‘Evan Hansen’ star to shine at federation event

TONY AWARD-WINNING actor Ben Platt — acclaimed for his starring role in “Dear Evan Hansen” — will be the special guest at Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ’s Live365 on Monday evening, Dec. 11, at the Hilton Parsippany.

The federation’s largest community-wide event of the year is chaired by Shari Berman of Westfield, and Neeli and Michael Margolis and Jessica and Ari Wise of Livingston..

Platt, at 23, who won the 2017 Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and numerous other awards for his star turn in “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway, also starred as Benji Applebaum in the films “Pitch Perfect” and “Pitch Perfect 2.” Platt made his Broadway debut in “The Book of Mormon” as Elder Cunningham, a role he originated to critical acclaim in Chicago and for which he won a Broadway World Chicago Award: Best Actor in a Touring Production.

This year’s Live365 includes the Choices event of the federation’s Women’s Philanthropy division.

Hansen “credits his summers spent at Jewish sleepaway camp in California with helping shape who he is today,” said Berman. “The fact that he called his parents his ‘heroes’ during his Tony acceptance speech, and recognized his dad for teaching him to be a ‘decent human being in order to be a decent artist’ says a lot about his family and upbringing.”

The evening will begin at 6:30 with cocktails and a dinner buffet and will conclude with a dessert reception. A minimum gift of $365 per person to the 2018 Greater MetroWest UJA Campaign enables attendance. Couvert is $100 per person.

To register, visit jfedgmw.org/live365 or contact Sofya Iosiovich at SIosiovich@jfedgmw.org or 973-929-3042.

comments