Andrea Martin to Host ASTEP Gala Honoring Georgia Stitt; Kate Baldwin, Laura Osnes, Jessica Vosk and More to Appear

ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) will celebrate its inaugural gala, "ASTEP & Friends," on Monday, April 23, at 54 Below, it was announced today. Tony Award-winner Andrea Martin will host the one-night-only event, which will honor the activism of composer and lyricist Georgia Stitt, and ASTEP's work with CASES, the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services. The intimate evening is conceived and directed by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Music Director of Mean Girls, and will feature performances from Campbell along with Tony Award nominees Kate Baldwin and Laura Osnes, as well as Mean Girls' Erika Henningsen and Grey Henson, Hamilton's Sean Green Jr., Jessica Vosk, and more to be announced.

ASTEP was conceived by Broadway musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Juilliard students to transform the lives of youth using the most powerful tool they had - their art. With programs as local as New York City and as global as India and South Africa, ASTEP Volunteer Artists teach in schools and community organizations, serving youth affected by refugee status, homelessness, gun violence, the justice system, HIV/AIDS, and systemic poverty.

"I'm so proud of the work that ASTEP has done since we began 11 years ago," Campbell said. "We're not training kids to become artists, but teaching them to think like one. Using imagination and innovation to solve problems is imperative to breaking cycles of poverty. Our inaugural gala is a great way to celebrate the unique work we do while sharing the stage with some of my favorite performers."

ASTEP's Board of Directors includes Thomas Fitzgerald (Chair), Jaimie Mayer (Vice Chair), Sheryl Calabro (Secretary), Charles Court (Treasurer), as well as Laura Bray, Mark Canavera, Trupti Doshi, Sameer Garg, Jeffrey Korn, Sam Mintz, Sheri Sarkisian, Henry Sham, David Turner, and Laurie Tvedt.

For more information about ASTEP or to purchase tickets to the Gala, visit ASTEP.ORG/GALA