Tovah Feldshuh Set to Host BROADWAY BEAUTY PAGEANT on 5/20

It was announced today that four-time Tony Award nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning actress Tovah Feldshuh will return to host the seventh annual Broadway Beauty Pageant. Celebrity judges have also been announced. Andrea Martin (Pippin), Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), and Michael Urie (Buyer and Cellar) have been tapped to judge the event which will take place on Monday evening, May 20th, at 8:00p.m., at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place). Lisa Lambert, the Tony Award-winning lyricist of The Drowsy Chaperone, will write the opening number. The popular event is the annual benefit of New York's Ali Forney Center.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant will feature male cast members representing their respective Broadway shows, competing for the title crown through talent, interview and swimsuit competitions. The contestants will go head to head in front of a panel of celebrity judges, but ultimately, the final vote is in the hands of the audience members. This year's contestants will be announced shortly.

Past Pageant winners include Frankie James Grande (Mr. Mamma Mia! 2007), Marty Thomas (Mr. Xanadu 2008), Anthony Hollock (Mr. Hair 2009), Charlie Williams (Mr. Memphis 2010), Michael Cusumano (Mr. Chicago 2011), and Andrew Chapelle (Mr. Mamma Mia! 2012).

The Broadway Beauty Pageant will be directed by Seth Sikes and choreographed by Paul McGill. The evening was conceived by Jeffrey Self and will be produced by the Ali Forney Center in association with Ryan Davis.

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was started in June 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. The Center is committed to providing these young people with safe, dignified, nurturing environments where their needs can be met, and where they can begin to put their lives back together. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community. For more information, see www.aliforneycenter.org

Tickets for The Broadway Beauty Pageant are available at www.nyuskirball.org/calendar/broadwaybeautypageant, and range in price from $25 - $150. All VIP tickets include a pre and post-show VIP cocktail reception, gift bag, and premier seating.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos