Anthony Rapp To Host Broadway Beauty Pageant 4/28

 Anthony Rapp, original Rent star, has been announced as the host of the 2nd Annual Broadway Beauty Pageant set for Monday evening, April 28th, 8 p.m. at New World Stages (340 West 50th St.).  The event will mark the Ali Forney Center's annual fundraising benefit.

Formerly titled Mr. Broadway, the evening will feature male cast members representing their respective Broadway shows.  Contestants include Tommy Berklund (Mr. A Chorus Line), Austin Eyer (Mr. Curtains), Joe Komara (Mr. Grease), Daniel Robinson (Mr. Hairspray) and Marty Thomas (Mr. Xanadu).  Contestants will compete for the title crown through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions.  Crowning the winner will be special guest Michael Riedel of the New York Post.

Each of the contestants will go head to head in front of a panel of celebrity judges, but ultimately, the final vote is in the hands of the audience. The judges are Seth Rudetsky (Rhapsody in Seth, Chatterbox, The Ritz), Hunter Bell ([title of show]) and Susan Blackwell ([title of show]).

Anthony Rapp has appeared on Broadway in Rent, Precious Sons (Outer Critics Circle Award), Six Degrees of Separation, and the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. His films include Adventures in Babysitting, School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, David Searching, Man of the Century, Road Trip, A Beautiful Mind, Open House, Winter Passing, Danny Roane: First Time Director, Scaring the Fish and Rent. Television credits include "The X-Files", "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", and "Kidnapped." His book, "Without You: a Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent," about his experiences on and offstage, was published in 2006 by Simon & Schuster and became a national bestseller.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant is written and conceived by Jeffery Self and directed by Ryan J. Davis, with musical direction by Jack Aaronson.  The pageant includes original songs by Lisa Lambert (Tony Award-winner for The Drowsy Chaperone), Glen Kelly (The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone) and Eric Svejcar (Caligula). The evening is produced by Ryan J. Davis and Jeffery Self in association with Tim Hur.

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was started in June 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City.  They are committed to providing LGBT youth with safe, dignified, nurturing environments where their needs can be met and where they can begin to put their lives back together. The center provides short  and long term housing in Manhattan and Brooklyn, plus free medical care, HIV testing, mental health services, showers, food, computer access and job training and placement at its drop in center in Chelsea.  AFC is also dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations and the LGBT community.

Tickets for The Broadway Beauty Pageant are available at TeleCharge.com and are $50 to $150, with a limited number of VIP tickets available ranging from $250 to $1000. 

Vote online for your favorite contestant at www.aliforneycenter.org/Beauty