Inside Broadway to Honor Kate Burton and Ramin Karimloo with 2017 Broadway Beacon Awards

Celebrating its landmark 35th anniversary season, on Monday, June 12 at their annual Broadway Beacon Awards Gala at The JW Marriot Essex House (160 Central Park South), leading NYC arts education nonprofit Inside Broadway (Executive Director, Michael Presser) will honor Tony and Emmy Award nominated actress Kate Burton (currently starring in the Tony Award nominated revival of Present Laughter) and Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo (currently starring in the Tony Award Nominated musical Anastasia), as well as Tino Gagliardi, president of Local 802 American Federation of Musicians, the largest union of professional musicians in the world.

The evening will also honor Gene O'Donovan (Founder of Broadway Production Management Company Aurora Productions) and Geoffrey A. Mills (President & CEO, GAM Hospitality) and will feature a performance from the Broadway cast of CHICAGO THE MUSICAL.

Since 1982, Inside Broadway has impacted the lives of nearly one million New York City public school students with its one-of-a-kind theatre arts and education programs that enrich, educate, and foster new generations of theatergoers and the Broadway Beacon Awards are presented to individuals in the theatre community who have been advocates for increasing audiences for live theatre & understanding the importance of Arts & Education in the lives of New York City's young people. The evening begins at 5:30pm with a Cocktail Hour, followed by the Awards Presentation which will include special performances from Chicago as well as students from P.S. 176 in Brooklyn who participate with Inside Broadway's school programs. The first Broadway Beacon Award was given to Carol Channing in 1995. FOX5 Reporter Baruch Shemtov will serve as MC for the evening.

Kate Burton is a veteran of stage & screen, having received three Tony Award nominations for her work on Broadway and three Emmy Award nominations for her memorable television appearances as Ellis Grey on Grey's Anatomy and as Vice President Sally Langston on Scandal. Burton made her Broadway debut as Daphne in the 1982 revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter starring George C. Scott, and for her work as Liz Essedine in the 2017 revival opposite Kevin Kline, she recently received a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance.

Iranian-born, Canadian-raised Tony & Olivier Award nominated actor & singer Ramin Karimloo currently stars on Broadway in the new musical Anastasia. In London, he starred in the West End's two longest running musicals: Les Misérables where he's played Jean Valjean, Enjolras & Marius and The Phantom of the Opera, where he played Raoul & was the youngest person to play The Phantom. Ramin was hand-picked by Andrew Lloyd Webber to originate the role of The Phantom in Love Never Dies, the Phantom & was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for 'Best Actor in a Musical'. He made his Broadway debut in 2014 to great acclaim as Jean Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh's revival of Les Misérables and was nominated for a Tony Award.

Until his election as President of Local 802, Tino Gagliardi was a trumpet player in New York City's concert & recording fields & on Broadway. He was elected to Local 802's Executive Board in 2003 and took office as President in 2010. His extensive theater work led to membership on the Broadway Theatre Committee where he was elected to its 2003 contract negotiating team, and became its co-chair in 2004 and its chair in 2007.

Among the world's most distinguished theatre technicians, Gene O'Donovan has directly enhanced a host of legendary Broadway productions, including The Wiz, 42nd Street, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, The Who's Tommy, Master Class, Titanic, Spamalot, Frost Nixon, The Book Of Mormon, Matilda, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime.

Geoffrey A. Mills is the President & CEO of GAM Hospitality, a management company that serves the hotel and restaurant industry in the areas of food and beverage, human resources, administration, sales and marketing. He has over 30 years of experience with various fine dining restaurants, high end food operations & hotels.

Inside Broadway, established by Michael Presser in 1982 in cooperation with The Shubert Organization, today reaches over 70,000 New York City students in over 100 public schools each year. Their programs include an annual Equity musical production that tours to schools as well as a wide range of educational programs that allow participants to interact with professionals in the field and experience theatre hands-on in the classroom. For more information on Inside Broadway, please visit www.InsideBroadway.org. Programs of Inside Broadway are funded by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council, New York City Department of Education, and numerous foundations and individuals.