FIRST DATE to Raise Funds for Operation Smile Via Online Auction

Broadway's First Date, the critically acclaimed new musical comedy starring Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez, will hold an online auction to raise funds for Operation Smile through FirstDateAuction.com. In addition to celebrating the release of their Original Broadway Cast Album tonight with a one night only cabaret at Broadway's nightclub, 54 Below where all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Operation Smile, the show will auction off several one-of-a-kind items and experiences to benefit the organization. Zachary Levi is a longtime supporter and Smile Ambassador for Operation Smile, which provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe.

Experiences and items up for auction include a First Date Date Night (2 tickets to the show, pre-show dinner, backstage meet and greet with the cast after the show, and a signed window card), a personalized voicemail recorded by "Reggie" (Kristoffer Cusick) and various wardrobe items including wigs and costume pieces worn during the show.

The Cast Album of First Date, with music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, debuted at number 1 on the iTunes Soundtrack chart and was the highest ranking new cast album on the Billboard charts at its debut. The Album is available digitally on iTunes and at Amazon.com, and is now exclusively available at the Longacre Theatre. Executive produced by Altar Identity Studios,the CD, released by Yellow Sound Label, will be available in stores and everywhere music is sold today, Tuesday, October 15, 2013. With a book by Austin Winsberg, First Date is directed by Bill Berry, has musical staging by Josh Rhodes, with orchestrations by August Eriksmoen and musical supervision, vocal and incidental arrangements by Dominick Amendum.

FIRST DATE stars Zachary Levi as Aaron and Krysta Rodriguez as Casey, features Sara Chase, Kristoffer Cusick, Blake Hammond, Kate Loprest and Bryce Ryness, and the cast also includes Eric Ankrim, Kevin Kern, Vicki Noon and Sydney Shepherd. First Date began performances Tuesday, July 9, 2013, and opened Thursday, August 8, 2013, at Broadway'sLongacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street).

When tightly wound Aaron (Zachary Levi) is set up with serial-dater Casey (Krysta Rodriguez) a quick drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a hilarious, high-stakes dinner. As the date unfolds in real time, the couple quickly finds they are not alone on this date as Casey and Aaron's inner critics take on a life of their own when other restaurant patrons and the wait staff get into the act. Dinner is served with sides of Google background checks, fake emergency phone calls, supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents, who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines. First Date is Broadway's new hysterical and hopeful new musical about the chances we take to find love.

Tickets for First Date range from $35 to $137, and can be purchased at the Longacre Theatre box office or at www.Telecharge.com (212.239.6200). The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm, Thursday-Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pmand Sunday at 3 and 7pm.

FIRST DATE has scenic and media design by David Gallo, costume design by David C. Woolard, lighting design by Mike Baldassari, sound design by Kai Harada, Hair Design by Josh Marquette. First Date is produced by Junkyard Dog Productions (Randy Adams, Marleen and Kenny Alhadeff, Sue Frost) in association with Stem Productions, Altar Identity Studios (Wade Bradley), Alex and Katya Lukianov, Susan W. and James C. Blair Family LP, Linda and Bill Potter, Yasuhiro Kawana, Vijay and Sita Vashee, Kevin and Lynn Foley, Jeff and Julie Goldstein, Edward and Mimi Kirsch, Frank and Denise Phillips, Stephen Reynolds and Paula Rosput Reynolds, Land Line Productions, Alhadeff Family Productions/Sheri and Les Biller , Pat Halloran/Laura Little Theatrical Productions, Tony Meola/Remmel T. Dickinson and John Yonover, and ShadowCatcher Entertainment/Tom and Connie Walsh.

FIRST DATE was originally co-produced by The 5th Avenue Theatre (David Armstrong, Executive Producer and Artistic Director; Bernadine Griffin, Managing Director; Bill Berry, Producing Director), and A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, WA (Kurt Beattie, Artistic Director; Carlo Scandiuzzi, Executive Director) from March 10 to May 20, 2012. Variety called First Date "Flat-out ingenious!" and The Seattle Times said First Date is "Terrific - snappy and irreverent!" The production was awarded four Seattle Times Footlight Awards, including best musical.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, is the new performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife. A few blocks from the heart of Times Square and just below the legendary Studio 54, 54 BELOW is a classically designed, state-of-the art nightclub in the theatre district that hosts audiences with warmth and style. The venue provides a food and beverage menu from early evening through the wee hours of the morning that is worthy of the world-class entertainment on the stage. Located at 254 West 54th Street, 54 BELOW features up to three shows nightly with cover charges ranging from $15-$95.

Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is an international children's medical charity with a presence in more than 60 countries, whose network of 5,000 medical volunteers from 80 countries is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 3.8 million healthcare evaluations and conducted over 200,000 free surgical procedures for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities, as well as patients suffering from burns. To build long-term self-sufficiency in developing countries, Operation Smile trains doctors and local medical professionals in its partner countries so they are empowered to treat their own local communities, donates medical equipment and supplies, and provides year-round medical treatment through Comprehensive Care and Training and Treatment Centers. For more information, visit www.operationsmile.org. For updates on Operation Smile's global efforts, visit the daily blogs on www.operationsmile.org, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/operationsmile, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/operationsmile.