Ella Fitzgerald Honored at Boston's Upstage Lung Cancer Event

The great Ella Fitzgerald returns, in spirit, to Boston October 25 to celebrate her upcoming 100th birthday and to support Upstage Lung Cancer, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about lung cancer, the #1 cancer killer, and to support early detection research.

Emmy Award-winning Arts and Entertainment Editor Joyce Kulhawik returns to emcee the charity's annual cabaret at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown.�The Ella Songbook will be performed by the celebrated team of Brian De Lorenzo, Hildy Grossman, John F. King, Paula Markowicz, and Davron Monroe.

Upstage Lung Cancer has staged the cabaret for seven years, often to honor stars who died of the disease.� Ella was not herself a victim, but her close friends Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole were.

Hildy Grossman, the founder of Upstage Lung Cancer and one of the evening's performers, is lucky to be one of the 17 percent who has survived longer than 5 years. In fact, she will celebrate her 10-year survival at the show! Her group is the first to use music exclusively to raise funds for innovative research for early diagnosis of lung cancer.�

Each year Upstage bestows its Fan Award on someone who has shown exceptional leadership in the fight for a cure. This year's honoree, Chris Draft, an NFL linebacker for 12 years, will be presented his FAN during the evening. Chris is the founder of Team Draft. He lost his wife, a non-smoking dancer, to lung cancer when she was just 37. He works tirelessly to raise awareness for the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

Upstage Lung Cancer's growth in public audiences and donors has resulted in this year's move to the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, home of the New Rep Theater Company. All proceeds from the performance go toward research on early detection of lung cancer. The evening includes a silent auction and post-concert reception. Upstage Lung Cancer partners with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and LUNGevity Foundation.

For information or tickets, visit www.UpstageLungCancer.org/events/