George Hearn Joins York's 21st Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala, 11/19

Tony® Award-winner George Hearn (La Cage Aux Folles, Scandoulous) joins the The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director), to honor legendary Broadway Music Director and Conductor Paul Gemignani with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre at the 21st Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala to be held next Monday, November 19, 2012 at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

Show-Only tickets are now available at $125. Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. with award ceremony and entertainment beginning at 8:30 p.m. Benefit Committee Co-Chairs are Stephanie Cooper-Clarke, Margery Jassy and Charlotte Rosenblatt. For additional information, pricing and reservations, please visit the website at www.yorktheatre.org, or call 212-935-5824, ext 215.

The evening’s entertainment will be hosted by Alexander Gemignani (Sweeney Todd), son of the honoree. It will be directed by Broadway’s Lonny Price (Company), with music direction by Tedd Firth. Broadway veterans Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow), Mario Cantone (Assassins), Jenn Colella (Chaplin, The York’s Closer Than Ever), Josh Grisetti (Enter Laughing, The Musical), Marin Mazzie (Carrie, Passion), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Ragtime, Kiss Me Kate), and many more, are scheduled to perform, with a special appearance by Alice Hammerstein Mathias (all subject to availability). Due to rehearsals for the Australian production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Stephen Sondheim will not be in attendance as had been previously announced.

Paul Gemignani has been the music director for more than 40 Broadway and West End productions, including Follies, Candide, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and South Pacific, to name a few. Mr. Gemignani has appeared as a guest conductor with symphonies around the globe, and has worked in television and film. He has also received many distinctions and nominations for his outstanding work in musical theatre, including the 2001 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The Oscar Hammerstein Award, named in honor of the prolific master lyricist, recognizes significant lifetime achievement in musical theatre. The award is presented at an annual gala which benefits The York Theatre Company, and is presented with the endorsement of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the Hammerstein Family. Past recipients include Stephen Sondheim, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, Harold Prince, Cy Coleman, Charles Strouse, Arthur Laurents, Jerry Herman, Stephen Schwartz, Peter Stone, David Merrick, John Kander & Fred Ebb, Terrence McNally, Cameron Mackintosh, Carol Channing, Tony Walton, Joseph Stein, George S. Irving, Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick, Thomas Meehan, and Barbara Cook.

The York Theatre Company is the only theatre in New York City--and one of very few in the world--dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and rediscovering neglected, notable shows from the past. The six-month--and counting--extended run of this season's Closer Than Ever as part of an acclaimed celebration of Off-Broadway musicals; over 35 original cast recordings; and commercial transfers of York premieres and revivals including The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir, Jolson & Company, Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures all showcase the importance of the York and its programs. For additional information, please visit the website at www.yorktheatre.org.