ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S “THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” RAISES MORE THAN $400,000 AND COUNTING FOR THE ACTORS FUND
Press Contact for The Actors Fund:
Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com
212 695 7400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S
“THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA”
AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
RAISES MORE THAN $400,000 AND COUNTING
FOR
THE ACTORS FUND
“THE SHOWS MUST GO ON!” YOUTUBE CHANNEL’S
NEXT BROADCAST OF
“LOVE NEVER DIES”
TO ALSO BENEFIT THE ACTORS FUND
THIS FRIDAY
New York, NY (April 20, 2020) – The Actors Fund announced today that The Shows Must Go On! YouTube Channel broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of The Opera at the Royal Albert Hall raised more than $400,000 in just 48 hours for the national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency and serves as a safety net to everyone in performing arts and entertainment, among others.
The Shows Must Go On!’s next scheduled broadcast of Webber’s Love Never Dies, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, will be free on YouTube for 48 hours beginning on Friday, April 24 (beginning at 11:00 AM PDT/2:00 PM EDT), and will once again encourage viewer donations to support The Actors Fund and other international organizations.
With shutdowns on Broadway and in film and television, theater, concerts, dance, music and many other areas of entertainment, the need is great and growing. Since March 18, The Actors Fund has distributed nearly $5,000,000 to over 3,750 people who work in performing arts and entertainment to help provide emergency financial assistance for those in need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This emergency financial assistance is helping the most vulnerable and those in financial crisis with assistance for basic living expenses such as essential medications, to help prevent evictions, and to pay for food or utilities.
As the situation with Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, The Actors Fund has temporary transitioned to online and phone-based services, which remain available for everyone in the performing arts and entertainment community. These services include: Artists Health Insurance Resource Center, The Career Center, Housing Resources, Addiction & Recovery, HIV/AIDS and Senior Services, Counseling and Emergency Financial Assistance, as well as The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
Love Never Dies was filmed in 2012 at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in an acclaimed production directed by Simon Phillips and starring Ben Lewis as The Phantom, Anna O’Byrne as Christine Daae, and Simon Gleeson as Raoul.
The Shows Must Go On! YouTube Channel, recently launched by UPHE Content Group, has made available a selection of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much loved musicals, launching with one of the most enduring shows of all time, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2000). The second production that was made available was the legendry rock classic, Jesus Christ Superstar (2012). Each musical will be available weekly for a limited 48-hour period online – no charge or sign up required – giving fans of musical theater an opportunity to enjoy beloved shows from their living rooms.
Alongside full-length shows, clips of famous performances and behind-the-scenes footage will be uploaded regularly to the channel, so fans can continue to get their theater fix at home.
UPHE Content Group. Headquartered in London, UPHE Content Group is a repertoire centre of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, acquiring and producing multi-genre entertainment for distribution across theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital platforms on a worldwide basis. UPHE Content Group is part of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE – www.uphe.com) and is a unit of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG). UFEG produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television and other distribution platforms, as well as consumer products, interactive gaming and live entertainment. The global division includes Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Brand Development, Fandango and DreamWorks Animation Film and Television. UFEG is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
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.
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