Melissa Manchester Joins Encompass New Opera Theatre's Marvin Hamlisch Tribute, 11/20

Nancy Rhodes, Artistic Director of Encompass New Opera Theatre announced today that Grammy Award winner Melissa Manchester will join Lucie Arnaz, KLea Blackhurst, Craig Carnelia, Brian d'Arcy James, Kevin Earley, Lesley Gore, Emma Hunton, Capathia Jenkins, and Karen Ziemba to perform at A Musical Salute gala, honoring the legendary Broadway, television and film composer Marvin Hamlisch on Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 6:00pm at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, in New York City. Craig Carnelia, Sheldon Harnick, Baayork Lee and Donald Pippin will provide recollections of Marvin's work.

Marvin Hamlisch has won every major award in musical theatre, film and recording: Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, a Tony and Golden Globes. He composed the music for Broadway's They're Playing Our Song, SeeSaw, Sweet Smell of Success, The Goodbye Girl and his smash hit A Chorus Line, which received the Pulitzer Prize. He won two Oscars for The Way We Were and a third for The Sting (his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music). Hamlisch is currently the principal pops conductor for the Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Dallas, Pasadena, Seattle and San Diego Symphony Orchestras.

All tickets for the gala are $350 and include drinks and hors d'oeuvres, entertainment, champagne and dessert. On this evening, Encompass will present a beautiful tribute booklet to Mr. Hamlisch in which attendees and non-attendees can include a personal greeting for Mr. Hamlisch. More information about the gala honoring Mr. Hamlisch or about Encompass can be found at www.encompassopera.org.

To purchase tickets call 718 398-4675.

Encompass New Opera Theatre is dedicated to the creation, development and production of adventurous new music theatre/opera; to discovering and fostering new composing talent and to promoting a wider recognition of America's outstanding composers, lyricists, singers and musicians. Since its inception in 1975, Encompass has produced over 56 full-scale productions with orchestra and staged readings of more than 155 new works from jazz and cabaret to musicals and opera.

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy