Encompass Honors Christine Ebersole with Musical Salute at The National Arts Club

On Sunday, November 19th, Encompass New Opera Theatre (Nancy Rhodes, Artistic Director), The Board of Trustees and The Encompass Honorary Gala Chairs, Alan Alda, Sheldon Harnick, John Kander, and Maury Yeston will pay tribute to Broadway's sparkling luminary, Christine Ebersole, with a star-studded musical salute.

The elegant evening - hosted by Midge Woolsey of Thirteen/WNET and WQXR Radio and Sheldon Harnick - will feature recollections and tributes by well-known Broadway personalities and friends from the Music Theatre world. Dazzling musical entertainment will feature stars of stage and screen. Beth Ertz is the Music Director/Arranger/Pianist and Jay Leonhart will perform on Bass. Michael A. Kerker of ASCAP and Nancy Rhodes of Encompass will co-produce. The 2017 Gala Chairs are Daniel J. De Siena, Casey McNamara, and Harriet Slaughter.

The Encompass Musical Salute will take place at The National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY, 10003) on Sunday, November 19, starting at 6:00 PM with a Cocktail & Hors d'oeuvres Reception, the Musical Program at 7:00 PM, followed by a Champagne & Dessert Party. Gala tickets are $600. Early-bird Special of two tickets for $1,000, through Nov, 5th . To buy tickets, to place a congratulatory Ad in the program, or for more information, visit www.EncompassTheatre.org or call (718) 398-4675.

This is the 14th consecutive year for the Encompass Gala Musical Salute. According to Michael Portantiere, who reviewed last year's Encompass Gala event for Broadway Radio: "They always do incredible tributes at Encompass New Opera Theatre...They're singular events because ...this is such an intimate situation. It's a beautiful space ... and you really get the opportunity to talk to everyone, including the artists who perform."

Past honorees include Sheldon Harnick (both for his 80th and his 90th Birthdays), John Kander, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman, Jerry Bock, Maury Yeston, Joseph Stein, Richard Maltby, Jr., David Shire, John Weidman, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Menken, Joel Grey, Jeanine Tesori, Barbara Cook, Lee Adams, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally.

Christine Ebersole won the Tony Award for her stunning dual performance as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beale in the acclaimed musical GREY GARDENS. She won another Tony Award for her starring role as Dorothy Brock in the smash hit revival 42nd STREET, and has captivated audiences in DINNER AT EIGHT (Tony & Outer Critics Circle awards nominations), STEEL MAGNOLIAS, ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, I LOVE MY WIFE, ANGEL STREET, OKLAHOMA, CAMELOT opposite Richard Burton, THE BEST MAN, and the revival of Noel Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT, co-starring with Dame Angela Lansbury. She is currently performing on Broadway in the hit musical, WAR PAINT, opposite Patti LuPone.

Ms. Ebersole has appeared in over 20 feature films: The Wolf of Wall Street, Amadeus, Tootsie, Richie Rich, Black Sheep, Dead Again, Folks!, Ghost Dad, True Crime, My Girl 2, and The Big Wedding, which features an original composition she wrote and performed for the end credits. Her extensive television credits include Woody Allen's Crisis in Six Scenes, Search Part, Sullivan and Son, Royal Pains, Madame Secretary, American Horror Story, Ugly Betty, Law and Order SVU, Boston Legal and Will and Grace. She appeared as Tesse Tura in Gypsy, starring Bette Midler, and was a series regular on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. Ms. Ebersole has appeared in numerous concert halls, including The Kennedy Center, Boston's Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall. She has performed her many critically acclaimed cabaret acts at the Café Carlyle and other prestigious venues around the country. Her CDs include In Your Dreams, Sunday in New York, Christine Ebersole Sings Noel Coward, and Strings Attached.

Now celebrating its 41st Anniversary season, Encompass New Opera Theatre - under the leadership of Artistic Director Nancy Rhodes - is dedicated to the creation, development and production of adventurous new music theatre and contemporary opera, and the revival of important musical works by American and international composers. Devoted to featuring America's dramatists, composers, singers and musicians, Encompass has produced over 62 full-scale productions with orchestra and staged readings of over 160 new works, from jazz and cabaret to musicals and opera. Most recently, Encompass was selected by the Brooklyn Academy Of Music to produce The Astronaut's Tale, a new multi-media opera at BAM Fisher for five sold-out performances in January, 2016. Slated for Encompass's main stage production in May 2018 is Anna Christie, a new opera by noted American composer Edward Thomas (Operas: Desire Under the Elms, Six Wives, Mata Hari; London Symphony, City Center; Naxos Records) with libretto by Theatre titan Joseph Masteroff (Tony nomination for She Loves Me; Cabaret-Tony Award).