Broadway Stars Joined Forces To Help Raise $200,000 For Creative Alternatives Of New York (CANY) At The 2016 Annual “Theater & Therapy” Gala

Cady Huffman, Kelli Hara, Alissa Desmarais, Ann Hampton Callaway. -Photo: Christine Butler

New York, NY– On Monday, May 16, 2016 Broadway stars came together for a special evening to help raise funds and awareness for Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY), a leading nonprofit organization known for its innovative use of drama therapy to empower children and adults who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives.

At this year’s 2016 Annual “Theater & Therapy” Gala held in The Manhattan Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel (109 East 42nd Street) $200,000 was raised to support CANY’s initiatives. The event was co-hosted by Broadway veterans Ann Hampton Callaway and TONY® Award-winner Cady Huffman.

The 2016 Honorees were:
Kelli O’Hara – TONY® Award Winning Actress and Broadway.com’s 2015 Star of the Year.
Received the Leadership Award for Arts & Healing presented by Andre Bishop, Producing Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater

Cady Huffman, Ann Hampton Callaway -Photo: Christine Butler

Ron Tabano – Principal and CEO of John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy, an alternative high school that has been CANY’s partner for 25 years. Received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by CANY’s Program Director and Drama Therapist Meredith Dean.

Festivities began at 6:15 p.m. with cocktails, appetizers and silent auction. Dinner, show and live auction started at 7:30 p.m.

At the gala, attendees heard the remarkable stories of some of CANY’s clients who have overcome harrowing obstacles with the help of the organization’s methodologies.

Guests were also treated to surprise live performances at the event. Ann Hampton Callaway opened the night’s festivities with a mash up of the songs “People” and “Being Alive” to rousing applause. After Kelli O’ Hara accepted her award she sang “Make Someone Happy” and Cady Huffman and Ann Hampton Callaway performed the duet, “Sunny Side of the Street” to close the event.

Ann Hampton Callaway, Kelli O Hara – Photo: Christine Butler

About Creative Alternatives of New York
For over thirty years, Creative Alternatives of New York (CANY) has pioneered the use of drama therapy groups to help empower people who have endured trauma to rebuild their lives. Founded at Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, CANY now works with leading social service agencies, special schools, and community centers serving over 1,000 children and adults in the greater New York area annually. Cultivated over years of clinical and artistic practice, CANY has developed its own unique trauma-informed drama therapy model to help clients move beyond their past and into a future of hope and promise. CANY has helped more than 260,000 people. http://www.cany.org