'Broadway in South Africa' Featured At UNICEF's 2009 Annual Meeting 6/17

Broadway in South Africa will be the featured entertainment for tonight's opening dinner for the US Fund for UNICEF's 2009 Annual Meeting entitled "Believe in Zero." CNN's Anderson Cooper, of Anderson Cooper 360, is the guest speaker.  The event takes place tonight, Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 6:30 p.m at the Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street.

UNICEF and Broadway in South Africa (BSA) have similar missions to enhance children's lives. UNICEF works for the survival, protection and development for all children worldwide through education, advocacy and fundraising, and BSA's focus is enhancement through the arts.

Broadway in South Africa is a new, not-for-profit arts organization that seeks to create a cross-cultural exchange between youth who are in need and artists who seek to use their talents for change. It takes professional Broadway artists to South Africa as performers and teachers, provides arts education for children from underadvantaged communities, and raises funds through star-studded Broadway concerts in the US and South Africa. Proceeds benefit BSA and Keep A Child Alive, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, that provides medication to children and their families living with HIV/AIDS.

Broadway in South Africa performers include: BSA directors Sean Bradford (Lion King) and Adam Kantor (Rent); BSA co-founders Frankie James Grande (Mamma Mia), Tracy McDowell (Rent), and Steven Cutts (Hairspray); BSA guest performers Uzo Aduba (Coram Boy), Christina Bianco (Forbidden Broadway), Lili Cooper (Spring Awakening), Andrea Goss (Rent), Curt Hansen (Hairspray), Constantine Rousouli (Hairspray) and Natalie Weiss (Wicked). BSA music director is Darren Ledbetter (Footloose, the upcoming movie).

Comprised of 14 New York City-based professional artists who share over a dozen Broadway credits, BSA's deep philosophy is that all children deserve the opportunity to explore their own creative potential, and should never be denied exposure to art and possibility because of their life situations. Honorary board members include Caryl M. Stern, President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and award-winning singer-songwriter and star of Disney's Aida on Broadway, Deborah Cox, who also serves as international spokesperson.