Our 2025 Annual Broadway Gala was a smashing success!

Sunday June 22, 2025

Riverdale Y | 5625 Arlington Avenue, Bronx, NY
5:30 pm: Pre-Show Dinner & Special Riverdale Rising Stars Performance
7:00 pm Urinetown the Musical

Honoring Sara Crowe

In memoriam tribute to Wylie Cohen

Thanks to your generosity, we raised all the funds needed for new seats in our theater! Check back here and join our email list for more photos and videos from the gala, upcoming theater events, and updates on the theater renovation!

The 2025 Annual Broadway Gala is now complete. You can continue to support the theater program by becoming a monthly patron.
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This Year's Production: Urinetown

Our production of Urinetown will feature several Broadway stars, an on-stage orchestra, plus members of the Riverdale Rising Stars and Riverdale Rep theater companies. 

Principal Cast of Broadway Stars

Nathan Salstone
Nathan Salstone (Bobby Strong) (he/him) Broadway: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023 Revival, Cast Album), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child(Original Broadway Cast). Off-Broadway: Titanic (NY City Center Encores). Regional World Premiere: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (The Old Globe), Knoxville (Asolo Rep, Cast Album), 3 Summers of Lincoln (La Jolla Playhouse). A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. @nathan_salstone
Emily Walton
Emily Walton (Hope Cladwell) is so happy to be performing in yet another wonderful Broadway Gala with so many friends (and family members)! She went from being in the first RRS production ever — we’re talking in the year 2000 — to choreographing many of the RRS productions as a young adult, to getting to perform on a few Broadway stages, most recently in Come From Away (which you can also watch her in on Apple TV+)! Thank you, and enjoy the show!
Mariand Torres
Mariand Torres (Penelope Pennywise) Broadway: Lempicka, Wicked, In Transit. Tour/International: Wicked, Prince of Broadway (world premiere, directed by Prince/Stroman), Life After. Off-Broadway: Hell's Kitchen, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Regional: Evita, Fun Home (KC Rep); Giant (Signature); Spamalot (Ogunquit). TV: “Madam Secretary," "Law & Order SVU." Film: Holiday Touchdown. Vocalist in Grammy nominated Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots.
Joey Sorge
Joey Sorge (Officer Lockstock) is happy to be back at the Gala this year! Broadway: MJ, A Bronx Tale, Nice Work If You Can Get It, How To Succeed in Business, The Drowsy Chaperone, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Follies (2001). Off-Broadway: Carmelina (York Theatre), Saturday Night (Second Stage), Summer of ’42 (Variety Arts). National Tours: Anything Goes, Happy Days, Thoroughly Modern Millie. TV: “FBI-Most Wanted,” “The Deuce,” “The Good Fight,” “Younger,” “Elementary,” “Deception,” “Person of Interest,” “The Path.” Film: Conditional, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, Providence, and Audrey. @sojoey www.joeysorge.com
Kevin Pariseau
Kevin Pariseau (Caldwell B. Cladwell) Broadway/Off-Broadway/National Tours: The Heart of Rock and Roll, My Fair Lady (LCT), Ink and The Explorers Club (MTC), Grand Hotel (Encores), Legally Blonde (OBC), Show Boat (NY Philharmonic), I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Television/Film: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Blacklist,” “Evil,” “Boardwalk Empire,” Tower Heist, Morning Glory. Audiobooks: Over 130 recordings, including Herman Wouk’s “The Caine Mutiny,” "War and Remembrance," and "The Winds of War" (Audie nomination).
Laurie Walton
Laurie Walton (Little Sally) proudly founded Riverdale Rising Stars 25 years ago. Nothing can compare to the pure joy she has found through her work with countless teens, children and adults. Laurie was seen as an actor, on Broadway; Showboat and in Regional theaters all over the country. She is also seen on the popular television show, Frasier. Laurie worked as an agent, opening the East Coast branch of Wolf Talent. Married to Bob Walton, their proudest accomplishment to date is as the lucky parents of two amazing kids, RRS Alums, Emily and Alex.
Nick Caycedo
Nicholas Caycedo (Officer Barrel) is beyond GLAD to be part of this Gala that helps Raising Stars find their light. Off-Broadway: The Great Gatsby Immersive Show, Good Morning New York, and La Mama Cantata. Regional: Lucky Stiff (Florida Rep), Tick Tick Boom (Theatre Workshop of Nantucket), John Leguizamo's Kiss My Aztec (Hartford Stage). Training: Ithaca College, Walnut Hill School. Nicholas is a native Vermonter based in NYC. Love to my LT. "Hail, Waltons!"
Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings (Hot Blades Harry/Old Man Strong) 9 Broadway shows. Drama Desk and Theatre World Award for originating Tobias in SWEENEY TODD. Off-Broadway Alliance nom Best Solo Performance for The Gospel of John. URINETOWN - originated the roles he plays tonight. It has been mathematically proven that he is BAWHEL (Best Actor Who Has Ever Lived). 11.1% better than Anthony Hopkins. 13.1% better than Brando. Only .8% better than Thespis, who was very good. This proof is scientific. Ken didn't write this.
Katie Adams
Katie Adams (Little Becky Two Shoes) Broadway: Wicked (Glinda Standby). National Tours: Wicked (Glinda Standby), Urinetown (Soupy Sue), Grease (Marty). Off-Broadway: Vanities, Second Stage; Henry Sweet Henry (Gil), York Theatre; Cam Jansen, Lamb’s Theatre. TV/Film: A Very Wicked Halloween (Glindas); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (“One Short Day”). Graduate of The Boston Conservatory. Musical Theater Faculty at both New York Film Academy as well as The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Double masters degree in Early Childhood General Education/Special Education. Forever grateful for my Joe and delicious girls Ellie and Gracie. We are lucky to be here, so let’s play!
Lindsey Mitchell
Lindsey Mitchell (Josephine Strong) has appeared in the original Canadian casts of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard. Her regional theatre credits include Elizabeth in Young Frankenstein, Judy/Ginger in Ruthless, and Claire in My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding. She has also performed as a soloist with the Cleveland Pops and at Nighttown Jazz Club. Lindsey is currently collaborating with Jim Walton on his Song Cycle of Dreams, and is thrilled to be part of the Riverdale Y Gala.

