Sandy Benefits at Joe's Pub Continue in December; More than $20,000 Raised to Save Ali Forney Center

In November Justin VivIan Bond and James Lecesne (founder of the After The Storm Foundation) helped raise over $20,000 for the Ali Forney Center, New York's center for homeless LGBT youth, with An Evening of Cabaret at Joe's Pub at The Public featuring Lady Rizo, Taylor Mac, Bridget Everett, Cole Escola and Joseph Keckler among others.

Joe's Pub will continue to host several benefits in support of Hurricane Sandy victims throughout the holiday season. December's Sandy fundraisers include Mike Daisey's Where Water Meets With Water, The Broadway Boys, Nuyorican Poets Café Benefit, Rachael Sage and Still Here!, a spoken-word event featuring Sarah Kay, Andy Suzuki & The Method, Arthur Lewis and Laura Brown-Lavoie. Read on for more details.

Mike Daisey: WHERE WATER MEETS WITH WATER
December 10 at 9:30 PM
SOLD OUT
This December, Mike Daisey explores the power of storms on every level-from the hurricane that tore through our city and the work of thousands making recovery possible, to what it meant to live in a city divided by darkness, and how for many the struggle hasn't ended. More than a news story, we'll endeavor to wrestle with what storms mean-as a harbinger of the future, as a dramatic illustration of our blindness to class, and even as a moment when it can feel like our direction is changing. Expect both the ridiculous and the heroic in equal measure, a survey of our waterfronts large and small, an accounting of the power of tides, and a night of shared stories. Fill your bathtub. Check your batteries. Sit tight. Created by Mike Daisey. Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory.

The Broadway Boys PRESENT BROADWAY SINGS FOR TOYS
December 10 at 7:00 PM
$15 Standing Room / $40 Reserved / $100 VIP
The Broadway Boys will once again host Broadway's favorite holiday party and concert with the 7th Annual Broadway Sings For Toys: A Benefit for Toys for Tots, Monday, December 10th at 7pm. This year?s concert is a cocktail party/concert/toy drive featuring Broadway's hottest talent and is one of the most joyful and inspirational holiday events of the year. Scheduled performers joining The Broadway Boys this year include Adriane Lenox (TONY-winner Doubt, Dreamgirls), Kate Shindle (Wonderland, Legally Blonde), Andrew Samonsky (Scandalous, South Pacific), Alyssha Umphress (Bring It On, On a Clear Day...), Jenny Fellner (Wicked, Mamma Mia), Betsy Wolfe (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture), the companies of Wicked, Scandalous, and Mary Poppins, and more to be announced! Bring a toy, grab a drink, and have a fabulous time with holiday classics as well as tunes of love, hope and inspiration. A raffle will be held this year and will include prizes such as JetBlue tickets, signed cast albums, Bottles of Hammer + Sickle, and more.

NUYORICAN POETS CAFE BENEFIT
December 20 at 11:30 PM
$25 reserved / $40 Premium
Over the last 40 years, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater and visual arts. But during Hurricane Sandy, the Cafe lost its heating system, and many of the students and artists the Cafe serves are still struggling in the aftermath of the storm. So a lineup of the Nuyo's most accomplished young performers will perform at Joe's Pub on December 20 in a fundraising event for the Cafe and its community. Featured artists will include muMs da Schemer ("Poet" from the HBO series OZ); Mahogany Browne (host of the Cafe's legendary Friday Night Slam); Jive Poetic (DJ and host of the Nuyo's Slam Open); poet Caroline Rothstein (whose video "Fat" was recently tweeted by Lady Gaga); poet, actress and vocalist La Bruja (aka Caridad De La Luz); vocalists Aurora Rose and Melodie Nicholson and poets Caits Meissner and Whitney "Witness" Greenway. USA Today recommends the Nuyorican Poets Cafe as one of the top cultural attractions in downtown Manhattan, and the Wall Street Journal says the Cafe has grown "from a small, volunteer-led venue to a thriving arts center."

RACHAEL SAGE: TCHATCHKES & LATKES!
(A Holiday Benefit for Hurricane Sandy Relief)
December 22 at 7:30 PM
$12
Local art-pop songstress Rachael Sage brings her campy, inspiring Tchatchkes & Latkes! back to Joe's Pub as a Holiday Benefit for Hurricane Sandy Relief. Her post-Hanukah,-pre-Christmas musical hijinks will feature Sage's quirky theatricality at its best – an upbeat evening of vaudevillian shtick, playful Yiddishkeit, tall tales, wacky props, pianistic flair and hilarious, written-on-the-spot, topical compositions. Sage will weave songs from her ten-album discography with shpiel about her life as a former ballerina, adventures on the road, and her family's extensive menorah collection. Her Edinburgh Fringe Festival one-woman shows, her many previous Joe's Pub appearances, and her acting background (she studied at The Actors Studio and The New York Shakespeare Lab at The Public Theater), all combine to create a singer-songwriter with a compelling stage presence. All proceeds from this performance will benefit the following Hurricane Sandy Relief organizations: The Red Hook Initiative (Brooklyn), Project Hospitality Staten Island Hurricane Relief Fund (Staten Island) and Graybeards (The Rockaways).

STILL HERE! A FUNDRAISER FOR HURRICAN SANDY RELIEF
December 26 at 7:00 PM
$20 Reserved / $25 Premium
Still Here! is a fundraiser event for Hurricane Sandy Relief. Hosted by Spoken Word Poet Sarah Kay, featuring the music of Andy Suzuki & the Method, Arthur Lewis, and the poetry of Laura Brown-Lavoie! All proceeds of the evening go to Hurricane Sandy Relief!

Visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows and to purchase tickets, or call 212-967-7555, or visit in person at The Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM) located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.

Joe's Pub is one of New York City's most celebrated venues for emerging and legendary performing artists. Named for Public Theater founder Joe Papp, Joe's Pub debuted in 1998 and plays a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting new artists while providing established artists with a safe, intimate space to develop new work. Joe's Pub presents talent from all over the world as part of The Public's programming downtown at its Astor Place home. Open seven days a week, dinner and drink service is available during every performance.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare and the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all, new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information, visit www.publictheater.org.