The Actors Fund has shared video of Andréa Burns, Mandy Gonzalez, Hailey Kilgore, LaChanze, Ruthie Ann Miles and Lea Salonga performing “The Human Heart” from the Tony Award nominated score of Once On This Island, by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, from their virtual 2020 Annual Gala.
The video was directed by Christopher Sepulveda and edited by Ally Rice. Ted Arthur served as Musical Director and played Piano, with Brian Hamm on Bass, Jared Schonig on Drums, with Sound Mixing by Michael Croiter, and Video Editing by Ally Rice.
If you’d like to donate in honor of this beautiful performance, please visit http://actorsfund.org/grateful.
The Actors Fund, the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment, raised $1.1 million at its first-ever Virtual Gala on Monday, November 2, 2020. The evening celebrated The Actors Fund and the 35th anniversary of Career Transition For Dancers, a program of The Fund, while also presenting The Fund’s Medal of Honor to: Tony Award-winning actor Matthew Broderick and Emmy Award-winning actor, producer and business owner Sarah Jessica Parker (presented by three-time Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane); founding member and Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem Virginia Johnson (presented by Director of the Juilliard Dance Division Alicia Graf Mack); Tony Award-winning actor and Chairman of The Actors Fund Brian Stokes Mitchell (presented by Actors Fund Board Vice Chair, and Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award-nominated actress Annette Bening); Academy Award-winning producer, co-owner of the New York Football Giants and philanthropist Steve Tisch (presented by Actors Fund President & CEO Joseph P. Benincasa); and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Richard L. Trumka (presented by Actors Fund Board Member and President of the International Alliance Of Theatrical Stage Employees Matthew D. Loeb).
In addition to the evening’s honorees and presenters, the virtual fundraiser included online appearances by Jelani Alladin, Lynn Ahrens, Kate Baldwin, Andréa Burns, Danny Burstein, Caitlin Carter, Chuck Cooper, André De Shields, Brandon Victor Dixon, Stephen Flaherty, Mandy Gonzalez, Joshua Henry, James Monroe Iglehart, John Kander, Hailey Kilgore, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Michael McElroy, Ruthie Ann Miles, Billy Porter, Desmond Richardson, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Jonathan Tisch, Marisa Tomei, Courtney B. Vance and Nia Vardalos with special video performances by the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Broadway Inspirational Voices.
Guests joined together online to support The Actors Fund’s programs and services that foster stability and resiliency, and provide a safety net over the lifespan of members of the performing arts and entertainment industry. Since mid-March, The Actors Fund has distributed more than $16.9 million in emergency financial assistance to more than 13,900 people in need across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and some international union members.
To learn more or to donate in support of those in need in performing arts and entertainment, visit actorsfund.org.
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services.
Video: Lea Salonga and Telly Leung Sing ‘Last Christmas’
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young. She is also the Executive Producer for The Cactus, The Language Lesson, The Writer and Cream and 2 Shugahs.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2021 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 