Kelli O'Hara Will Be Honored at Creative Alternatives of New York's THEATER & THERAPY Gala

Broadway stars will come together for a special evening to help raise funds and awareness for Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY), a leading organization known for its innovative use of drama therapy to empower children and adults who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives.

This year's 2016 Annual "Theater & Therapy" Gala will be held on Monday, May 16, 2016 in The Manhattan Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel (109 East 42nd Street) and will be co-hosted by Broadway veteran Ann Hampton Callaway and TONY Award-winner Cady Huffman.

The 2016 Honorees are:

Kelli O'Hara - TONY Award Winning Actress and Broadway.com's 2015 Star of the Year, will receive the Leadership Award for Arts & Healing presented by Andre Bishop, Producing Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater

Ron Tabano - Principal and CEO of John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy, an alternative high school that has been CANY's partner for 25 years, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by CANY's Program Director and Drama Therapist Meredith Dean.

Festivities begin at 6:15 p.m. with cocktails, appetizers and silent auction. Dinner, show and live auction start at 7:30 p.m. and will include performances from Broadway's finest.

For additional information and ticket sales, contact CANY at (212) 222-1969, or via email at ewalker@cany.org.

For over thirty years, Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY) has pioneered the use of drama therapy groups to help empower people who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives. Founded at Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, CANY now works with leading social service agencies, special schools, and community centers serving over 1,000 children and adults in the greater New York area annually. Cultivated over years of clinical and artistic practice, CANY has developed its own unique trauma-informed drama therapy model to help clients move beyond their past and into a future of hope and promise. This year, CANY will celebrate past accomplishments and the future expansion of direct services and profession development programs. For more, visit www.cany.org.

ABOUT THE "THEATER & THERAPY" ARTISTS:

André Bishop - Artistic Director at Lincoln Center Theater, Producing Artistic Director at Lincoln Center Theater, producer for three Pulitzer Prize winners: The Heidi Chronicles, Driving Miss Daisy and Sunday in the Park with George. Noted theater producer with numerous works to his credit... www.lct.org/shows/people/andre-bishop.

Ann Hampton Callaway - TONY award nominee (Swing!), Broadway actress, Jazz singer and Platinum Award winning writer for Broadway, recording artists and television... www.annhamptoncallaway.com.

Cady Huffman - TONY award winner (The Producers) and nominee (The Will Rogers Follies), Broadway and TV actress, regular food judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America...www.cadyhuffman.com.

Nikki M. James - TONY award winner (Book of Mormon), Movie actress (Lucky Stiff, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), TV actress (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The Jury, Third Watch 30Rock, Good Wife, Blacklist)...nikkimjames.com.

Kelli O'Hara - TONY award winner (The King and I) and nominee (The Bridges of Madison County, Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific, The Pajama Game and The Light in the Piazza) Broadway and TV actress, Recently announced solo show at Carnegie Hall: www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2016/10/29/0800/PM/Kelli-Ohara. For more, visit www.kelliohara.com.

Picutred: Kelli O'Hara in costume for MasterVoices' DIDO AND AENEAS. Photo by Erin Baiano.