Jackie Burns, Kevin Kern and More Set for 2013 Tanenbaum Awards

The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding will honor New York Times bestselling author Reza Aslan and FJC, A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, at the 2013 Tanenbaum Awards, Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30 pm at The Plaza Hotel.

The evening will feature performances by Broadway performers, including actor/singer/director Ivan Rutherford (Les Miserables, Titanic) and NCIS: Los Angeles series regular Barrett Foa (Avenue Q,The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee).

Other performers are Jackie Burns (Wicked, Hair, Rock of Ages), Kevin Kern (Wicked, The Wedding Singer, Les Miserables) and Deb Lew (The Threepenny Opera, Beauty and the Beast, South Pacific). The evening's accompanist isRobert Meffe (Evita, Newsies, Les Miserables).

To purchase tickets and for more information about the 2013 Tanenbaum Award Ceremony, visit TanenbaumSpecialEvents.org or call 212.967.7707, x112.

Ivan Rutherford has performed the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables over 2000 times on Broadway, national tours, and most recently in regional theatres across the country. He has performed the role as a member of the 10th anniversary company in New York, with Andrea McArdle at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine and with Lea Salonga on Broadway in the 20th anniversary revival.

Barrett Foa is best known to audiences as Eric Beale on the hit CBS crime drama NCIS: Los Angeles. After wrapping its fourth season, NCIS: LA remains the no. 2 scripted series on television. Prior to Hollywood, Barrett starred on Broadway in both Avenue Q as Princeton/Rod, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Leaf Coneybear. He was featured in the original cast of Mamma Mia! and played Jesus in the 30th anniversary production of Godspell (and is on the recording.)

Jackie Burns recently starred on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked, after performing the role in the national tour. She appeared in the original cast of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Hair, where she was part of the 'Black Boys' trio and understudied the role of Sheila. She was part of the original Off-Broadway company of Rock of Ages and starred in the multiple award-winning musical, Unlock'd, for NYMF.

Kevin Kern has starred on Broadway in Wicked (Fiyero), The Wedding Singer (Standby for Robbie Hart), and Les Miserables (Marius). Most recently, he performed at the opening of the Culture Square Theater in Shanghai, China, and then returned home to do a concert tour of the upper-Midwest. He also recently was a part of the West End cast of Hair.

Deborah Lew made her Broadway debut in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Threepenny Opera at Studio 54. She continued on Broadway to star as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast and most recently as part of Bartlett Sher's acclaimed revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center. Her New York City Opera credits include Cinderellaand Candide.

Tanenbaum Media Bridge-Builder honoree Reza Aslan, an adjunct senior fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, is perhaps best known as a New York Times bestselling author. He is also a scholar of religions and the founder of AslanMedia.com, an online journal for news and entertainment about Middle East and the world. He is always a welcome guest on The Daily Show, Meet the Press, Hardball, Rachel Maddow, Tavis Smiley and other popular current event programs that seek to delve deeply into issues that divide us today.

Tanenbaum will present FJC, a Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, with the inaugural Philanthropic Bridge-Builder Award. FJC is a public charity that provides total management of charitable giving. To date, individuals, corporations and young philanthropists have established more than 1,000 FJC Donor Advised Funds. FJC manages over $230 million in assets and has distributed over $270 million in grants to charities around the world in more than 25 countries.

Major supporters of this year's Tanenbaum Awards include Howard P. Milstein, President & CEO New York Private Bank & Trust; FJC, A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds; Dr. Georgette F. Bennett & Dr. Leonard S. Polonsky; Barclays; and Maz Zouhairi, President & CEO, LALIQUE North America.

Tanenbaum is a secular, non-sectarian organization that combats religious prejudice and promotes mutual respect. Tanenbaum's practical programs bridge religious differences for hundreds of thousands of teachers & students, employers & employees, doctors & patients and peacemakers combating armed conflict across the globe.