Broadway-Themed Fundraiser for Pulmonary Fibrosis Has Raised Millions

Julie Halston at last year's Broadway Belts for PFF fundraiser

Broadway starts are scheduled to perform popular show tunes at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s 15th Annual Broadway Belts for PFF on Monday, March 10, at SONY Hall in New York City. The night of performances aims to raise funds and awareness for more than 250,000 Americans affected by pulmonary fibrosis.

The event is hosted by Julie Halston, an Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award recipient who has appeared on Broadway in shows such as “Our Town,” “Tootsie,” and “Gypsy.”

“A very dear friend of my late husband was Michael Kuchwara, the theater critic for the AP, and everyone just adored him,” Halston said. “He passed away in the spring of 2010 from pulmonary fibrosis.”

Ralph Howard

Two years earlier, Halston’s husband, the late Ralph Howard, the anchorman for 1010 WINS in New York, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and, in 2010, was put on the list for a lung transplant.

“We decided to do a benefit memorial service for Michael at Birdland and got Broadway performers to come to sing some of his favorite songs, and even Liza Minnelli showed up,” Halston said. “The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation came all the way from Chicago, and they asked us to do this every year. It was my late husband Ralph who said we had to do this.”

The event has grown a great deal over the last 15 years and has raised almost $4 million over the course of its history. The night now features a precocktail reception, a three-course seated dinner, a show and an afterparty. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be streamed live, allowing audiences to enjoy the experience from the comfort of their own homes. Tickets to the livestream are available at broadwaybeltsforpff.org.

“People can designate where the money goes, such as research, resources for patients and caregivers and the PFF [Pulmonary Fibrosis Registry],” Halston said. “It also goes towards education, advocacy and spreading awareness.”

The performers scheduled to appear include lineup Robert Creighton (“Frozen”), Lesli Margherita (“Gypsy”), Bryonha Marie Parham (“Book of Mormon”), Jinkx Monsoon (“Little Shop of Horrors”), Ephraim Sykes (“Hamilton”) and Tony Award winner Bonnie Milligan (“Kimberly Akimbo”).

“This is a great melding of the Broadway community, which is always very generous, and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation,” Halston said. “If you can’t breathe, you can’t perform, you can’t sing, and you can’t dance, and I think a lot of performers really understand how important breath is.”

This year, the 2025 Ralph Howard Legacy Award, awarded to a person or an organization that is very generous to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, will be presented to Todd Tullis, a pulmonary fibrosis advocate who lost his mother to PF. Past award recipients include Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Daryl Roth, actor Robert Creighton and the Hales Family Foundation.

“This is going to be a great show—the tippy top of Broadway,” Halston said. “Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are going to be diagnosed and living with this, and it’s going to be more a part of our consciousness. This is a chance to educate yourself. We are making big strides, and you can manage this disease better than ever. There is hope.”