BWW Interviews: NF Hope Benefit (Neurofibromatosis or NF) with JERSEY BOYS' Jeff Leibow

Jeff Leibow has spent many years performing in Jersey Boys and currently plays in the Vegas production. When he's not onstage, Jeff likes to spend time with his wife Melody and young daughter, Emma. Emma has had her share of difficulties in her life and keeps a smile on her face. At the age of nine months, Emma was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis (NF) and since then, Jeff and Melody have worked to help raise awareness and money to help Emma and so many others who suffer from this.

Jeff has created the annual NF Hope Benefit Concert in Las Vegas.

This year's line up was:

All-4-One
Veronic Dicaire
Clint Holmes
Paul Shortino (lead singer of Quiet Riot)
Tommy Ward (recently picked up by Quincy Jones)
Jasmine Trias (American Idol Season 3 finalist) & Ben Stone
Shayma Tash (Hype, Best Damn Sports Show, the Tonight Show, MTV's Punk'd and Chelsea Lately)
Sean & John
Melody Leibow
Kristen Hertzenberg (She was Christine in Phantom at The Venetian and is now in Million Dollar Quartet)
Cast members from:
Rock of Ages (Becca Kotte, Brett Stoelker, Holly Laurent, Clyde Voce, Paul Johnson, John Hall, Mark Shunock, Robert Torti)
Million Dollar Quartet (Martin Kaye)
Jersey Boys (Deven May, Travis Cloer, Graham Fenton, Buck Hujabre and Jeff Leibow)

Jeff shared with Broadway World some of the ways people can help out in this cause and to raise awareness.

Tell us what prompted you to create the benefit concert and why it's so important to you.

Our daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with the neurological disorder, Neurofibromatosis (or NF), when she was 9 months old. Like many people, we had never heard of it. Since then, of course, we have learned a lot about NF.

It is an insidious disorder caused by a genetic mutation that allows for the growth of tumors on any nerve in the body at any time.

As a parent of a child with NF, the most frustrating thing is that there are no treatments, and there is no cure. Doctors tell us to wait...wait to see if anything happens and do our best to treat it. Well, we didn't want to just wait for something bad to happen to our daughter, so we created this concert to raise awareness and funds for advocacy and research.

What can people do to help out and make donations?

There are a number of ways people can help:

1) The easiest way is to visit nfhope.org or nfnetwork.org, learn about NF and tell people. The more people that know about NF, the bigger the difference we can make.

2) If you can, contribute by sending checks made out to "NF Network" (with "NF Hope Concert" in the memo) to NF Network, 213 S. Wheaton Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187. Or you can contribute online at nfnetwork.org.

3) Keep up to date about events by following @nfhopeconcert on Twitter and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/nfhopeconcert

Tell us a little more about your new venture in producing shows like this one all over the United States.

It has always been my dream to take the NF Hope Concert and the awareness it brings to Neurofibromatosis beyond Las Vegas. This summer the national board of directors for NF Network (for whom I am also a board member) voted unanimously to bring me on as Executive Producer and Director of Development for NF Hope Concerts. So, starting in January, I will begin developing the first Los Angeles NF Hope Concert with the inaugural event taking place in spring of 2016. From there it will be on to other markets around the country.

As an actor, I know the gift of getting to pursue a dream. I am humbled beyond measure that I now get to pursue two dreams in one lifetime.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kathy Strain