On Monday, May 16, 2016, Broadway stars came together for a special evening to help raise funds and awareness for Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY), a leading nonprofit organization known for its innovative use of drama therapy to empower children and adults who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives. Scroll down for photos from this year's event!
At this year's 2016 Annual "Theater & Therapy" Gala held in The Manhattan Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel (109 East 42nd Street) $200,000 was raised to support CANY's initiatives. The event was co-hosted by Broadway veterans Ann Hampton Callaway and Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman.
The 2016 Honorees were:
Kelli O'Hara - Tony Award-winning actress received 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, received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by CANY's Program Director and Drama Therapist Meredith Dean.
Festivities began at 6:15 p.m. with cocktails, appetizers and silent auction. The dinner, show and live auction started at 7:30 p.m. At the gala, attendees heard the remarkable stories of some of CANY's clients who have overcome harrowing obstacles with the help of the organization's methodologies.
Guests were also treated to surprise live performances at the event. Ann Hampton Callaway opened the night's festivities with a mash-up of the songs "People" and "Being Alive" to rousing applause. After Kelli O' Hara accepted her award she sang "Make Someone Happy" and Cady Huffman and Ann Hampton Callaway performed the duet, "Sunny Side of the Street" to close the event.
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. CANY has helped more than 260,000 people. For more information, visit www.cany.org.
Photo Credit: Christine Butler
Alissa Desmarais - Executive Director of CANY, Andre Bishop, Tony-winning actress Kelli O'Hara, Tony nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and Tony winner Cady Huffman
Andre Bishop and Kelli O'Hara
Ann Hampton Callaway and Kelli O'Hara
Cady Huffman and Ann Hampton Callaway
Cady Huffman, Kelli O'Hara and Ann Hampton Callaway
Cady Huffman, Ron Tabano and Ann Hampton Callaway
Kelli O'Hara and Andre Bishop
Kelli O'Hara
Cady Huffman, Kelli O'Hara, Alissa Desmarais and Ann Hampton Callaway
Actors Jeff Wise and Chris Bolan
Ron Tabano and Sally Hastings
Beth Rudin DeWoody - EVP Rudin Management, Art Collector, Firooz Zahedi, Celebrity Photographer
Tracey Kealy and Ellen Kealy - CANY Chair Emeritus
Robert Massimi, Nora Murphy, CANY Board, Managing Director Erm Capital, Nora Murphy and Robert Murphy
Richard Goldstein, Elizabeth Goldstein - CANY Chairwoman, Sarah Goldstein and Debra Goldstein
Jesse Berger, Annie Gross - CANY Board Member
Ernest Hood, Cheryl Rosario - Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Wyndham Worldwide - CANY Board Member, David McCorkle - LCSW, CANY Board Treasurer
Louis King, D'Arcy King - EVP Chief Strategy Officer Dagger Wing Health, Ronald Tamler - Medical Director, Mt. Sinai - CANY Board, Claudia Caffuzzi
Kitty Yoh, Joseph Shugart - Partner, Crystal Rock Capital and CANY Board Member, Melanie Shugart - Vice Chairman of INvestment Banking, J.P. Morgan
Louis King, D'Arcy King - EVP Chief Strategy Officer, Dagger Wing Health, Ronald Tamler - Medical Director, Mt. Sinai - CANY Board, Claudia Caffuzzi
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