Stars from The Lion King on Broadway will gather at The Actors Fund Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan on June 27 for the Broadway Match Maker cheek swab drive to promote donating bone marrow. The drive is in partnership with Shannon's S.H.A.R.E Foundation, founded after 11-year old Shannon Skye Tavarez, who passed away in 2010.
Tavarez was starring as young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway when she was diagnosed with AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) and needed a matching bone marrow transplant to survive.
Among the performers who will participate in the drive are Jelani Remy, Adrienne Walker, L. Steven Taylor, Stephen Carlile, and Chondra Profit Ardrey.
Anyone wishing to participate in the drive can register for a home swab kit at GetSwabbed.org to join the database.
The Lion King is partnering with Shannon’s S.H.A.R.E. Foundation, The Actors Fund, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and Mount Sinai Doctors for the event.