The Broadway community came out in full force December 16 to honor longtime Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola, who will retire at the end of the year, ending a nearly 30-year tenure leading the organization.

Viola, who has been with the theatrical non-profit since its founding in 1988, will be succeeded by current Director of Development Danny Whitman.

READ: Looking Back at More Than 30 Years Leading Broadway Cares

Christopher Sieber, back on Broadway in the new musical Death Becomes Her, hosted the celebratory evening, which featured performances from Tony winners Lillias White and Beth Leavel and Tony nominee Norm Lewis. Those who spoke with gratitude and affection for Viola included Tony winners Bebe Neuwirth, Jonathan Groff, and Debra Monk; Shubert Organization Chairman and CEO Robert E. Wankel; Playbill CEO and President Philip S. Birsh; Entertainment Community Fund President and CEO Joseph Benincasa, and Broadway Cares' Whitman.

Viola, speaking to us earlier this year, isn't sure yet what's next to him after he leaves the organization at the end of the year. "I took to heart what I was reminded of in Hamilton when Washington understood the importance of 'how to leave,'" Viola said. "I want to create space for new experiences while always feeling happy about what was. Broadway Cares is primed to continue doing its essential good work, while I foster dogs, deliver meals, volunteer for progressive causes, hang out, and have some fun. No hard plans, just next steps."

Check out photos from the evening at the Edison Ballroom in the gallery below:

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Photos: Jonathan Groff, Norm Lewis, Debra Monk, More Celebrate Tom Viola

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Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS was born of two smaller efforts that joined forces in 1992. Both organizations were founded to fight the then-raging AIDS crisis; Broadway Cares by a group of producers and Equity Fights AIDS by a committee within Broadway's actor and stage manager union Actors' Equity Association. The group has become Broadway's most powerful fundraising force, famously collecting directly from Broadway audiences via twice annual in-theatre Red Bucket appeals and raising further sums by producing special benefit events, perhaps most famously the burlesque spectacular Broadway Bares. The group also hosts the fan favorite Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction, Broadway Backwards, and Broadway's official game night Broadway Bets.

Red Bucket Follies Raises Over $5 Million for Broadway Cares; Watch Highlights

The group's fundraising has allowed them to award more than $300 million in grants under Viola's leadership, $142 million to the Entertainment Community Fund and an additional $160 million to 450 local and nationwide organizations through its National Grants Program. Focused on both supporting those living with HIV/AIDS and further humanitarian efforts, the organization has worked tirelessly to provide meals, medication, healthcare, and hope to countless individuals and families.

Viola was honored with a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre in 2010, with the awards citing the "leadership, advocacy, and creativity through which [Viola] has mobilized the theatre community's response to AIDS and other critical health issues." Viola has also received the Patrick Quinn Award for Distinguished Service from Actors' Equity, the Sandy Fund Award from the Humane Society of New York, the Howard Ashman Award from GMHC, and The Moasic Award for Distinguished Alumni from the University of Cincinnati.

Viola, a College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati graduate with a degree in musical theatre, began his work with what would become Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as executive assistant to then-Actors' Equity Association President Colleen Dewhurst, aiding in the effort to fundraise for the nascent Equity Fights AIDS. Viola was a vital part of the merger between the two groups, and became the resulting organization's executive director in 1996. Under Viola's leadership, the group expanded its mission beyond HIV/AIDS, beginning with a major $10,000 award to the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative.

Visit BroadwayCares.org.