On November 12th at the Luckman Fine Arts Center in LA, a slew of Broadway and cabaret stars performed the songs of the great composer in Hooray For Love: A Celebration of the Music of Harold Arlen, an evening presented by the Actors' Fund of America.The concert featured performances by Ian Abercrombie, Paul Ainsley, Susan Anton, Sam Arlen, Mary Jo
Catlett, Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls, Big Deal), Kevin Early, David Engel, John Glover, Ilene
Graff (I Love My Wife), Sam Harris (The Life, Grease), Mimi Hines (Funny Girl), Jane A. Johnston, Melissa Manchester,
Rod McKuen, Sharon McNight (Starmites), Barbara Morrison, Kevin Odekirk, Tonya
Pinkins (Caroline, or Change, Jelly's Last Jame), Henry Polic II, Billy Porter (Grease, Miss Saigon), Alice Ripley (Side Show, Rocky Horror Show), Kevin Spirtas,
Sally Struthers, Lillias White (The Life, Once on This Island), and Wesla Whitfield; Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret, Design for Living) hosted.With the concert, The Actors' Fund honored Robert Greenblatt, President of Showtime Networks, Inc
with the Nedda Harrigan Logan Award; Cumming presented the award. The evening was directed by
David Galligan with musical direction by John McDaniel.
Harold
Arlen, who is considered one of the great twentieth century composers
of musicals and popular song, wrote music for the shows Bloomer Girl, House of Flowers and Jamaica as well as for the films The Wizard of Oz and A Star is Born, among others; his many classic songs include "Stormy Weather," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Let's Fall in Love."For more on the Actors' Fund, visit www.actorsfund.org.