Photo Coverage: Inside 5th Annual BROADWAY SALUTES with Hugh Panaro, Annaleigh Ashford & Lillias White!

Just yesterday, September 24, The Broadway League and The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) presented the fifth annual Broadway Salutes, a celebration -- free and open to the public - which honors the countless professionals who have made Broadway great for decades. In this industry-wide event, which was held at the Times Square Visitor Center (1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th Streets) in the heart of the theatre district, theater professionals received special recognition for having worked 25, 35, and 50 years in their respective theatrical craft. Check out photos from inside the event below!

The program, directed by Marc Bruni (BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL), included special recognition to classic musicals - a 25-year inductee, a 35-year inductee, and a 50-year inductee. Performers that afternoon were Hugh Panaro, singing a number from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (25 years), Tony Award winnerLillias White (THE LIFE) singing from AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' (35 years) and Tony Award nominee Annaleigh Ashford (KINKY BOOTS) singing from FUNNY GIRL (50 years).

The Broadway industry contributes 11 billion dollars to NYC's economy, supports an estimated 86,000 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $550 Million in NYC taxes. Broadway Salutes honors a wide-range of theatre professionals - including stagehands, actors, producers, managers, theater owners, press agents, ushers, agents, make-up artists, dressers, designers, directors, choreographers, musicians, casting agents, and more - who have dedicated their careers to the Broadway industry.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride