Broadway Performers Leads 2nd Annual Times Square Benefit Concert Tonight

Magical Music for Life Foundation presents its second annual Tunes in Times Square benefit concert tonight, May 5, 2013 at 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on the Broadway Pedestrian Plaza between 46th & 47th Streets in Times Square. This will be a continuous sing-a-thon, with members of the Broadway community, talented children & groups from the tri-state area, and the Magical Music singing groups taking turns on the stage.

The goal of the concert is to raise awareness and funds for the production of free, downloadable original songs written especially for children with autism & special needs and to continue the outreach efforts of Magical Music to use music to better the lives of all children.

Last year's Tunes in Times Square audience numbered in the thousands and the funds raised enabled Magical Music to create their first album, "A Day in the Life of a Child," as a collection of free downloadable original songs written especially for children with special needs. Their goal is to provide children of all abilities with music that engages and transforms the way they understand themselves, others, and the world around them. This year's Tunes in Times Square proceeds will be used to produce more original songs to be available at no charge to serve the specific needs of therapists, parents, and children and as an accessible resource for people everywhere.

The schedule is as follows:

10:00 Opening

11:00 Broadway performers (adult & child actors) *

12:00 Broadway performers (adult & child actors) *

1:00 Kids from Disney's Broadway production of Mary Poppins will perform and teach the audience the choreography of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

2:00 Special Dance performance by members of the cast from FELA!

3:00 A special debut family concert of songs from our first album for children with special needs, "A Day in the Life of a Child," which has fun music for ALL children

5:30 Broadway performers (adult & child actors) *

6:00 Closing

All Day: Auction of tickets for Broadway and other NYC shows and events, backstage tours, autographed items, etc., and raffle prizes

Some of the Broadway performers include: Jared Bradshaw (Jersey Boys), Lindsay Northen Bradshaw (Wicked), Aiden Gemme (Mary Poppins), Sadie Seelert (Mary Poppins), Brianna Gentilella (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Alison Horowitz (Sunday in the Park with George & Mary Poppins), Anthony Scarpone-Lambert (The Miracle Worker & Mary Poppins), Corey Mach (Hands on a Hardbody & Godspell), Jenny Mollet (The Color Purple), James Moye (Million Dollar Quartet), Chelsea Packard (Hands on a Hardbody), Jed Resnik (Avenue Q), J. L. Williams (FELA!), and Ashton Woerz (Pippin & Priscilla Queen of the Desert). Also, there will be performances from cast members of many other Broadway shows, old and new.

Magical Music for Life, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to use music to better the lives of children. Toward this end, MMFL has produced a wide range of musical projects which deliver positive messages to children. These projects include two family musicals (The Adventures of Zak and Russell, the Hermit Crab), which have been performed in professional theaters, schools, and hospitals throughout the northeast. MMFL has written songs for several national well-known charities and children with special needs & autism, as well as the Magical Music singing groups have performed at such venues as the White House, United Nations for the first World Autism Awareness Day, Citi Field Stadium, Tribeca Film Festival, and Times Square. Proceeds from these events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children's charities. This year's Tunes in Times Square will be Magical Music's fourth benefit concert involving the participation of hundreds of children. Besides last year's TUNES, Magical Music for LifeTM produced One Town ... One Voice concerts to benefit Stand Up to Cancer and Habitat for Humanity's Katrina Relief Fund.

For more information about Magical Music for Life, to hear their original music, or to make a donation supporting their mission of using music to better the lives of children, go to www.magicalmusic.org.