USA: THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH HOLDS ITS ANNUAL SEASONS OF HOPE DINNER GALA

Record ID: 392452

  • Title: USA: THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH HOLDS ITS ANNUAL SEASONS OF HOPE DINNER GALA
  • Date: 4th February 2002
  • Summary: (INTERIOR SOTS) WIDE/ZOOM IN LANE AND BRODERICK AT PODIUM IN PEOPLE AT DINNER GALA (SOUNDBITE) (English) LANE SAYING: "I made pigs in a blanket and devilled eggs, I rented a station wagon, I parked it outside my apartment so I could a tailgate party. Wooh, Wooh!" BRODERICK SAYING, "Which team were you rooting for?" LANE SAYING: "Well both really, I hate to see people dis
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment,General,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVAEC1IY4YE3W9V6M37RX160JR6Z
  • Story Text: Amfar, the American Foundation for Aids Research held its annual Seasons of Hope dinner gala in New York city on Monday. Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane, the stars of the Broadway smash musical, "The Producers," hosted the event that featured a special musical performance by Barry Manilow.
    In the wake of the September 11th tragedy, a number of celebrities and concerned citizens gathered at New York's famed Cipriani's on 42nd street for a gala on Monday (February 4) to continue the effort to raise money and awareness of the fight against AIDS.
    Amfar, the American Foundation for Aids Research, hosted it's fourth annual Season of Hope dinner gala which also helps raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. One of Broadway's greatest talents, Nathan Lane, star of the smash musical hit, "The Producers" was the host of the evening along with his current Broadway co-star, Mathew Broderick.
    Upon his arrival at the event, Lane talked about the need for AIDS education and awareness, "Children and either new generations of people who need to be educated, you know, it's always shocking when you read the newspaper and you know you hear what people actually think you think well wait a minute, wasn't that, didn't we cover that, wasn't there a documentary about this, wasn't there a news program that explained this to people so you do need to keep doing this so I'm happy to be a part of that."
    Amfar is the nation's leading non-profit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, AIDS prevention, treatment, education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS public policy. The founding Chairman and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Mathilde Krim said that although the treatment of AIDS has improved over the years, the disease is still spreading.
    "If you look at the total epidemic things are not getting better, they are getting worse all the time because it spreads. And even in this country you know, we have 50,000 more people infected each year, it's really almost a scandal but people don't listen they don't believe it's going to happen to them, particularly the young people."
    Miss Universe, Denise Quinones has travelled the word for much of the year educating people about AIDS as part of her duties as the reigning Miss Universe. When asked what she remembers the most in her travels concerning AIDS she spoke of her trip to Indonesia, "Well just in my head pops Indonesia, I was there and it's really a big problem there and they are starting to realize it now and there a lot of people affected by it, especially children and the health care is not as good as our health care here so I think in a way we should feel very privileged but we've done a lot but I think there is still a lot more to do."
    One of the greatest talents to hit Broadway and the big screen over the last few years is Alan Cumming. He spoke about the difference between AIDS education today and when he was a child, "When I grew up, when I was starting to have sex it was like a thing that we all knew, everywhere you looked there was posters telling you to be careful and what to do and stuff and that message has kind of been relaxed over the last few years and I think the younger generation haven't had the help and the support that we had and so maybe they are being a bit lazy maybe thinking that it has gone away and that really worries me."
    Once the party moved inside, Nathan Lane and Mathew Broderick had the audience laughing out loud. But it was during a little back on forth about the great American past time, Sunday's Super Bowl that Nathan Lane dropped in as part of a punch line, that he is gay. First Broderick asked Lane, "Which team were you rooting for?" and Nathan Lane said, "Well both really, I hate to see people disappointed." Then Mathew Broderick said, "Well that's nice, that's kind of nice.
    You didn't really watch the Superbowl did you?" And Nathan Lane said, "No, no, no, I'm gay we're not allowed."
    The main entertainment of the night was the famous singer and master of dozens of beloved love songs, Barry Manilow. His rendition of "I Made It Through The Rain"
    was a true crowd pleaser. Manilow, hot off a performance at the previous night's Super Bowl did a quick ten minute set before it was on to a tribute to New York.
    A number of famed writers including Woody Allen, Dominick Dunne, Candace Bushnell and others submitted written works that explored the theme, "The Spirit of New York."
    Nathan Lane read a work entitled, "A Memory," written by Charles Bush. It, like many of the other works hailed New York, New Yorkers and the spirit and determination of a city that has seen its share of great successes as well as the recent horror of September 11th.
    The gala event also raised money for Concerned Parents for AIDS Research. Amfar has long been the leader of a search for a cure and specific treatments for AIDS. Since 1985, Amfar has raised has invested nearly $190 million in support of for its programs and awarded grants to more than 1900 research teams world-wide. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised over $55 million since 1988 and has 400 community based AIDS service providers in the United States.
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