For its winter benefit, the Manhattan Theatre Club transformed the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel into a supper club from a bygone era. White urns bursting with lilies decorated the stage, bottles of champagne topped every table, and the nonprofit organization rewarded its generous patrons with serenades by three Broadway superstars.

Emcee Patrick Cassidy regaled the crowd with tales of his show-business family – and poked gentle fun at the audience as well. The son of Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones most recently played Julian Marsh in the revival of “42nd Street.”

“You know, this audience looks very rich, specifically the women,” Mr. Cassidy said.

He may have been referring to the three chairwomen of the event, Bethany Millard, Rosemarie Salvatore, and Ellen Moskowitz, not to mention Ms. Moskowitz’s mother, Janet, who came in from West Hartford, Conn., for the event.

“They call this an intimate night,” Mr. Cassidy continued, “At $25,000 a table, it better be intimate.” (The $25,000 tables were those closest to the stage – the least expensive tables, toward the back of the ballroom, were $7,500 each).

Up-and-comer Kelli O’Hara took the stage next. The petite Oklahoma native will star in the new musical “The Light in the Piazza” this spring. With her darling smile and golden locks, Ms. O’Hara can play both the ingenue (her forte) and the siren (what may be in store). Before hopping on the piano to sing a number from “Nine,” she said, “If you saw Jane Krakowski in ‘Nine,’ just block that out.”

Mr. Cassidy returned to the podium to exchange some barbs with a surprise guest, his brother David.

“You gloating ignoramus,” Patrick said. “Hey, I’m the one who’s famous,” David retorted.

Then grande dame Leslie Uggams enthusiastically belted favorites, starting with “Hello Young Lovers” from “The King and I.” The Tony and Emmy award-winner has two upcoming Broadway roles: In February, she plays Lena Horn in Sharleen Cooper Cohen’s new musical, “Stormy Weather,” at the Manhattan Theatre Club and in March, she stars with James Earl Jones in a revival of “On Golden Pond” at the Cort Theatre.

For the finale, all three stars came together to perform a medley that told the history of musical theater in 10 minutes.

The crowd loved the entire show, orchestrated by Michael Bush. Couples cozied up in their chairs, mouthed the words to the songs, and quickly rose to their feet for an ovation.

And why not pull out all the stops? Manhattan Theatre Club has a proud history, too: Since its founding in 1970, its productions have earned three Pulitzer Prizes and 10 Tony Awards, all under the leadership of artistic director Lynne Meadow and executive producer Barry Grove. Last year it opened the Biltmore Theatre as its permanent Broadway home and launched a Young Patrons group led by Boykin Curry.

The event at the Plaza raised $460,000 for artistic development and education programs. The education programs reach 5,000 students annually in the metropolitan New York area, Mr. Grove said.

In the Core program, for example, high-school students study a play for four classroom periods before attending a matinee performance. “Actors often say they’re the best audiences,” board member Roberta Olsen said.

The next Manhattan Theatre Club fund-raiser, on May 9, will offer excerpts from the 2005 season, which includes three new works: “Brooklyn Boy” by Donald Margulies, “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley, and “Moonlight and Magnolias” by Ron Hutchinson.