Daryl Roth and Roberta Flack Named Town Hall's 2017 Friends of the Arts

Legendary singer Roberta Flack and leading theatrical producer Daryl Roth will receive the Town Hall 2017 Friend of the Arts Award, it was announced today.

The Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award has been given annually since 1981 to individuals and institutions who, through their talents, efforts, and support of the arts, have contributed to the forward progress of our culture.

The award presentation will take place at a dinner capping the 96th Annual Town Hall Gala Celebration on Sunday, October 22, 2017. Earlier that day, the celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. with a concert at Town Hall. Cocktails, dinner, and the awards presentation will follow the concert at the Princeton Club.

Admission to the dinner and award presentations is by invitation only to the Town Hall Family of Sustaining Members, other major contributors, and guests. For more information, visit TheTownHall.org.

The 2017 Gala concert will mark the debut of The Town Hall Ensemble, a big band featuring some of New York City's greatest musicians and composers, led by renowned trumpeter/bandleader Steven Bernstein. The Town Hall Ensemble plays all genres and styles, from classical and jazz to samba and flamenco, and classic pieces as well as original compositions. Town Hall Ensemble's inaugural performance will celebrate the origins of the hall and feature special guest musicians, artists, poets, and writers.

Roberta Flack is one of the most beloved singers of our time. She is nonpareil in her ability to tell a story through her voice and music. Her songs bring insight into our lives, loves, culture and politics, while transcending a broad musical landscape - from pop to soul to folk to jazz. Born in Asheville, NC, raised in Arlington, VA, Roberta's earliest musical influence was in her local church. By 15, she enrolled at Howard University on a full music scholarship, one of the youngest to ever enroll. With a degree in music education, she then taught English and music and accompanied opera singers at D.C.'s Tivoli Club. During intermissions, Roberta would sing and play blues, folk and pop songs. In early 1968, Les McCann saw her perform and immediately arranged for an audition at Atlantic Records. Three months later, she recorded First Take, her debut album, in 10 hours. It included "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and "Compared to What." With a string of hits that followed, "Where Is the Love?" (a duet with Donny Hathaway), "Killing Me Softly With His Song," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "The Closer I Get to You," "Tonight I Celebrate My Love," and "Set the Night to Music," Ms. Flack built a musical legacy. In 1971, she performed in Ghana in the Soul To Soul Festival. The album of the festival, arranged by Roberta herself, was released and yielded the single, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." In early 1972, Clint Eastwood included "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in his film, Play Misty For Me. Atlantic rushed the song out as a single, and in seven weeks it went to #1 on the charts. Her 4th album, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, was released in 1972. Seven weeks later Atlantic released, "Where Is the Love" which went gold and remained in the Top 10 for 2 months. She is the only Grammy Award winner in history to snatch back-to-back laurels: 1972's Record of the Year for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and 1973's "Killing Me Softly." In addition, she took home the Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, with Donny Hathaway. In 1974, her single "Feel Like Makin' Love" went to #1 on eight Billboard charts. It was Roberta's eighth million-seller in less than two-and-a-half years. The album was released in 1975, the first produced by Roberta herself. In 1977, she released Blue Lights in the Basement, her "personal favorite." In 1979, she wrote and produced the soundtrack for Richard Pryor's film, Bustin' Loose, including the singles "You Stopped Loving Me" and "Just When I Needed You." Atlantic released The Best of Roberta Flack, in 1982. It included eleven songs that had redefined popular music in the preceding decade. Roberta returned to the studio to record I'm the One with the hit single "Makin' Love." Her second project with Peabo Bryson, Born to Love (1983), included the hit, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love." In 1985 Roberta recorded "People On A String" from the White Nights soundtrack. She released Oasis in 1988, and the title track became a #1 R&B single. In 1994, Roberta released Roberta, an album of jazz and blues standards with Roberta's own arrangements. 1997 saw the release of Roberta's first Christmas album, The Christmas Album, and a new single with Peabo Bryson for Disney's Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas movie soundtrack. She also released a Beatles' songs project with her unique musical arrangements and stylistic interpretations, aptly entitled, Let It Be Roberta. In 1999, she aptly entered the Grammy Hall of Fame and received a Star on Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame. Today, Ms. Flack remains an inspiration to her fans, peers, and younger musicians in the industry. She has appeared with such artists as Alicia Keyes, India.Arie, and Angie Stone - younger artists who have been heavily influenced by Ms. Flack's achievements. A humanitarian and mentor, Ms. Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, which provides a free innovative and inspiring music education program to underprivileged students.

