PERFORMERS4PEACE
LEAD Producer
Academy Award, Golden Globe Award & BAFTA winner and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace & Reconciliation, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, The Butler, Bird, Broadway's Hughie), hosted Performers4Peace, a benefit concert on May 9, 2016 at 42West (514 West 42nd Street), featuring performances by Broadway artists to support the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative's work in peace and community building.
The evening included performances by Drama Desk Award winner Derrick Baskin (“Difficult People,” Memphis, Spelling Bee), Tony Award nominee Daniel Breaker (“Mozart in the Jungle,” The Book of Mormon, Passing Strange), Bryan Terrell Clark (“Person of Interest,” Motown, Hamilton), Patrice Covington (The Color Purple), Mara Davi (A Chorus Line, Drowsy Chaperone, Dames at Sea), Alysha Deslorieux (Hamilton, Beautiful, Sister Act), Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews (co-author’s of Witness Uganda, The Family Project), Carly Hughes (Chicago, Pippin, The Book of Mormon), Tony Award & Drama Desk Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Memphis, Spelling Bee), Marcus Paul James (Rent, In the Heights, Motown), Mykal Kilgore (“The Wiz Live,” Motown, The Book of Mormon), Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita (Dames at Sea, Matilda, Zorro the Musical [West End]), American Idol & Tony Award nominee Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages, Jekyll & Hyde, Friend Art), Jill Paice (An American in Paris, Matilda, The 39 Steps), Catherine Ricafort (Disaster!, Allegiance), Tony Award nominee Brandon Uranowitz (An American in Paris, Baby It’s You!) and the Broadway Dreams choir.
Olivier Award nominee Stafford Arima (Allegiance, The Secret Garden in Concert, Ragtime [West End], Carrie, Altar Boyz) directed.
Performers4Peace was produced by Untitled Theatricals (An American in Paris, Hughie, Dames at Sea) in association with Langfelder Presents. The concert was music directed by Juilliard alumna Annastasia Victory (Little Dancer, Leap of Faith, 3 Mo' Divas), and the band was comprised of musicians from various Broadway shows (The Lion King, Les Miserables, An American in Paris and The Color Purple, among others).
Founded in 2012 by Forest Whitaker, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative's mission is to help societies impacted by chronic violence and destructive conflicts transform into safe and more prosperous communities. WPDI works to empower and inspire youth, women and global citizens to build peace across the planet. WPDI currently has projects in South Sudan, Uganda, Mexico, Myanmar and the United States. For more information: www.wpdi.org
Plans for another benefit are currently underway.
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