Julianne Moore, Dustin Lance Black & More Join I AM HARVEY MILK Honorary Committee

Producers Bruce Cohen, Robb Nanus, Jessica Leventhal, Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman announced today that a group of political, cultural, and human rights leaders have come together to form an "Honorary Committee" in support of Tony and Grammy Award nominee Andrew Lippa's new oratorio, I Am Harvey Milk, which will have its New York premiere on Monday, October 6 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.

I Am Harvey Milk's Honorary Committee includes Senator Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Sean Maloney, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Hugh Jackman, Julianne Moore, Bill T. Jones, Jonathan Groff, Dustin Lance Black, Lea DeLaria, George Takei, Rachel Brosnahan, Billy Porter, Alan Cumming, Jerry Mitchell, Kathy Najimy, Dan Jinks, Gretchen Shugart, Evan Wolfson, Sean Strub, John August, Cleve Jones, Hannah Hart, Chad Griffin, Paul Katami & Jeff Zarillo, Kris Perry & Sandy Stier and more.

A handful of committee members have offered statements on the impact of Milk's work and life.

"I am well aware that, in many ways, I'm literally in the U.S Senate because of the progress Harvey Milk helped to make. But you can never declare a civil rights movement to be over," Senator Tammy Baldwin said. "And we have so much more work to do. America is ready to take even more steps forward. But it's going to take more acts of courage and conviction like the ones that made Harvey Milk a hero to me and so many others. After all, before he was an icon, he was an organizer. And so let us not simply celebrate the progress Harvey made in his time, but let's redouble our efforts to make progress in our own time."

As previously announced, Andrew Lippa will star as Harvey Milk, Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth as the Soprano soloist and child actor Noah Marlowe (Mary Poppins, Act One) will play "Young Harvey Milk." I Am Harvey Milk will feature the Orchestra of St Luke's and introduce the 12o member All Star Broadway Men's Chorus.

Part choral work, part theater piece, I Am Harvey Milk is an emotional celebration of an American hero. It weaves the story of Harvey Milk's life - from boyhood to his rise as the first openly gay man to hold public office in California to his assassination. The San Francisco Bay Times called I Am Harvey Milk, "A musical and emotional tour de force!"

Tickets for the New York premiere of I Am Harvey Milk are now available at www.iamharveymilk.com. Tickets start at $40; Premium seats start at $500.

Directed by Noah Himmelstein the creative team also includes Joel Fram (Musical Director, Conductor), Michele Lynch (Choreography), Andrew Lazarow (Projection Design), Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Wilson Chin (Scenic Consultation), August Eriksmoen (Orchestrations) and David Lander (Lighting Design).

Proceeds from this one night only event will be used to create the Harvey Milk Arts Fund at the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI). The Fund will provide much-needed arts education and resources to students at Harvey Milk High School and other at-risk youth that benefit from HMI's services. Founded in 1979, HMI has grown to become the oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and other at-risk youth services organization in the country. Today, HMI serves more than 2,000 young 11,000 youths around the tri-state area.

I Am Harvey Milk's media sponsors include Next Magazine (exclusive local gay media sponsor), TheaterMania.com, The New York Observer and Passport Magazine. To get more information about becoming a sponsor, email friends@iamharveymilk.com.

I Am Harvey Milk had its world premiere in the summer of 2013 as part of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus' 35th Anniversary Celebration Concert, "Harvey Milk 2013." A live recording of the premiere was released last year and quickly rose to #2 on the iTunes classical charts. The concert was commissioned by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, along with Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus, Dayton Gay Men's Chorus, Denver Gay Men's Chorus, Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, and Heartland Men's Chorus. Since its premiere, the piece has been made available to choruses to perform from coast to coast. In July of this year, Andrew Lippa performed the role of Harvey Milk with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) as part of GMCLA's 35th Anniversary Concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Photo by Adam Nemser / PHOTOlink