Ali Ewoldt, Jelani Remy & More to Take Part in Prospect Theater's 2023 Spring Gala

Prospect Theater Company's annual Spring Gala will be co-hosted by Ali Ewoldt (The Phantom of the Opera, Gold Mountain) and Jelani Remy (Back to the Future, The Lion King); and will feature presenters including Tony & Grammy Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Telly Leung (Aladdin, Allegiance), Glen Pannell, and Molly Smith (Artistic Director of Tony Award-winning Arena Stage).

As previously announced, Prospect Theater Company's Spring Gala, being held Monday, May 1st at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street), will honor four extraordinary members of the theatre community with the second annual Muse Awards: legendary actor and activist George Takei; educator and Tony & Grammy Award nominee Michael McElroy, Founder of Broadway Inspirational Voices; theater education leader Jim Hoare, Executive Vice President of Theatrical Rights Worldwide; and composer, lyricist, music producer, and activist Georgia Stitt.

The evening will include cocktails, dinner, and entertainment from special guests in celebration of this year's Muse Award recipients.

Prospect's Board Gala Committee Co-Chairs include Jane Abramson, Tira Harpaz, and Jason Ma.



Additional performers for the event will be announced shortly.

To reserve tickets for the Spring Gala, please visit ProspectTheater.org.



CO-HOSTS & PRESENTERS

Ali Ewoldt

(Co-Host) has appeared as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Cosette in Les Miserables (Broadway, National Tour), in The King and I (Lincoln Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago), and as Luisa in The Fantasticks (Off-Broadway). Regionally, she has played Amalia in She Loves Me (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes nomination), Yook Mei in Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Rose in The Secret Garden (CTG), Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (The Muny), Fan/Mrs. Bonds in A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre), and Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (Sacramento Music Circus). Ali's concert/symphony work includes: Feinstein's / 54 Below, Alice Tully Hall, The Town Hall, Canyon Ranch, NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, American Pops Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony and The Boston Pops. Her TV/Film credits include "The Michael J. Fox Show", Yield, and the short films Mia and The Cactus. Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University and is a proud Filipina American.

Jelani Remy

(Co-Host). A Montclair State Alumni and New Jersey Native, Jelani was last seen on Broadway playing the role of Eddie Kendricks in Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, and will be seen in the upcoming Broadway production of Back to the Future. He made his Broadway debut playing the role of Simba in Disney's The Lion King. Past shows include High School Musical (National Tour), High School Musical 2! (Fox Theater), Smokey Joe's Cafe (Off Broadway), The Apple Boys (Off Broadway), Anjou: The Musical Horror Tale, The Oscar Michaeux Suite, Love Around The Block at Hermes, and was The Emcee in Cabaret (Goodspeed Opera House). Jelani is a Papermill Playhouse Rising Star and Chita Rivera award recipient.

RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY

(Presenter) is a multi-hyphenate actress and singer who has delivered award winning performances both on Broadway and on the screen. She is perhaps best known for her role as Angelica Schuyler in the musical phenomenon Hamilton, which has become a cultural touchstone for the ages. Renée's performance earned her a Tony Award, Grammy Award, Drama Desk Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. In July 2021, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for the Disney+ film adaptation. Renee currently stars in Tina Fey's new Emmy nominated series for Peacock, "Girls5eva". Up next, she will be seen in Billy Porter's film directorial debut What If. Other highlights from her film and television career include co-starring in A24's critical darling Waves opposite Sterling K. Brown, the Netflix series "Altered Carbon", Documentary Now's cult favorite "Original Cast Album: Co-Op", "The Good Wife", The House With A Clock In Its Walls, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, "The Get Down", and her creation of the beloved character Evangeline Williamson on ABC'S "One Life to Live", for which she received two Daytime Emmy nominations and two NAACP Image Award nominations. Renée's appearances on stage include her Outer Critics Circle Award nominated performance opposite Frances McDormand in the play Good People, and the original Broadway version of The Color Purple. She made her Broadway debut as Nala in The Lion King, and her performance as Mimi in Broadway's closing cast of Rent was immortalized on film. As a solo artist, Renee garners rave reviews performing to packed crowds in concert halls and symphony spaces all over the country. Her debut album will be released this year!

Telly Leung

(Presenter) is a Chinese-American, New York City native, Broadway & television performer, recording artist, producer, director, and theater arts professor. His Broadway & national touring performing credits include Aladdin in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway, In Transit, Allegiance (with George Takei & Lea Salonga), Godspell, Rent (final Broadway company), Wicked (Boq, original Chicago company), Pacific Overtures, and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song. Television audiences will remember him as Wes the Warbler on "Glee", as well as his guest star appearances on "Instinct", "Odd Mom Out," "Deadbeat","Law and Order: Criminal Intent" - and the upcoming season of HBO's "Warrior", which premieres in June 2023. Telly is featured as a performance coach for the Jimmy Awards in the PBS documentary, "Broadway or Bust".

Molly Smith

(Presenter) has been Artistic Director of Arena Stage since 1998 and a leader in new play development for over 30 years. Her more than 30 directing credits at Arena Stage include large-scale musicals, new plays, and classics; most recently My Body No Choice, Catch Me If You Can, Celia and Fidel and Newsies. Her directorial work has also been seen around the country and Canada, including on Broadway (2014, The Velocity of Autumn) and off-Broadway (2018, The Originalist), and Perseverance Theater in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded and ran from 1979-1998. She is a great champion of new work. She led the re-invention of Arena Stage through the creation of the Mead Center for American Theater and positioning Arena Stage as a national center for American artists. Arena's Power Plays Cycle will commission 25 writers over 10 years on stories of American politics and power from 1776 to the present decade. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed the concept for two online films, May 22, 2020, and The 51st State, overseeing the production direction as well as directing pieces within the films. She also spearheaded a variety of other new online content, including a weekly talk show Molly's Salon, during the live performance hiatus.

Glen Pannell

(Presenter) is an artist and activist based in New York City. As an actor and director, he has worked in over 60 productions off-Broadway, on tour, and in regional theatres across the country. He holds a BFA from Princeton University and an MFA from the University of San Diego/Old Globe Theatre program. As his alter ego Mike Hot-Pence, he raised over $65,000 for organizations supporting communities and causes that were especially vulnerable under the Trump-Pence administration. His unique blend of street theatre and political activism has been featured in GQ, People, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and Teen Vogue. Huffington Post named him one of the Favorite Queer Heroes of 2016. He continues to make appearances as Mike Hot-Pence, especially during Pride month, using his genetic mutation for good instead of evil.


MUSE AWARD RECIPIENTS


JIM HOARE

is the Executive Vice President for Education & Community Initiatives at Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW). He has been involved in theatre education for over 45 years, working with high school, college, and community theatres. Jim helped create the School Editions of Les Miz, Spamalot, The Addams Family, Big Fish, Bright Star, and most recently, The Prom. He has also helped bring The Hello Girls, originally commissioned by Prospect Theater Company, to dozens of student productions across the country and around the world, promoting this empowering story. He is a member of the Advisory Board for EdTA's Educational Theatre Foundation, and a recipient of the New York State Theatre Education Association's Rod Marriott Award for Lifetime Achievement in Educational Theatre. Jim has presented workshops throughout the USA and UK, and this past September received the Florida Association for Theatre Education's Outstanding Theatre Arts Advocate award. Jim is the author of Your High School Improv Show Playbook, (Theatrefolk, 2019) and Your School Theatre Director's Playbook (TRW Plays, 2022).

