Jessica Vosk, Gavin Lee, Alex Newell And More To Perform At ASTEP 2019 Color Ball

Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) and friends are coming together to celebrate the 2019 ASTEP Color Ball on Monday, April 29 at 54 Below. The 2019 Color Ball is a night to honor the Artists/Activists who inspire ASTEP students, the Sponsors who make our work possible and the Partners who join our efforts in giving children from underserved communities access to the power of the arts. The evening is conceived by Broadway Musical Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell (ASTEP Founder and Co-Executive Director) and will allow ASTEP to give audience members an in depth look into our programs and the exciting work we have ahead of us.

During the evening ASTEP will honor Artist/Activist Laura Benanti as well as ASTEP's Community Partner Lutheran Social Services of New York. Both of our honorees have worked with ASTEP to bring empowering arts programs to children who arrive in the United States as unaccompanied minors.

Dr. Keith Bell (Chair), Steven Farkas, Jaimie Mayer, Stephen Oremus, Susan Vargo, and 2018 ASTEP Artist/Activist Honoree Georgia Stitt serve on the Host Committee for this special evening. VIP Cocktails will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Feinstein's/54 Below, general seating begins at 7:15 p.m. with dinner and performance at 7:45 p.m. Tickets start at $250 and are available online at www.astep.org/2019colorball. Sponsorships are available by contacting Katherine Nolan Brown at katherine@asteponline.org or 212-921-1227. Proceeds from The Color Ball will help support ASTEP's mission of using the arts as a vehicle to teach young people the social emotional skills they need to be the best versions of themselves.

The 2019 Color Ball will boast an unbeatable line-up of artists, brought together by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, including Todd Almond (The Odyssey, The Winter's Tale), Alison Cimmet (Gary, Amelie), Gavin Lee (SpongeBob SquarePants, Mary Poppins), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels, Gigantic), Alex Newell (Once on this Island, Glee), Robbie Rozelle (Melissa Errico: Sondheim Sublime, Kate Baldwin: How did you get this Number?), Lauren Sprague (Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz), Jessica Vosk (Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof), Christian Dante White (My Fair Lady, Hello Dolly), and more.

ASTEP was conceived by Broadway musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Juilliard students to transform the lives of youth using the most powerful tool they had - their art. With programs as local as New York City and as global as India and South Africa, ASTEP Volunteer Teaching Artists deliver after-school workshops and summer camps in schools and community organizations that serve youth affected by immigration status, homelessness, gun-violence, incarceration, the justice system, HIV/AIDS, systemic poverty, and the caste system.

ASTEP's Board of Directors includes Thomas Fitzgerald (Chair), Jaimie Mayer (Vice Chair), Sheryl FitzGerald (Secretary), Sheri Sarkisian (Treasurer), as well as Laura Bray, Mark Canavera, Laura V. Chittick, Trupti Doshi, Steven Farkas, Sameer Garg, Jeffrey Korn, Sam Mintz, Henry Sham, and Gabrielle Speaks.

For more information about ASTEP or to Sponsor this event, contact Katherine Nolan Brown, Director of Development, katherine@asteponline.org, or to purchase tickets to the Gala, visit www.astep.org/2019colorball.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi