FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
THE 17TH ANNIVERSARY
BROADWAY DREAMS GALA
WILL HONOR TONY AWARD-WINNING
STAR OF STAGE AND SCREEN
LAURA BENANTI
AND PRESENT THE FOUNDER’S AWARD TO THE
PRESIDENT OF CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE
CHRISTINE DUFFY
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024
AT THE PLAZA NEW YORK
New York, NY (October 15, 2024) – Broadway Dreams’ (Annette Tanner, Founder and President) annual gala will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2024, with a cocktail hour at 6 PM and performances at 7 PM at The Plaza New York (768 5th Avenue). Co-directed by Tony Award-winner Alex Newell and Emmy Award-nominated director and choreographer Spencer Liff, the Broadway Dreams Gala will feature show-stopping musical performances by an all-star cast of Broadway’s best together with an impressive ensemble of the organization’s current students and alumni. The evening will raise critical funds for Broadway Dreams’ global work in supporting performing arts education, career development, and mentorship. Tickets are now on sale here.
The evening will honor Tony Award-winner and five-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti and feature the presentation of the 2024 Founder’s Award to Christine Duffy, the highly esteemed President of Carnival Cruise Line.
“Through her exceptional talent, versatility, and commitment to supporting arts education and other charitable causes, Laura Benanti serves as a powerful inspiration for our Dreamers and young artists worldwide. Under the leadership of Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line provides a valuable platform for countless young artists to showcase their talents and gain professional experience through their world-class entertainment offerings,” said Annette Tanner, Founder and President of Broadway Dreams. “All of us at Broadway Dreams are excited to celebrate the extraordinary talents and impressive accomplishments of this year’s honorees at our 2024 Gala.”
The Broadway Dreams Gala is chaired by Ryan Stana and Adam Sansiveri. Support for the evening is provided by Carnival Entertainment, Clear Channel, Evan Sacks, The Wells Fargo Private Bank, RWS Global, and Alliance Bernstein. Tickets for the gala start at $1,000 and are available online here.
Past honorees include Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated producer, Robert Greenblatt; Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning performer Billy Porter; Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning composer Tom Kitt; Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist duo Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty; Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer Heather Headley; and Emmy Award- nominated performer Tituss Burgess.
Founded in 2006, Broadway Dreams offers mentorship-driven performing arts training programs throughout the year. It draws on a wide network of teaching artists from the Broadway community and inspires students to awaken their highest potential. Now in its 17th year, Broadway Dreams has inspired more than 20,000 students in more than eight countries, including a record 3,200 in-person students in 2022 alone. Broadway Dreams has to date awarded more than $1.8M in scholarships, with more than 150 students booking professional breakthrough jobs since 2018.
The Broadway Dreams Board of Directors includes Dr. Elizabeth Faulkner (Chair), Marjorie Wynn, Adam C. Sansiveri, Margaret Busch, Michael Cox, Bruce Daitch, Martha Gorjanc, Bernie Jackson, Dan Knechtges, Nanci Lewis, Danny and Georgina Louchiey, Victoria Morris, Alex Newell, Chris Roberts, Ryan Stana, Lynne Latham Slear, Ivan Williams, Peter and Kelly Bailey, and Sonya Schroeder.
The Broadway Dreams staff includes General Manager, RRR Creative / Ryan Ratelle; Company Manager, Samantha Schoenfeld; Directors of Engagement and Opportunity, Rachel Hoffman and Peter Dunn; Director of Development, Neal Radding and Joe Finocchario; Social Media Manager Rico LeBron and Marketing Consultant Hannah Hawkshaw.
For more information on Broadway Dreams and its programs, please visit BroadwayDreams.org.
BIOS
Tony Award-winner and five-time Tony Award nominee Laura Benanti is a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. Benanti co-starred in the hit film No Hard Feelings with Jennifer Lawrence and Matthew Broderick and guest stars in Max’s “The Gilded Age,” Hulu’s “Life & Beth” (created by and starring Amy Schumer), and “Elsbeth” on CBS. Benanti earned rave reviews for her portrayal of a grieving widow in Netflix’s film Worth, starring opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Ryan. She will be seen later this year in the film Goodrich, opposite Michael Keaton and Everything’s Going to Be Great with Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney. Ms. Benanti’s iconic impression of Melania Trump on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is widely praised. Other TV work includes “Younger,” “ZIEW,” “Gossip Girl,” “Supergirl,” “Nashville,” and “Inside Amy Schumer” (among many others). In the theater, Ms. Benanti took Broadway by storm at the age of 18 as Maria in The Sound of Music and has subsequently starred in ten more Broadway shows (musicals, straight plays, comedies, and dramas) including Into the Woods, Nine (opposite Antonio Banderas), Gypsy (for which she won a Tony Award), She Loves Me, My Fair Lady, and Steve Martin’s Meteor Shower opposite Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key. This year, Ms. Benanti debuted her highly celebrated solo comedy show “Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares,” which she created, wrote, and starred in. This New York Times Critic’s Pick is available for streaming on Audible.
Christine Duffy is the president of Carnival Cruise Line, the flagship brand of Carnival Corp., the world’s largest leisure travel company. In this role, she oversees a fleet of 27 ships that homeport in North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as P&O Cruises Australia’s three ships in the South Pacific. With nearly six million guests sailing annually and a workforce of over 52,000 from 120 nations – including more than 3,000 members of the cruise line’s entertainment team — Christine plays a pivotal role in the cruise industry. Since joining Carnival in 2015, Christine has spearheaded the introduction of eight ships, led the celebration of Carnival’s 50th birthday in 2022, and made history as Carnival became the first cruise line to welcome more than 100 million guests in 2024. As America’s Cruise Line, Carnival offers fun, food, recreation and live performances for guests of all ages, and each cruise showcases a wide variety of music, dance and comedy productions that showcase the enormous talent of Carnival’s entertainment team. Beyond her work at Carnival, Christine’s impact in the travel industry extends to her role as a two-term member of the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and her previous chairmanship of the U.S. Travel Association. Her dedication to promoting women’s leadership in travel has earned her recognition in various capacities, including being named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 List, and Christine remains a beacon for future women leaders in the travel industry.
