GMHC’s Cabaret & Howard Ashman Award is a star-studded event featuring Broadway actors and celebrities performing beloved Broadway classics and the latest hits. GMHC is proud to honor the legendary André De Shields with the 2023 Howard Ashman Award for his historic courage in speaking out for decades about being a Black queer man, long-term HIV survivor and a fierce activist for people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and the LGBTQ+ community. The night will include performances by John Edwards (MJ the Musical), Claybourne Elder (Company), J Harrison Ghee (Some Like it Hot), Crystal Monet-Hall (Rent), John-Andrew Morrison (A Strange Loop), Khadija Sankoh (Little Shop of Horrors) and Tiffany Renee Thompson (Little Shop of Horrors), with guest appearances by Kimberly Marable, Javier Muñoz and Marc Shaiman. Stay tuned for more updates on performers and special guests! 

The Howard Ashman Award is named for the Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist of Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Little Shop of Horrors who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991. Proceeds from the cabaret will directly support GMHC’s lifesaving programs, which benefit thousands of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS each year through programs that include HIV testing and prevention, mental health and substance use treatment, legal and immigration services, housing, meals and nutrition services—and more! 

Photo credit: Lia Chang

GMHC Website
André De Shields Website