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New York, NY – October 2, 2025 – TDF is pleased to announce that Tony Award^® winner Laura Benanti will host its annual fall fundraiser Broadway Breakfast. The event will also feature performances by Benanti with musical direction by Billy Stritch, and by honoree and Tony Award^® winner Ali Stroker. Honoring Stroker, Robert E. Wankel, and Samaritan Daytop Village, the sold-out event will be held at the iconic Rainbow Room (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor) on Wednesday, October 15 at 8 a.m. Guests will enjoy a seated breakfast and the glamorous venue’s unparalleled NYC skyline views along with unforgettable performances and inspiring stories that celebrate the power of the performing arts and those who make them accessible for all of us.

Robert E. Wankel, Chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization, will receive the TDF Founders Award. This award honors individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a deep commitment to TDF and its mission, and who embody TDF’s vision of a world where the transformative experience of attending live theatre and dance is essential, relevant, accessible, and inspirational.

Tony Award^® winner Ali Stroker will be honored with the inaugural Christina Trivigno Advocate Award. Last fall, TDF lost a beloved friend and colleague, Christina Trivigno, after a protracted battle with cancer. Not only was Christina fearless in her advocacy for accessibility, but she was also a senior leader in our industry, representing a small number of wheelchair users who have reached the echelons of upper management in the American theatre, modeling for so many what is possible. To honor Christina’s contributions to TDF and to the field at large, the Christina Trivigno Advocate Award will be granted each year to an extraordinary artist, activist, or creator in our community.

Samaritan Daytop Village will receive the Victoria Bailey Impact Award, acknowledging its 30-plus years of dedicated service to veterans, nearly a decade of partnership with TDF’s Veterans Theatregoing Program, and its belief in the healing power of the performing arts. The award acknowledges the dedication and vision of TDF’s former Executive Director, Victoria Bailey, and is given each year to an individual or community organization that furthers TDF’s mission.

The funds raised at the TDF Broadway Breakfast will provide vital support for the not-for-profit’s wide range of Accessibility, Education, and Community Programs that ensure the performing arts are accessible to all. While this year’s event is sold out, those interested in supporting the mission of TDF can visit tdf.org.

TDF Trustee Nicole Manning Hart and Broadway star and producer LaChanze are the benefit co-chairs.

Click here to download the performers’ and honorees’ headshots.

LAURA BENANTI: Tony Award^® winner and five-time Tony Award^® nominee Laura Benanti is a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. Ms. Benanti will next be seen playing the series regular role of Cindy on the acclaimed Paramount+ series “Mayor Of Kingstown,” starring opposite Jeremy Renner. Ms. Benanti co-starred in the hit film No Hard Feelings with Jennifer Lawrence and Matthew Broderick and had recurring roles in HBO Max’s “Gilded Age,” Hulu’s “Life & Beth” (created by and starring Amy Schumer), “Younger,” 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, and reunited with Keaton in the film Goodrich. Ms. Benanti’s iconic impression of Melania Trump on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is widely praised. Other TV work includes “Ziwe,” “Gossip Girl,” “Supergirl,” “Nashville,” and “Inside Amy Schumer” (among many others). In the theatre, 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. Ms. Benanti debuted her highly celebrated solo comedy show “Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares” at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Benanti created, wrote (songs co-written by Todd Almond), and starred in the show, which was recorded by Audible and is currently streaming on the platform. Benanti recently brought the New York Times Critics’ Pick to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with an encore performance at Underbelly Boulevard Soho in London, playing to sold-out crowds and receiving rave reviews.