Daryl Roth is a multi-Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and leading innovator in the theater world, and responsible for some of the most thought-provoking work on- and off-Broadway and throughout the world. With a commitment to quality theater that touches a chord both intellectually and emotionally, Ms. Roth has brought to the stage the work of some of our greatest playwrights, including Edward Albee, Paula Vogel, and Nilo Cruz; has helped shepherd the careers of new playwrights; and been the force behind wonderful musicals like Kinky Boots. Ms. Roth's love affair with the stage began as a child, but her career didn't launch until her 40s. Since then, she's produced more than 110 on- and off-Broadway shows, seven of which won Pulitzer Prizes. She also has her own theater, the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square. "I look for projects that have the potential to open people's minds and hearts," she has said. "For me," she continued, "the theatre has always been a place for audiences to take risks and encounter and explore issues of life and identity. It's a haven in which to engage challenging subjects with a safety net." The proud recipient of eleven Tony Awards and London's Olivier Award, her award-winning productions include: Kinky Boots (2013 Best Musical Tony, 2016 Best Musical Olivier); Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics; August: Osage County (2008 Best Play Tony); Caroline, or Change; Clybourne Park (2012 Tony); Curtains; Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia (2002 Best Play Tony); How I Learned to Drive; The Humans (2016 Best Play Tony); Paula Vogel's Indecent; It Shoulda Been You; Nora and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore; Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart (2011 Best Revival of a Play Tony); Proof (2001 Best Play Tony); Charles Busch's The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Edward Albee's Three Tall Women; War Horse (2011 Best Play Tony); Wiesenthal; and Wit. Ms. Roth is a newly appointed member of the New York City Police Foundation Board of Trustees, a member of the Mayor's Theater Sub-district Council, an Honorary Trustee for Lincoln Center Theatre, and was twice included in Crain's "100 Most Influential Women in Business." Recent honors include: The New Dramatists Outstanding Career Achievement Award, The Elly Award from the NY Women's Forum, The Order of the Golden Sphinx Award from The Harvard Hasty Pudding Institute, Lilly Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, New York Living Landmarks Award, Humanitarian Award from the Women's Divisionand Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Broadway Association Visionary Leader Award, Family Equality Council Family Award, Live Out Loud Humanitarian Award, and the Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. She enjoys supporting a diverse group of charitable and cultural institutions, and is active in LGBTQ rights causes, animal rights, and support for the arts. Ms. Roth is married to real estate developer Steven Roth and the mother of Amanda Roth Salzhauer, and Jordan Roth, President of Jujamcyn Theaters.

Town Hall is a 1,500-seat national historic landmark venue in the heart of New York City that has played an integral part in the electrifying cultural fabric of New York City for more than 90 years. Disclosing a tale of a vibrant group of suffragists (The League for Political Education) whose fight for the 19th Amendment led them to build a meeting space to educate people on the important issues of the day. The Hall was designed by renowned architects McKim, Mead & White to reflect the democratic principles of the League. Box seats were eliminated and no seats had an obstructed view giving birth to the term "Not a bad seat in the house." During completion of the building the 19th Amendment was passed (women's right to vote), and on January 12, 1921 The Town Hall opened its doors and took on a double meaning: as a symbol of the victory sought by its founders, and as a spark for a new, more optimistic climate. Visit www.TheTownHall.org for more information.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride