Bernadette Peters: 'A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares' Plays The Minskoff 11/9

Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS has announced the exciting news that Broadway star, Tony, Grammy and Golden Globe Award winner, and long-time BC/EFA friend and Trustee Bernadette Peters will perform a special one night only concert "Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares" on Monday, November 9 at 8 PM at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre (1515 Broadway).

This event is produced by BC/EFA with proceeds benefiting Broadway Barks and BC/EFA.

The evening will directed by Richard Jay-Alexander with musical direction by Marvin Laird.

For this special concert, Peters, the quintessential New Yorker, born in Queens, will feature material from her Broadway career and recordings, as well as popular songs and personal favorites and will include selections by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman among them. This special concert is sure to be a sterling evening, as only Bernadette Peters can do.

Bernadette Peters said, "I love to sing. When the opportunity came along to do a concert to benefit two of my passions, Broadway Barks and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, it was a match made in heaven. I have always been devoted to helpless shelter animals, especially those mixed breed pups that need a forever home. And, as a member of the Broadway community, I have seen friends and colleagues face some of life's roughest challenges. On November 9, all of this will come together at the Minskoff Theatre with a special concert for both of these organizations that I care so deeply about."

"It will be a beautiful evening: you, me, and a 30 piece orchestra - all sharing to benefit some of our best two-legged and four-legged friends - beauties all of them."

Tickets for "Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares" may be purchased by calling BC/EFA at (212) 840-0770, extension 268 or online by visiting www.BroadwayCares.org.

Ticket packages are available which include tickets to the concert and VIP reception at Blue Fin. In addition single tickets only are available for the concert only.

Special Ticket Packages:

JUST BECAUSE I LOVE BERNADETTE ($1,000 each)
1 Extraordinary Orchestra Seat, the best possible - just because Bernadette loves YOU!
1 ticket to the VIP reception after the evening's performance at Blue Fin.
Listing as "Just Because I Love Bernadette" in the evening's Playbill

FOREVER FRIENDS/ MUTTS ($500 each)
1 Premium Orchestra Seat
1 ticket to the VIP reception after the evening's performance at Blue Fin
Listing as a ""Forever Friend" in the evening's Playbil

BEST PALS / POOCHES ($295 each)
1 Prime Orchestra or Front Mezzanine Seat
1 ticket to the VIP reception after the evening's performance
Listing as a "Best Pal" in the evening's Playbill

SINGLE TICKETS TO CONCERT ONLY:
Rear orchestra or mezzanine ($110 each)
Rear mezzanine ($75 each)

Throughout her illustrious career, Bernadette Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage and television, in concert, and on recordings. One of Broadway's most critically acclaimed performers, Bernadette has won numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, two Grammy Awards, three Emmy nominations and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Peters received both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her critically acclaimed performance in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Song and Dance. She earned her second Tony Award for her performance in Annie Get You're Gun. She also received Tony nominations for her memorable performances as Momma Rose, in Sam Mendes' critically-acclaimed revival of Gypsy, for The Goodbye Girl, Stephen Sondheim's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George, the Jerry Herman/Gower Champion ode to the movies, Mack and Mabel and the Leonard Bernstein/Comden and Green musical On The Town. In addition to these honors, Peters earned a Drama Desk nomination for her memorable portrayal of the Witch in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.

While Peters is best known for her work in the theatre, her career also boasts an impressive list of television credits including most recently, a heart-wrenching performance in the Lifetime movie, Living Proof opposite Harry Connick Jr., a guest starring role in the two-hour 2008 season premiere of ABC-TV's "Grey's Anatomy" and an on-going role in the network's "Ugly Betty." A actress of amazing versatility, Peters has lit up the silver screen in 17 films throughout her distinguished career. She received a Golden Globe Award for her memorable performance in Pennies From Heaven. Among her film credits are: The Jerk with Steve Martin, The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds, Silent Movie with Mel Brooks, Annie with Carol Burnett, Pink Cadillac with Clint Eastwood, Slaves of New York with Mercedes Ruehl, Woody Allen's Alice with Mia Farrow, Impromptu with Hugh Grant and Mandy Patinkin, and It Runs in the Family, starring opposite Kirk and Michael Douglas.

On record, in addition to numerous Original Broadway Cast recordings, Ms. Peters has recorded six solo albums, including the Grammy nominated Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim, Etc: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

Bernadette Peters devotes her time and talents to numerous events that benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Peters' "pet project" is Broadway Barks, which she co-founded with friend Mary Tyler Moore, which is an annual, star-studded dog and cat adoption event presented each summer in Shubert Alley, benefiting over two dozen rescue shelters throughout the New York City area. She recently added author and songwriter to her roster of achievements with her debut children's book Broadway Barks which debuted on The New York Times Bestseller list.

Marvin Laird (Musical Director, Conductor) is the composer of the award-winning Off-Broadway musical, Ruthless! His collaboration with Joel Paley, the author/lyricist of that show, has been ongoing for 25 years. Their most recent piece, The Yiddish are Coming...! The Yiddish are Coming...! is currently playing regionally throughout North America. Since the 1960s, he has conducted and/or written dance and vocal arrangements for over two dozen Broadway and West End Shows, including the award-winning production of Annie Get Your Gun, and the 2003 Broadway revival of Gypsy, both starring Ms. Peters. Laird supplied the music for the Lar Lubovitch ballet, "Smile with My Heart," which had its world premiere with both Mr. Lubovitch's company and the ABT in New York. In the early ‘60s, he was assistant conductor for a national tour of Gypsy which also featured a child actress named Bernadette Peters. The rest is history.

Richard Jay-Alexander (Director) is a founding Trustee of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. He most recently directed the acclaimed production of Guys and Dolls at the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He is probably best known for his work with Cameron Mackintosh, running his North American operations for ten years. Their shows include Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, and many other projects. He began to branch out into producing albums, writing, and staged concerts for talents such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Ricky Martin, Russell Watson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Salonga, Il Divo, and many others. He has traveled the world and worked stages from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House, from Feinstein's and The Algonquin in New York, to Las Vegas and arenas across America, Canada, and Europe. He has also directed many plays, one-person shows, commercials, pop videos and film.

BROADWAY CARES EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes and other critical illnesses across the United States. Since its founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $160 million dollars for critically needed services for people with AIDS and other serious illnesses. BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors' Fund - including The AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers' Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide. For more information visit: www.BroadwayCares.org

BROADWAY BARKS, the annual star-studded dog and cat adopt-a-thon, came about as a result of Bernadette Peters' and Mary Tyler Moore's passion for animals. This year's Broadway Barks attracted an audience of more than 7,000 theater fans, pet owners, and animal lovers, and featured the participation of more than 27 animal shelters from the New York City area, as well as Broadway stars from the hit shows of the season, ending in a total of over 140 adoptions. Originally conceived as a program to promote the adoption of shelter animals, Broadway Barks has evolved into an event that has not only focused on the plight of homeless animals, but has opened the door of communication and fostered a spirit of community among the numerous shelters and rescue groups working throughout the city. Previously, many of these groups struggled in anonymity and isolation left to their own devices for promotion and fundraising in a job which is emotionally draining. As Broadway Barks looks toward the future, their goal is to continue in the path already established as well as to focus more attention on education, targeting such areas as responsible pet ownership, spay/neuter, and the importance of pet identification. For more information, please visit www.BroadwayBarks.com

Photo of Bernadette Peters by Kurt Sneddon