Tickets

Total Gala Experience

Pre-show reception including a buffet dinner, drinks, preferred seating at the show, and a special performance by the Riverdale Rising Stars.

Toast and a Ticket

Join us in the lobby, right before the curtain goes up, for wine and soft drinks. Ticket included.

Check back for highlights from the evening.

Raffle Prizes Include

We will notify raffles winners by email this week. Check your email!

Free tuition for one semester of Riverdale Rising Stars or Jr. Rising Stars.

2 available.

Free Family Membership at Riverdale Y for one year.

Date of taping to be mutually agreed upon. 

2 available.

All-Clad Stainless 3-Ply Bonded Cookware, Sauce Pan with Lid, 4 quart

The boxed 3-book Silo series (Wool, Shift, Dust), that are the basis of the hit Apple TV+ series, with each book individually signed by author and series Executive Producer, Hugh Howey in NYC on January 14, 2025 at the 92Y Recanati-Kaplan Talks.

Date to be mutually agreed upon

Tickets to a show of choosing at any New42 Theatre (The Duke, New Victory)

A one-hour genealogy session with genealogy expert Rabbi Scott Kalmikoff

One session of Musical Theatre coaching with Katie Adams (Former Glinda in Wicked on Broadway)

A one-hour personal training session with a Riverdale Y trainer

2 Mets tickets, club access, field level seats, 2025 season week day/night game

2 nights between June-October 2025. Dates subject to availability. View home here. 

Set of 5 Haggadahs signed by Author Josh Cahan

Show to be announced

Skip the audition and go straight to the stage with a special appearance in the 2025 Riverdale Rep show

A bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey signed in NYC on September 27, 2024 by Star Trek Voyager and Orange is the New Black star Kate Mulgrewwith a photo of her holding the bottle at the Irish Repertory Theatre’s recent production of The Beacon, in which she starred.

The name says it all! 

Wednesdays at 7:30 – Date to be determined with winner.

Specially designed for spirits served on the rocks or mixed cocktails and precisely sized for large format ice

Lunch & Investors Analysis of Your New StartUp Business Idea with David Teten

About the Honoree

Sara Crowe is the founder and principal of BST America, a leading market data consulting firm that has served the financial industry for over 24 years. As a dynamic technology executive, she is widely recognized for her ability to bridge the gap between IT strategy and business operations, delivering innovative solutions that drive efficiency and performance across complex trading environments.

Beyond her professional achievements, Sara is a dedicated community leader. She has served on the Board of the Riverdale Y for more than a decade, including six years as Board President, where she played a key role in guiding the organization’s growth and impact. Since 2014, she has chaired the Y’s annual Broadway Gala, uniting arts, philanthropy, and community in a celebration of culture and giving. A passionate supporter of the performing arts, she has also been a member of the Riverdale Repertory Company for eight years, contributing her time and energy to enriching local theater.

At the heart of her community involvement is her role as a proud parent to Lindsey and Alexander Crowe, both alumni of Riverdale Rising Stars. Their artistic journeys have been a continual source of inspiration for Sara’s ongoing commitment to youth arts programs and education.

A Tribute to Wylie Cohen

The Riverdale Y theater programs lost a dear friend last August. Wylie Cohen was a larger than life presence, not only in Riverdale Rep but also as a parent to Lea Cohen, an RRS Alum and as the beloved partner of Sara Crowe. Wylie had big opinions and an even bigger heart to match. His unwavering dedication and commitment to our theater programs truly made him a part of the fabric of all of our community theater programs. RRS Founder & Artistic Director, Laurie Walton, will honor his memory at the Gala. 

Sara Crowe and Wylie Cohen

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