Audra McDonald & Harvey Fierstein Set for Drama League Gala Honoring Neil Patrick Harris, 2/3

The Drama League will honor Golden Globe Nominee and Emmy® Award winner Neil Patrick Harris at the 30th Annual Musical Celebration of Broadway on Monday evening, February 3, 2014 at the famed Pierre Hotel (2 East 61st Street). Tickets are available by calling (212) 244-9494.

The evening's one-of-a-kind all-star tribute, hosted by Emmy®, Grammy, Oscar and Tony® Award winner, Whoopi Goldberg, will feature dozens of celebrities from Hollywood and Broadway in a one-night-only evening of musical selections drawn from Mr. Harris' career in theater, film and television, co-directed by Tony® Award winner and Drama League Alumnus Michael Mayer with Johanna McKeon, and co-produced by Roger T. Danforth and Trevor Tamashiro.

Whoopi Goldberg leads a celebrity lineup that includes performances by Harvey Fierstein, Audra McDonald, Malcolm Gets, Anthony Rapp, Krysta Rodriguez, Constantine Maroulis, Mary Louise Wilson, Tony Vincent and Karen Ziemba, who join the previously announced James Barbour, Becky Ann Baker, Katie Finneran, Kate Jennings Grant, Cady Huffman, Eddie Korbich, Marc Kudisch, Aaron Lazar, Norm Lewis, Lisa O'Hare, Kal Penn, Bryce Pinkham and Lauren Worsham, with a special guest appearance by Project Runway's Tim Gunn, among others (all subject to change).

Also announced today were over a dozen new prizes in The Drama League's 2014 Gala Online Auction, now at www.biddingforgood.com/thedramaleague. The new additions and features include:

• a VIP tour of Highclere Castle, the setting for the PBS smash Downton Abbey, and a James Bond tour of London, visiting sites made famous in the film franchise (both added to the London Getaway Package)
• a Weekend Extravaganza at the 2014 Breeders Cup, with round-trip airfare and five-star hotel stays at the legendary Santa Anita Racetrack in Los Angeles
• A week of sun and scuba diving in Belize
• Tea at Bellocq with Tony Award Winner Denis O'Hare;
• Dinner for two at the world-renowned, award-winning Blue Hill at Stone Barns
• over sixty once-in-a-lifetime prize packages, including exclusive celebrity experiences with Angela Lansbury, Bryan Cranston, Cherry Jones, Sutton Foster, Emma Thompson, Bryn Terfel; Broadway opening night tickets and parties for Casa Valentina, Rocky: The Musical, Violet and All The Way; Backstage Tours at Bullets Over Broadway with Marin Mazzie, Cinderalla with Fran Drescher, A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder with Jefferson Mays; luxury vacations to Marrakech, and London;Epiphone Les Paul Guitar autographed by Slash of Guns 'N' Roses; VIP Experience Pass to tapings of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen; and tickets a New York Mets game.

The auction will conclude at The Drama League's 30th Annual Musical Celebration of Broadway on February 3, 2014.

Visit www.biddingforgood.com/thedramaleague to view additional items and place your bids.

The black-tie gala supports The Drama League's educational initiatives for promising young artists. Delta Airlines, the official airline of The Drama League, Financier Patisserie, Carmine Minardi NYC, and Starbright Floral Designs are 2014 Gala Sponsors of The Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Neil Patrick Harris. Amy Eller and Ellen Fox are the Gala Chairpersons.

Neil Patrick Harris joins a gallery of past Drama League Honorees that include Liza Minnelli, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Chita Rivera, Rosie O'Donnell and Terrence McNally, all exceptional artists whose talent and passion have served as a benchmark for others.

The Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Neil Patrick Harris brings together 500 of New York City's most influential arts supporters, celebrities, and luminaries for a black-tie evening of cocktails, dinner, and the acclaimed, unforgettable musical revue that is the signature of this event. Featuring dozens of stars from film, television and theatre, the Musical Celebration of Broadway, directed by Tony® Award winner Michael Mayer and Johanna McKeon, who are also the Director and Associate Director, respectively, of the upcoming Broadway revival ofHedwig and the Angry Inch featuring Mr. Harris, the evening will highlight songs from Mr. Harris' musical theater triumphs in shows that include Rent, Assassins, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, among others. Both Mr. Mayer and Ms. McKeon are alumni of The Drama League Directors Project, program for early and mid-career theater directors, providing talented young artists with career-transforming experiences in the professional theater.

The Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Neil Patrick Harris raises much-needed funds for the vital education programs of The Drama League Directors Project. Since 1984, The Drama League has honored exceptional artists whose talent and passion have served as a benchmark for others, including Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Chita Rivera, Rosie O'Donnell and Terrence McNally.

The alumni of The Drama League Directors Project includes 2013 Tony® Award winners Diane Paulus and Pam MacKinnon, award-winning directors Christopher Ashley, Mark Brokaw, Rachel Chavikin, Michael Mayer, John Rando and Alex Timbers, to name a few.