Kelli O'Hara to Be Honored at 2012 NYMF Gala, 11/11

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) announced today Broadway star and multiple time Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee Kelli O'Hara will be honored for her work in the theater at the NYMF 2012 Annual Gala taking place on Sunday, November 11th at The Hudson Theatre (145 W. 44th Street) beginning at 6:00pm. Kelli is currently starring on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It, and was seen on Broadway in South Pacific, The Pajama Game, The Light In The Piazza and many others.

NYMF will also be honoring the artists and achievements of the 2012 Festival Season. The evening will include cocktails, a silent auction, seated dinner, and musical performances celebrating NYMF's Ninth Annual Season.

"We are thrilled to honor Kelli O'Hara for her dedication to the theater," said Executive Director and Producer of The New York Musical Theatre Festival, Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "Kelli is that rare breed of musical theatre star that is a chameleon and her talent on stage is only outmatched by her passion for the craft. We feel honored to have her support."

Previous Gala performers and presenters have included Daniel Radcliffe, Chita Rivera, Cheyenne Jackson, Raul Esparza, Alice Ripley, Duncan Sheik, Sherie Rene Scott, Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony Rapp, and many others.

The honorary Gala host committee includes: Gala Chair, Linda D'Onofrio; Gala Co-chairs: Darren DeVerna, Roy Edmondson, Charlie Fink, Vicki Halmos, Jonathan Herzog, Jill Jaysen, Marissa Kamin Miller and Frank Troutman. The Gala committee is Adam Blanshay, Sharon Fallon, Faythe Goldman, Claudia Fine, David Hurwitz and Tamara Tunie.

Ticket prices for the NYMF Awards Gala are as follows: Visionary Table of 10: $10,000, Champion Table of 10: $5,000, Champion Tickets: $500 (includes preferred seating and admission to the VIP After-Party with the artists), Supporter Table of 10: $3,750, and Supporter Tickets: $375.

To purchase tickets, call (212) 664-0979 x12, or email gala@nymf.org

Kelli O'Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies. She is currently starring in the ten-time Tony nominated Broadway musical Nice Work If You Can Get It opposite Matthew Broderick, in which she received her fourth Tony Award nomination for Lead Actress in a Musical. Kelli recently starred as Cathy Whitaker in the musical adaptation of Far From Heaven at Williamstown Theater Festival; a performance that garnered her rave reviews. A native of Oklahoma, Kelli received a degree in opera, and, after winning the State Metropolitan Opera Competition, moved to New York and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute. Kelli earned her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her role in The Light in the Piazza in 2005. In 2006, she joined Harry Connick, Jr. on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning production of The Pajama Game and received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. Kelli starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, garnering Tony and Drama Desk nominations. This past fall, Kelli made her Public Theater debut in in King Lear and prior to that starred as Ella Peterson in City Center Encore's production of Bells Are Ringing. In addition to her critically acclaimed performance as Eliza Doolittle in the New York Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, Kelli has performed at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, at the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra with Marvin Hamlisch, and with the Boston Pops under Keith Lockhart. She has played her solo show to sold-out audiences across the country from Town Hall to Carnegie Hall and in between. She has performed three times at the Kennedy Center Honors in tributes for Barbara Cook, Jerry Herman and Barbra Streisand and is frequent guest artist on the PBS Memorial Day and July 4th telecast. Among her film and television credits are Sex & the City 2, Blue Bloods, The Key to Reserva, The Dying Gaul, Alexander Hamilton, NUMB3RS, All My Children, and the animated series Car Talk, as well as numerous live performances on national television shows. Kelli's voice can be heard on numerous cast recordings. Her two solo albums Always & Wonder in the World are currently available on Ghostlight Records. Kelli resides in New York with her husband Greg and their son Owen.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) Now in its ninth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work. NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and by funds from the NYC Theater Subdistrict Council, LDC.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.