Dixon Place Presents A Very MARY Holiday Benefit Honoring Laura Benanti, 11/29

Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde), John Arthur Greene (West Side Story), and Matt Doyle (Bye Bye Birdie) will join host Marti Gould Cummings for this year's 2nd Annual A Very MARY Holiday benefit on Monday, November 29 at Dixon Place at 8:00pm.

The starry holiday benefit raises money and awareness for The Ali Forney Center and their programs. This year, A Very MARY Holiday will add a new element of the program, presenting the Broadway Speaks OUT! Hero Award to a member of the Broadway community who continues to be an incomparable and unwavering supporter of LGBT rights and the equality of all.

Tony Award Winner and current star of Broadway's WOMEN ON THE VERGE, Laura Benanti (Gypsy, In the Next Room, Nine) has been chosen as this year's Broadway Speaks OUT! Hero Award Honoree, replacing actress Judith Light due to scheduling conflicts during the busy holiday season.

Marti Gould Cummings (Co-Founder, Broadway Speaks OUT) said this of the change in honoree: "Judith Light has regretfully had to decline her invitation to A Very MARY Holiday. Tony Award Winner Laura Benanti was the instant and obvious choice to receive our first annual award. Laura has been a fierce advocate of LGBT rights and a strong loyal supporter of Broadway Speaks OUT and our endeavors. It is with great pride and please to welcome her to this event and to present her with an award that she truly deserves as one of the Broadway communities top performers and leaders speaking out for the equality of all."

Cummings, Shindle, Greene, and Doyle will be joined on stage by Danny Calvert (Altar Boyz) and The Broadway Boys, Jack Mackenroth (Project Runway), Matt Shingledecker (West Side Story), Annie Golden (The Full Monty), Michelle Dowdy (Hairspray), Brian Charles Rooney (Three Penny Opera), Tracy McDowell (Rent), Malan Breton (Project Runway), Chase Davidson (Spring
Awakening), Krystina Alabado (Spring Awakening), Scott Nevins, Kate Pazakis, Megan Reinking, Alex Ellis, Taylor Mac, Marcus Simione, Composer Scott Alan, The Broadway Dolls and Ryan Nickulas and TJ Kelly (Logo's A-List NY), Orfeh (Legally Blonde) and other Broadway stars will film special video messages for the evening. Author, political strategist, and civil right's activist, David Mixner
will be the night's Keynote Speaker.

A Very MARY Holiday is being produced by Broadway Speaks OUT!, Dixon Place, and gracious supporters on Broadway Speaks OUT!'s Kickstarter account. The event will be sponsored by Gay City News and GIVEN Liqueur. Drexel D Heard II, serves as the evening's director, with Kristen Lee Rosenfeld (Music Director) and John Murdock (Production Stage Manager).

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets are now on sale ($20-$100) at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8505685 or by calling Dixon Place at 212.219.0736. Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street, New York, New York, 10002.

For more information visit: www.broadwayspeaksout.com and www.aliforneycenter.org, and donate at www.kickstarter.com/profile/broadwayspeaksout.

ABOUT DIXON PLACE:
Dixon Place is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to provide a space for literary and performing artists to create and develop new works in front of a live audience. While other venues of its kind have since died off, or now only present established artists, Dixon Place remains at the heart of the New York experimental performance scene. Taking risks is crucial to the life of Dixon Place, its artists and audiences. Dixon Place's primary commitments are to bring artists and audiences together through live performance in order to expand the understanding of the creative process and its final product, and to provide a supportive environment for emerging artists to present new work. Over the last twenty-four years, Dixon Place has successfully maintained its intimate atmosphere and unique environment while increasing its programming to fulfill the need for performance opportunities for the New York community of performing and literary artists.

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