ONLY MAKE BELIEVE Celebrates 11th Anniversary; Sir Ian McKellen Hosts Gala 11/1

Only Make Believe, the non-profit organization that creates and performs interactive theatre for children in hospitals and care facilities, will celebrate their 11th Anniversary on November 1st with an evening at the Shubert Theatre. Only Make Believe is dedicated to the principle that freeing a child's imagination is a valuable part of the healing process.

This year's Gala will honor two outstanding individuals for their commitment and dedication to children and children's causes. Only Make Believe will honor Laura Armitage with The James Hammerstein Award for her outstanding dedication to children in need both on a local and global level. Only Make Believe will present the Founders' Award to philanthropist and author Cathy Lasry for her exceptional commitment to children's causes.

This year's gala event, hosted by Sir Ian McKellen, will feature a number of performances by some of Broadway's brightest stars, including the Cast of Memphis, the Cast of Billy Elliot: The Musical, and many others. Also on-hand to celebrate the evening will be Josh Lucas, Euan Morton, Brad Oscar, Seth Rudetsky, The Glamazons among others. This year's Gala Co-Chairs include Gary Cohn, Cheryl & Blair Effron, Dena Hammerstein, Bruce & Martha Karsh, Gary Lynch, Kate Hall, Danielle & Chris Wearing and George Weiss.

Corporate sponsors for the evening include, Accenture, Bloomberg, Disney, Goldman Sachs, The McGraw-Hill Companies and Morgan Stanley.

Tickets for the gala are available now at www.onlymakebelieve.org or by calling (646) 336-1500.
ABOUT ONLY MAKE BELIEVE

Only Make Believe was founded in 1999 by Dena Hammerstein, in memory of her husband James Hammerstein. James was the son of Oscar Hammerstein (of Rodgers and Hammerstein). In 1999, Only Make Believe visited one hospital and reached 132 children. Eleven years later, Only Make Believe will have reached more than 21,000 children in 40 hospitals and care facilities throughout the New York metropolitan area. Only Make Believe is free-of-charge to all hospitals and care facilities.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi