Shields, Lansbury, Jackson et al. Celebrate 28th Birthday of NY Pops at Carnegie Hall, 5/2

On Monday, May 2, 2011 The New York Pops' marks its 28th birthday with Celebrate Hope, a grand gala evening celebrating the legacy of late actor and comedian Bob Hope and honoring decades of support by Interpublic Group. The event begins at 7:00 PM with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring a special lineup of concert artists - including Brooke Shields, Cheyenne Jackson, Christine Ebersole, Kelli O'Hara, Maurice Hines, Cartier Williams and special guest Angela Lansbury - under the baton of Music Director Steven Reineke. The New York Pops will also be joined on stage by the singers of The Camp Broadway Kids and the West Point Glee Club. Following the concert, a black tie dinner and dance will be held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

The concert program will offer musical selections from Hope's extensive career that spanned decades of vaudeville, Broadway, radio, film and television, such as "Ballin' the Jack" and "Thanks for the Memory" - as well as works of his contemporaries whom have been inspired by his iconic talent.

The evening's honorees are The Bob Hope Legacy, an organization founded by Linda Hope to preserve her father's memory, and Interpublic Group, Michael I. Roth, Chairman and CEO, in thanks for their continued support of The New York Pops.

There will be an online auction on www.CharityBuzz.com/NewYorkPops from April 19 to May 10, featuring items generously donated by the orchestra's many friends from the world of arts and entertainment. Auction items include a recording session with professional musicians, a catered cocktail party with live music and a chance to conduct The New York Pops. All gala and auction proceeds support the orchestra and its free education programs throughout New York City.

An accomplished model, television, film, and theatre actress, Brooke Shields began her career at the age of 9. After receiving a degree in French Literature and graduating with honors from Princeton University, she made her Broadway debut in Grease for which she won the Theatre Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, then went on to star in Cabaret, Wonderfultown, and Chicago. Her off Broadway credits include Love Letters, Vagina Monologues, and Love, Loss, and What I Wore, to name a few. She has starred in such films as Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love, Matthew Bright's Freeway, James Toback's Black and White, and Roger Kumble's Furry Vengeance. For television, Shields was nominated for a Golden Globe for her own hit comedy series Suddenly Susan. She is the recipient of five People's Choice Awards and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, and children's books, Welcome To Your World, Baby and It's the Best Day Ever Dad.

The winner of six Golden Globe and five Tony Awards, British-born actress Angela Lansbury is an institution in theatre, film and television. Having studied acting from her youth, she departed for the United States as the Second World War began, and was contracted by MGM while still a teenager. In 1945, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her first film, Gaslight. She was nominated again the following year for Best Supporting Actress in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and received her third Oscar nod in 1963 for her role in The Manchurian Candidate. Lansbury is also well known for her work in the Disney films Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Anastasia (1997).
Yet, her long and celebrated career is not limited to the silver screen; she has achieved notable success in a number of Broadway plays and musicals, winning Tony Awards for her roles in Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Gypsy (1975), Sweeney Todd (1979) and Blithe Spirit (2009). Although active in television since the early 1950s, she obtained her greatest fame in the 1980s by starring as Jessica Fletcher in the award-winning mystery program "Murder, She Wrote" (1984-1996).

Cheyenne Jackson is a multi-talented award-winning stage, film, and television actor. He is currently appearing on NBC's 30 Rock as fresh-faced Canadian Danny Baker; Fox's hit series Glee as Dustin Goolsby, the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline; and will soon be seen on HBO's final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm . Upcoming 2011 films include the indie "Smile", and The Green opposite Julia Ormond and Illeana Douglas.

On and Off Broadway, Jackson has starred in: Finian's Rainbow (Drama Desk nomination), Damn Yankees, Xanadu (Drama League , Drama Desk nominations) The Agony & The Agony, All Shook Up (Theater World Award, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle nomination) the premiere cast of Altar Boyz, Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Cartells, On the 20th Century, and The 24 Hour Plays. Other film and television credits include the Oscar nominated United 93, Curiosity, Hysteria, Photo Op, Family Practice, Life on Mars, Ugly Betty and It Takes a Village.

Jackson's debut CD "The Power of Two" with Michael Feinstein is available now on Amazon.com and iTunes. He is an international ambassador for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) and serves as national ambassador for HMI (The Hetrick-Martin Institute).

Christine Ebersole's performing career has taken her from the Broadway stage to television series and films. She received numerous Off-Broadway awards and her second Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her "dual role of a lifetime" as Edith Beale and Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens. Other memorable New York stage performances include her Tony Award-winning performance as Dorothy Brock in the smash hit revival 42nd Street, Steel Magnolias, On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma, Dinner at Eight (Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations), The Best Man, and the recent revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. She has also starred in five City Center Encores! Productions, most recently as Margo Channing in Applause. Ms. Ebersole has performed in numerous concert halls throughout the country, and her recording career has included such albums as: Christine Ebersole: Live at the Cinegrill, In Your Dreams, Sunday in New York, and the newly released Christine Ebersole Sings Noel Coward.
Ebersole has appeared in many major films, including Amadeus, Tootsie, Richie Rich, Black Sheep, Dead Again, Folks!, Ghost Dad, True Crime, My Girl 2, Mac and Me, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Television credits include Retired at 35, Royal Pains, Ugly Betty, Law & Order SVU, Boston Legal, Samantha Who, and Will & Grace.

