Ben Vereen and BILLY ELLIOT Scheduled to Appear at Barnes & Noble in February

The Barnes & Noble at 86th and Lexington Ave has announced its February events. Among authors, storytime readings, and various musicians are Tony Award-winner Ben Vereen and the talented cast of Broadway's Billy Elliot.

At 5 PM on Tuesday, February 5th, Ben Vereen will appear. The great singer, dancer, and actor will join Tom Santopietro for an interview and then perform a three-song set from his latest CD, Steppin Out Live. 

Ben Vereen has appeared on Broadway in Wicked, Fosse, I'm Not Rappaport, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Grind, Jelly's Last Jam and A Christmas Carol. His role in Pippin garnered him both the prestigious Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for "Best Actor in a Musical." Ben also headlined with Chita Rivera in Chicago, the first Broadway production to play Las Vegas. Additionally, Ben has a recurring role on the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, playing Wayne Brady's father.

Then, on Thursday, February 24th at 11 AM, performers from the Broadway cast of Billy Elliot join Barnes & Noble for a day of events. The day begins with a dance-themed storytime at 11, followed by a dance clinic and a talk-back/Q & A wth the cast and producers of Billy Elliot.

Billy Elliot was the winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical features music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry. It currently stars Emily Skinner (Mrs. Wilkinson), Tony Award-winner Gregory Jbara (Dad), Tony nominee Carole Shelley (Grandma), Will Chase (Tony), Neil McCaffrey and Jake Evan Schwencke (Michael) and Jacob Clemente, Joseph Harrington, Alex Ko and Peter Mazurowski as Billy. The production opened to critical acclaim at Broadway's Imperial Theatre (240 W 45th St) on November 13, 2008.

Barnes & Noble is located at 150 East 86th Street, New York, NY 10028, (212) 369-2180. For more information, visit bn.com.

Photo Credit: Kevin Thomas Garcia