Cheyenne Jackson, Heather Matarazzo, B.D. Wong, Christine C. Quinn, Judy Gold, Jennifer Holliday, DJ Lina, and Mayor Cory Booker. The Hetrick-Martin Institute's 2009 Annual Emery Awards will take place at Cipriani Wall Street, beginning at 6:00pm.
Jennifer Holliday is a Tony Award-winner for her iconic performance as Effie Melody White in the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls. A two-time Grammy Award winner, she has recorded five chart-making CD's for Arista, Geffen and Intersound Records. Holliday has recorded with such artists as Barbara Streisand, Foreigner, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, and Luther Vandross, among others. Her other Broadway and New York theatre credits include Your Arms Too Short To Box With God, Chicago, Grease, Down-Hearted Blues: the Story of Bessie Smith, Sing Mahalia, Sing: the Story of Mahalia Jackson and Harlem Suite. She is also known for her recurring role on "Ally McBeal," the popular hit Fox TV show. Her other television appearances include "Touched By An Angel," "Ellen," "Hang Time" and "The Love Boat." She also made her motion-picture debut as both an actor and a songwriter for the independent film The Rising Place, which had a successful limited release and is now available on DVD.
Cheyenne Jackson is an award winning stage and film actor currently starring as Woody in the new Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow at the ST. James Theatre. Most recently Cheyenne was rocking the house as Sonny Malone in the smash hit Xanadu (Drama League, Drama Desk nominations) on Broadway. Off and on Broadway he starred as Joe Hardy in the New York City Center production of Damn Yankees opposite Jane Krakowski and Sean Hayes, Nicky Silver's The Agony & the Agony with Victoria Clark, All Shook Up (Theater World Award, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle nomination) the premier cast of Altar Boyz, Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Cartells, On The 20th Century and The 24 Hour Plays.
Jackson's film credits include the Oscar nominated United 93, Curiosity and Hysteria. He has guest starred on TV in "30 Rock," "Ugly Betty," "Lipstick Jungle" and "Life After Mars." Additionally, he portrayed "Sebastian Kinglare" for the Sony/Lifetime Television pilot "Family Practice." Cheyenne made his sold-out club debut in with his show "Back to the Start" at Feinstein's at Loews Regency earlier this year.
Wong is best known for his role as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, and for his starring role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.The 2009 Emery Awards are set to honor Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Dr. Joyce Hunter, and Harvey Milk. KimOra Lee Simmons will emcee.
