Photo Coverage: Broadway Stands up for Freedom at the Skirball Center
By: Peter James Zielinski Jul. 23, 2009
Tony nominees Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent, Les Miserables), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Spelling Bee), Michael Rupert (Falsettos, Legally Blonde), Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!) and Laura Osnes (South Pacific) among many other artists joined together for "Broadway Stands up for Freedom!," a benefit concert to support the youth programs of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The concert took place on Monday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 La Guardia Place at Washington Square South. BroadwayWorld.com's cameras spent the evening with the talented cast to bring you all the excitement of this very special evening.
Jen Bender (associate director of Avenue Q and resident director of The Lion King) co-directed with Danny Goldstein (Godspell).
The NYCLU has been challenging government abuse of power for more than 50 years, most recently taking on everything from torture and government spying on innocent Americans to NYPD racial profiling and the Rockefeller Drug Laws. The NYCLU also has a vital youth and student rights program which is currently working to end overly-aggressive policing in city public schools and abusive military recruitment tactics, as well as training thousands of peer educators through the Teen Health Initiative to understand and advocate for their right to confidential reproductive health care. As part of the youth and student rights program, the NYCLU is evaluating scores of entries - poetry, artwork, music and essays - that young people have submitted to the organization's annual Student Expression contest. The winning entries will be read and/or performed throughout the performance.
"Broadway Stands Up for Freedom!," now in its seventh year, was founded by performers Liana Stampur and Erich Bergen as a way to put into action their personal dedication to reproductive rights and other civil liberties issues relevant to young people.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, we are a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with eight chapters and regional offices and nearly 50,000 members across the state.
Our mission is to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the New York Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law for all New Yorkers.
Photos by Peter James Zielinski
Brian Lowdermilk, Stephen Bogardus, and Michael Rupert
Andrew Kober and Paris Remillard
Dana Steingold, Nick Blaemire, and Laura Osnes
Paris Remillard, Maya Sharpe, Allison Case, Andrew Kober, Kacie Sheik, and Ato Blankson-Wood
Dana Steingold and Celia Keenan-Bolger
Daphne Rubin-Vega and Jen Bender
Liz Callaway, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jen Bender, Liana Stampur, Dana Steingold, Laura Osnes, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Donna Lieberman
The cast of Broadway Stands Up for Freedom
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