Kelli O'Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies. In 2003, O'Hara starred in a production of The Light in the Piazza at Seattle's Intiman Theatre, and when the show landed on Broadway in 2005, it earned O'Hara her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. She moved from one huge critical and commercial success to another when she joined Harry Connick, Jr. on Broadway in the 2006 Tony Award-winning production of The Pajama Game, for which O'Hara received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations.

She recently starred in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, enrapturing audiences and critics with her soulful and complex interpretation of Nellie Forbush, garnering a third Tony nomination in the process.

O'Hara recently delivered a critically acclaimed performance of Eliza Doolittle in the New York Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, made her Carnegie Hall debut with The New York Pops, and released her first solo album Wonder in the World.

Maurice Hines began his career as an entertainer at the age of five studying tap at Henry LeTang Dance Studio in NYC, and made his Broadway debut at age 11 in The Girl in the Pink Tights (1954). After starring as Nathan Detroit in the national touring company of Guys and Dolls, he returned to Broadway in the hit musical Eubie! (1978). Hines followed this performance with roles in the Broadway productions Bring Back Birdie - opposite Chita Rivera and Donald O'Connor - and Sophisticated Ladies in 1981. Shows that he has directed, choreographed, and starred in, include: the Broadway musicals Hot Feet (2006) and Uptown...It's Hot! (1986) - the latter of which earned him a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical; the National Tour of the musical Satchmo; the National Tour of the musical Harlem Suite; and The Radio City Spectacular. In 1994-95, Hines starred as Jelly Roll Morton in the forty-city National Tour of Jelly's Last Jam.
Internationally, he has directed and choreographed the musicals Havana Night in Cuba and an all-Latin version of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic. His critically acclaimed jazz albums include Maurice: I've Never Been In Love Before and To Nat 'King' Cole With Love. Hines made his silver screen debut in Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club, and has directed and choreographed music videos, including Quincy Jones's "I'll be Good To You".

Cartier Williams, a hoofer, choreographer, filmmaker and performer who hails from Washington, D.C., began his tap dancing career at the age of four. At age six, he performed a piece choreographed by Mýa Cartier to win the Apollo Kids competition at the Apollo Theater, and was subsequently invited to dance at the Kennedy Center Honors. When he was 10, Williams co-starred with tap legends Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde and Dianne Walker in the international tour of Footnotes. He has studied at The Washington School of Ballet under the tutelage of Mary Day, and has shared the stage with tap pioneers Peg Leg Bates, The Nicholas Brothers, and Gregory Hines. Williams has performed twice at The White House, one of which aired during the PBS Special In Performance at The White House with President Clinton, and toured the U.S. and Japan in the Tony Award-winning musical Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk with co-star Savion Glover. He has danced at NYC's Joyce Theater and City Center; Las Vegas' The Palms Hotel; and L.A.'s Kodak Theatre, in the AFI Awards' tribute to Tom Hanks. He also appeared in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, and performed at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival for Moulin Rouge. Now in his twenties, Williams is currently performing in A Beautiful Chaos - an original production by Williams, Matt Denoma and Max Schiano - and is collaborating on a new work by Harold Cromer to premiere this season. A student at The New York Film Academy, Williams has written, directed and produced numerous short films.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK POPS
The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of the venue's highest subscription renewal rates of any series. The New York Pops was founded by former NBC Music Director Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America's rich musical heritage. Along with performing at Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops tours throughout the world and gives free concerts in New York City parks. The orchestra's media projects include performing for the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC, nationwide radio broadcasts, and numerous recordings. The New York Pops' extensive education programs allow thousands of public schoolchildren to participate in concert and music-making experiences at Carnegie Hall and in schools throughout New York City's five boroughs.

Steven Reineke's boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation's most sought-after pops conductors, composers and arrangers. In recognition of his successful leadership, The New York Pops has extended his contract through the 2015-2016 Season. In addition to conducting the orchestra's annual Carnegie Hall concert series, Reineke leads concert tours, recordings and nationwide telecasts, including the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks on NBC Television. Reineke also serves as Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony, Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras. Previously, he was Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for fifteen years he served as a composer, arranger and conducting protégé of the late celebrated pops conductor Erich Kunzel. Reineke's notable guest conducting appearances include the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra and his debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer, with his works recently performed by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Single tickets to the concert-only are $60 and $90, and are open to the public. To purchase, call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th St and 7th Ave, or online at www.carnegiehall.org.

Tickets to the full gala evening range from $1,000 (for one concert ticket and dinner seating) to $50,000 (for a premier first tier box and dinner table for eight). For more information about the black-tie benefit dinner dance at The Plaza Hotel, call 212-765-7677 or visit www.newyorkpops.org

 

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos