New York City
Comedian Julie Halston will host the seventh annual benefit concert for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.
The seventh annual Broadway Belts for PPF! benefit event on Monday, February 27, at 5:30pm at the Edison Ballroom. Julie Halston (You Can't Take It With You, The Babylon Line), one of the nation's leading advocates for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, began the event in 2010 and will serve as this year's host.
The concert will feature performances by award-winning performers including Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton), Mario Cantone (The View), Robert Creighton (Cagney), Randy Graff (City of Angels, The Babylon Line), and more to be announced.
The annual event, which features Broadway stars performing some of their favorite songs, began as a tribute to Michael Kuchwara, the beloved Broadway theater critic of the Associated Press, who died suddenly of pulmonary fibrosis in 2010. Halston’s husband, newscaster Ralph Howard, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis a short time later, eventually receiving a lung transplant.
To date, Broadway Belts for PFF! has raised nearly $500,000 for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and is the largest single fundraiser for the organization, based in Chicago.
The concert will be directed by Carl Andress with Christopher McGovern as musical director and music supervision by Ed Windels. The benefit is produced for the seventh straight year by D. Michael Dvorchak, Sue Frost, Julie Halston, and Ed Windels.