BILLY STRITCH: Pianist-singer Billy Stritch has been a presence on the New York and national nightclub scene for nearly four decades. He began his career in Houston, Texas with the jazz vocal group Montgomery, Plant, and Stritch. This dynamic trio performed all over New York and Europe from 1983 until they parted ways in 1990, and that same year Billy began his solo performing career. He is also a highly sought-after musical director, perhaps best known for his 25-year position as musical director and pianist for Liza Minnelli. Billy is delighted to be accompanying Laura Benanti and he has also toured with Tony Bennett, Linda Eder, Christine Ebersole, Melissa Manchester, Marilyn Maye, and many other top performers. His composition “Does He Love You” (co-written with Sandy Knox) won the Grammy^® Award for Reba McEntire and Linda Davis in 1993, and it was recorded again 30 years later by Reba and Dolly Parton, garnering another Grammy^® nomination in 2023. Billy was recently named Outstanding Musical Director for the fifth time by the readers of BroadwayWorld, and his 2022 birthday show at New York’s famed Birdland Jazz Club was named Outstanding Jazz Engagement of the year. Billy has recorded numerous solo albums, and his most recent release “Billy’s Place” (Club44 Records) is available on all the streaming platforms and at his website billystritch.com. Follow Billy on Instagram @billystritch.

ALI STROKER is a Tony Award^® winner for her role as Ado Annie in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She was a series regular in Netflix’s “Echoes” and starred in the Lifetime holiday film Christmas Ever After. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix's “Ozark” and recurred in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” She co-wrote the novel The Chance to Fly and its sequel Cut Loose!, and she wrote the children's book Ali and the Sea Stars. She played Lady Anne in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She’s performed her one-woman show all over the country, some of her favorite engagements being at The Kennedy Center, The Town Hall, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”

ROBERT E. WANKEL is Chair and Chief Executive Officer of The Shubert Organization that owns and operates 17 Broadway theatres and six Off-Broadway venues. Throughout Mr. Wankel’s 50 years with Shubert, he has been a guiding force in all aspects of the company’s operation, including finance, creative projects, real estate, ticketing, and Telecharge. Mr. Wankel was Chief Financial Officer before being appointed Executive Vice President of the company in 1996 and was named President and Co-CEO of The Shubert Organization in 2008. He was appointed Chair and CEO in 2020. Mr. Wankel also serves as Chair of The Shubert Foundation, the nation’s largest arts funder dedicated to unrestricted support of not-for-profit theatres and dance companies throughout the United States. The 2025 Shubert Foundation grants totaled 42 million dollars. Mr. Wankel plays a leading role in numerous charitable, community, and civic organizations. He serves on the Board of Governors and Executive Committee of The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, and is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the Times Square Alliance. Mr. Wankel is Board Chair of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts as well as an Officer and Director of The Actors Studio. He is President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Chair of the Board of The Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation, and a member of The Actors Fund Board of Trustees. Since its founding in 1900, The Shubert Organization has produced and co-produced hundreds of Broadway plays and musicals, including last season’s Gypsy; Maybe Happy Ending; Good Night, and Good Luck; The Picture of Dorian Gray; and Oh, Mary! Mr. Wankel is a graduate of St. John’s University.

SAMARITAN DAYTOP VILLAGE: For 65 years, Samaritan Daytop Village has been improving the quality of life for New Yorkers facing adversity. We are nationally recognized for our treatment of substance use disorder as well as for the veteran-specific approach we pioneered. Our continuum of services includes health and mental health care, transitional and supportive housing, educational and vocational assistance, peer-assisted recovery, and specialized programs for adolescents, families, and seniors. Annually, Samaritan Daytop Village serves over 43,000 people at more than 80 programs throughout New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. For more information about Samaritan Daytop Village, visit samaritanvillage.org.

ABOUT TDF: Founded in 1968, TDF (Theatre Development Fund) is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to sharing the power of the performing arts with everyone. TDF’s mission is to engage a broad and diverse audience by removing the financial, physical, and invisible barriers to participation in the performing arts. TDF’s initiatives include the TKTS by TDF Discount Booths; TDF Memberships; the TDF Costume Collection; and TDF Accessibility, Education, and Community Programs. Those Programs include open captioned, audio described, and ASL-interpreted performances; Autism Friendly Performances; the Veterans Theatregoing Program; school programs serving more than 11,000 NYC public school students annually; and partnerships with over 150 NYC community organizations serving 18,000 people in the tristate area. TDF welcomes NYC’s vibrant communities to the theatre because experiencing the performing arts improves mental health and social connections. Learn more about TDF at tdf.org.

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