On June 29, 2009 the stars on Broadway will align in honor and celebration of history, theater and life as On Your Radar Productions presents MADE IN NEW YORK!: A Celebration of New York's African American Broadway History. Held in the Minskoff Theatre, the evening will celebrate New York's African-American Broadway tradition by honoring those who have contributed to its rich legacy and preservation.
The night of music and dance will be a revue style show featuring musical theater content that is popular amongst theatergoers, and that is inherently "New York." MADE IN NEW YORK! will also be paying homage to legendary directors, producers, actors, and musicians that have created the stage treasures that have been enjoyed for generations. The night's honorees include Tony Award-winning actress LACHANZE (The Color Purple), Grammy Award winner and Academy-Award, Golden Globe and Tony Award nominated composer Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls) and the distinguished Emmy Award winner, three time Grammy Award nominee and eleven time Tony Award nominee, Melvin Van Peebles. The show will also feature some of New York's new artists, and highlight the next generation of stage performers.
MADE IN NEW YORK! will benefit research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with 100% of net proceeds from MADE IN NEW YORK! being donated to cancer research at their facilities.
The benefit celebration kicks off at 8PM with tickets priced from $65 to $125 with special VIP tickets at $250. The Minskoff Theatre is located at 1515 Broadway (at 45th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue). Tickets are available at www.OYRProductions.com.
About the Honorees:
Tony Award-winning actress LACHANZE is known for her incredible star turns both on-and-off Broadway. In addition to her recently released her debut CD titled "LOVE LACHANZE" and appearances in the films Confessions of a Shopaholic and Breaking Upwards, LACHANZE has starred in Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple, where she won the Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical. Her television credits include Law and Order SVU; Sex and the City and New York Undercover. She has also performed on The View, Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kelly and The Oprah Winfrey Show. LACHANZE is currently starring as Glinda in the Encores! Summer Stars production of The Wiz at New York City Center.
Grammy Award winner and Academy Award, Golden Globe and Tony Award nominated composer Henry Krieger created along with playwright-lyricist Tom Eyen and director-choreographer Michael Bennett, the long running Broadway hit musical, Dreamgirls, which has won six Tony Awards and garnered Mr. Krieger a Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album. His most recent Broadway musical, Side Show has received four Tony nominations, including Best Score. Mr. Krieger has written a new musical entitled Romantic Poetry with Playwright John Patrick Shanley. Romantic Poetry was produced at New York's Manhattan Theater Club in Fall 2008.
Emmy Award winner, three time Grammy and eleven time Tony Award Nominee, Melvin Van Peebles is recognized as one of the most influential people in the history of cinema for his commercialization of both Independent and Black films. Recently, Mr. Van Peebles was awarded the prestigious French Legion of Honor and after 35 years, his blockbuster movie Sweet Sweetbacks Baaadasss Song remains on Variety's list of all time top grossing films. Mr. Van Peebles' latest endeavors include starring in his own Off-Broadway show "Unmitigated Truth" (Life, Loves, a Lavatory & Ladies) and an upcoming feature film "Confessions of an Ex-Doofus- ItchyFooted Mutha" and the novel of the same name which inspired it; both will be released in August.
OYR is a Production Company focused on producing African-American themed performances for the stage. Established in 2008, the OYR focus is to fulfill specific public service and philanthropic goals through theatrical productions, while also bringing talented performers, and fascinating content to the theater in staged productions.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the world's oldest and largest private institution devoted to prevention, patient care, research, and education in cancer. Its scientists and clinicians generate innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. Its specialists are leaders in biomedical research and in translating the latest research to advance the standard of care worldwide. For more information, go to www.mskcc.org.
