Host Star Jones ("The View") and special guest Deborah Cox (Aida) will join Tony Award nominee Michael McElroy (Big River) and The Broadway Inspirational Voices for the return of BROADWAY GOSPEL CELEBRATION: 11 a special evening of gospel music to benefit BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS on Sunday, October 16 at 8 PM at Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street).
Featuring some of the most talented voices in theatre today, the Broadway Inspirational Voices is a gospel ensemble founded and directed by McElroy. The acclaimed ensemble includes more than 60 members from the casts of such shows as All Shook Up, Avenue Q, Beauty and the Beast, The Color Purple, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Doubt, Hairspray, The Lion King, The Producers, Rent, and Wicked.
Tickets for BROADWAY GOSPEL CELEBRATION: 11 can be purchased by visiting the BC/EFA website (www.BroadwayCares.org) or by calling 212-840-0770 x 268. Ticket prices: $40 (Balcony Seating), $70 (Side & Rear Orchestra Seating), $125 (Front Loge & Orchestra Seating), and $250 (VIP Seating).
BIOGRAPHIES
Michael McElroy came to New York City in May of 1990, after finishing his BFA in Theater from Carnegie Mellon University. His Broadway credits include Big River (Tony nomination), The Wild Party, Rent, The Who's Tommy, Miss Saigon, Hair, Patti LuPone on Broadway, and The High Rollers Social Pleasure Club. National Tour: Sarafina. Off Broadway: NY Shakespeare Festival's Richard III with Denzel Washington, Violet (Playwright's Horizons: Drama Desk Nomination). Regional credits include Angels in America Pts i and II, Alley Theater; Fences, Riverside Theater; Dreamgirls, Pittsburgh Playhouse; Thunder Knocking on the Door, Minetta Reperatory Theater; Blue, Grammercy Theater. He was also a featured vocalist on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." Michael is featured on CD recordings of The Who's Tommy, Blue, Violet, Thunder Knocking on the Door and Leslie Uggams' upcoming CD project. He founded the Broadway Gospel Choir in 1994, then founded the Broadway Inspirational Voices in 1999.
THE BROADWAY INSPIRATIONAL VOICES was originally founded by McElroy in 1994 as the Broadway Gospel Choir and in 1999 was reincarnated in its current form. In addition to numerous concerts, the group has performed on "The Rosie O'Donnell Christmas Special," Broadway Sings Elton John, The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Benefit, The 2000 Tony Awards, and OpSail 2000 for President and Mrs. Clinton. The Broadway Inspirational Voices second album Great Joy: A Gospel Christmas was released on Sh-K-Boom Records in 2003 and received a Grammy Award nomination.