Michael McElroy

is the Chair of the Department of Musical Theatre at University of Michigan. His Broadway credits include: Sunday in the Park with George (2017 revival), Next To Normal, Rent (Closing Cast), The Wild Party, Big River (Tony Nomination Best Supporting Actor in a Musical), The Who's Tommy, Miss Saigon, Patti LuPone on Broadway, and High Roller Social Pleasure Club. New York Philharmonic: Candide. National Tour: Next to Normal, Rent, Big River Sarafina. Off-Broadway: Some Men by Terrence McNally (Second Stage Theater), Blue (Roundabout), Violet (Original Cast, Playwrights Horizons, Drama Desk Nomination), Thunder Knocking on the Door (Minetta Lane), Richard III (NYSF starring Denzel Washington). Michael is the Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Broadway Inspirational Voices. He received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for his arrangement of Joy to The World on BIV's first holiday CD: Great Joy! A Gospel Christmas. Michael is an Artist in Residence at Little Island, serves on the board of YoungArts, and is a founding member of Black Theatre United where he currently serves as Vice President.

Georgia Stitt

is an award-winning composer, lyricist, music producer, pianist, and activist. Her original musicals include Snow Child, Big Red Sun, The Danger Year, Samantha Spade: Ace Detective, The Big Boom, Mosaic, and The Water. Georgia has released four albums of her music: A Quiet Revolution, My Lifelong Love, This Ordinary Thursday, and Alphabet City Cycle. She is currently at work on a new album of theatrical art songs and an oratorio called The Circling Universe. Her choral piece with hope and virtue was featured on NPR and her orchestral piece, Waiting for Wings, co-written with husband Jason Robert Brown, was commissioned and premiered by the Cincinnati Pops. She is the Founder and President of Maestra, an organization for women and nonbinary theater musicians, and she is in leadership at The Dramatists Guild, The Recording Academy, and MUSE. Georgia has worked in the music department on projects including NBC's "The Sound of Music (Live!)", Off-Broadway's Sweet Charity (starring Sutton Foster), the films of The Last Five Years (starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan) and 13: The Musical, and the current Broadway revival of Parade. She teaches at Princeton University and lives in New York with her husband and their two wonderful daughters.

George Takei

is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in "Star Trek", and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He now serves as Chairman Emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum's Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to US-Japan relations. He made his Broadway debut in 2015, in the musical Allegiance, which was inspired by his family's true-life experiences during World War II.

ABOUT PROSPECT THEATER COMPANY

Prospect Theater Company is dedicated to fostering and showcasing today's new voices shaping tomorrow's musicals. Over two decades, the company has premiered more than 35 musicals in New York City, in addition to new plays and numerous re-inventions of classic works. Reflecting its investment in the future of the field, Prospect leads a variety of developmental initiatives: including an annual Musical Theater Lab for emerging writers, and the IGNITE Series of new musical theater in concert. In 2020, Prospect launched the VISION Series of original music-theater works on film, created for online streaming. In recognition of its enterprising and risk-taking new musical theater, the company has received an OBIE Award grant, and its role as a community anchor for emerging artists that strengthens the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theater was honored by the American Theatre Wing.

Up next at Prospect Theater is the New York premiere of the award-winning, indie-rock musical Lizard Boy, with book, music and lyrics by Justin Huertas and directed by Brandon Ivie. Recently, Prospect produced the musical song-cycle Notes From Now - Songs of Resilience & Renewal (2022) featuring a lineup of newly-commissioned original songs created by 21 of today's brightest musical theater writers. Previously, Prospect produced the Drama Desk Award-nominated Einstein's Dreams (2019) by Joanne Sydney Lessner & Joshua Rosenblum, adapted from the novel by Alan Lightman, and the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated The Hello Girls (2018), by company founding artists Peter Mills & Cara Reichel. Both of these shows ran Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters and have original cast albums available from Broadway Records. Other notable productions include: Kerrigan & Lowdermilk's The Mad Ones (2017); Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster's Jasper in Deadland (2014); the Drama Desk nominated Tamar of the River (2013) by Joshua H. Cohen and Marisa Michelson; Carner & Gregor's Unlock'd (2013); Gordon Greenberg's revisal of Working (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble, 2012) including new songs by Lin Manuel Miranda; and Elizabeth Lucas' re-imagining of Guettel's Myths and Hymns (2012).