Broadway Dreams, the not-for-profit performing arts training organization, marked the 70th anniversary of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical South Pacific with a gala concert December 10 at The St. Regis New York.
Flip through photos of the evening below:
The benefit featured some of Broadway's biggest stars singing the classic score, including GLAAD Media Award winner Alex Newell (Once On This Island, Glee), Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Miss You Like Hell, Rent), recording artist Morgan James (The White Album, Morgan James Live: The Songs of Nina Simone), opera singer Karim Sulayman (Songs of Orpheus), Jose Llana (The King and I, Here Lies Love), Isabelle McCalla (The Prom, Aladdin), two-time Grammy winner Isabel Leonard, Eden Espinosa (Wicked, Falsettos), Tony nominee Erin Dilly (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, A Christmas Story), and Tony nominee Carmen Cusack (Bright Star), who starred in the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of South Pacific.
The evening, which began with cocktails followed by dinner and the concert, takes place in the venue's Roof Ballroom, where the original production of the landmark musical held its opening- and closing-night celebrations.
Sanctioned by The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, the event also featured remarks from Pulitzer-winning immigrant rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.
Composer Steven Jamail serves as musical director. The event host committee included Broadway Dreams Chairman Adam C. Sansiveri, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara, and Ted Chapin.
Starring Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, the musical won nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for its Broadway debut in 1949. O'Hara and Paulo Szot starred in the most recent Broadway revival, through Lincoln Center Theater.
Established in 2006, Broadway Dreams provides training and mentorship from some of the entertainment industry's most distinguished professionals to over 1,000 emerging artists each year.
