Broadway Dreams Will Honor Billy Porter at December Gala

Broadway Dreams Foundation, a leading arts education not-for-profit dedicated to providing mentorship-driven, preprofessional performance training featuring some of the entertainment industry's most distinguished talents, announced its 14th annual Gala which will be held at Tavern on the Green in New York City's Central Park at 6:30pm EST on December 4, 2021.

For this year's gala the Foundation will be honoring Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award winning actor and singer Billy Porter, who also served as a key founding faculty member for the arts education nonprofit. A tribute to Mr. Porter will be staged and directed by Tony Award winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, featuring appearances and performances to be announced. The evening will be hosted by Broadway veteran Christopher J. Hanke, with Ryan Stana, CEO & Founder of RWS Entertainment Group, the world's largest full-service live entertainment production company, serving as Chair for the organization's annual fundraising event.

In addition, Broadway Dreams will be presenting Sacks & Sacks LLP Partner Evan Sacks with its Founder's Award-presented annually in recognition of extraordinary support for arts education.

"Billy was an integral member of the Broadway Dreams core faculty from our earliest years, and he not only influenced the culture of our organization but also became a mentor to many of the artists we have now working professionally," said Broadway Dreams Founder and Executive Director Annette Tanner. "To honor him this year is one of the proudest moments in our history, and I cannot wait to share stories and celebrate him at this years annual Gala."

Celebrating its 14th year, past honorees include actor Tituss Burgess, composer Tom Kitt, actress Heather Headley, and composer/lyricist team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty . The annual event exists to raise funds for scholarships, which benefit over half of participating students, and to celebrate and raise awareness of the organization's mission to provide tools and training to the next generation of performing artists regardless of economic circumstance.

The event will follow New York State COVID-19 protocols, including a requirement to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter the event.

For tickets and more information, please visit: www.BroadwayDreams.org

Billy Porter (Honoree) is an Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award-winning, and Golden Globe-nominated, actor, singer, director, composer, and playwright from Pittsburgh, PA.

His electric portrayal of Pray Tell in FX's breakthrough series "Pose," earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a Critics' Choice Award nomination. On screen, Porter recently appeared on "American Horror Story: Apocalypse" and Baz Luhrman's "The Get Down" on Netflix. Under the direction of Barry Levinson, Porter starred in "The Humbling", alongside Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig. His other film credits include "Noel", "The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy", "Intern", "Anastasia", and "Twisted".

A veteran of the theatre, Porter recently reprised his role as Lola in the smash hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots, for which he won the 2013 Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. His other Broadway acting credits include the Tony nominated Broadway musical, Shuffle Along, directed by George C. Wolfe, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Grease, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Dreamgirls (20th anniversary Broadway concert and LA Ovation Award). His Off Broadway and regional credits include Angels in America (Signature Theater), Romance In Hard Times, The Merchant of Venice, House of Lear, and Radiant Baby (The New York Shakespeare Festival), Birdie Blue (Second Stage), Angels in America (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Going Native (The Long Wharf), Jelly's Last Jam (Alliance), Topdog/Underdog (City Theatre), King Lear (Exit, Pursued By A Bear), Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World (original cast), Jesus Christ Superstar, Antigone, A Chorus Line, and Chicago. His one-man show Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am, debuted at The Public Theater in conjunction with City Theatre of Pittsburgh and was nominated for a 2005 GLAAD Media Award. Porter was also named "Pittsburgh's Performer of the Year 2003-2004" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

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