Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming and More Will Be Attending Only Make Believe 20th Anniversary Gala

Only Make Believe (OMB), the non-profit children's theatre company, today announced its highly anticipated 20th Anniversary Gala on November 4th at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The organization is celebrating two decades of bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of chronically ill and disabled children throughout the New York and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas, free of charge to every partner site, family, and child.

The star-studded Broadway-filled show, directed by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro, will include performances from Emmy Award nominee Seth Rudetsky; Tony Award nominee Euan Morton (of the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton); Tony Award nominees Andy Karl & Orfeh; the Tony Award-winning revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!; the Tony Award-winning musical Book of Mormon; Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar and a special performance by Dupla Mao Na Roda's Alan Pagnota & Rafael Ferreira from the Big Apple Circus.

The gala will also feature appearances by Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Hayley Mills, and Sade Baderinwa, followed by a dazzling after-party at the legendary Sony Hall.

Only Make Believe will be presenting several awards during the event with recipients including:

- The Founder's Award: David G. Leitch

- The Sir Ian McKellen Award: Ambassador Theatre Group

- The OMB Star Award: Kings County Hospital Center

"All of us at OMB are thrilled to be celebrating our two decades of bringing fun and laughter and the magic of theatre, to children in need." says Dena Hammerstein, Founder of Only Make Believe. "We are deeply grateful to our supporters, sponsors, friends, and families for helping us reach this historic milestone. We look forward to the future and expanding to more and more new horizons."

Only Make Believe debuted in October 1999 at Rusk Institute's Pediatric Unit, NYU Langone Medical Center, as a project of The James and Dena Hammerstein Foundation. Dena Hammerstein established Only Make Believe in memory of her husband James, the son of theatre legend Oscar Hammerstein, for his dedication to the theatre and her own passionate love for children in need.

The concept of Only Make Believe developed out of Dena's desire to introduce children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities to the magical world of theatre. Since trips to the theatre proved to be too overwhelming for many of the children, Dena decided to bring the theatre to them, helping to create a unique version of live theatre in which each child plays an integral part in the production. Now, 20 years and 5,000 performances later, Only Make Believe visits over 60 hospitals along the East Coast.

For more information on Only Make Believe's 20th Anniversary Gala, please visit https://www.onlymakebelieve.org/gala2019