Work Light Productions, the producer of numerous theatrical touring productions including the Tony-winning AVENUE Q, is donating monies raised during the show to the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation/Valerie Center, an organization that provides healthcare services for children with cancer and blood disorders.
During "The Money Song" in Act II of AVENUE Q, the cast collections donations ostensibly for The Monsterssori School, a school for Monsters that is the dream project of one of the characters. Work Light Productions has announced that any and all monies collected during the number will be donated to the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation/Valerie Center.
"One of the most surprising, and delightful things about the show is the sense of community that it engenders between the actors and the audience. Although ‘The Money Song' is collecting funds for a fake charity, audiences have been quick to throw their pennies, dollars, bus cards and more into the hat to help out the show's characters," says Stephen Gabriel, founding partner and President of Work Light Productions. "This donation is in honor of our Goddaughter, Ms. Tori Lee, a 6-year old patient at the center. We were inspired by seeing the difference that the center has made in Tori and her family's lives, as well as the community at large.
Susan Dulczak, Clinical Director at the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation/Valerie Center says, "Work Light Productions believes in the value of creative work, live theater and inspiring an audience. This is all so special to me because we too believe in the technical and creative work that we do with children and families, the lives we touch and the support and care we provide to our patients and families over the continuum of treatment. Our basic values are similar as both organizations continue to make a difference and touch peoples' lives."
AVENUE Q is the PG-13 rated musical about real life in New York City, as told by a cast of people and puppets through a hilariously irreverent, Tony-winning book and score. Due to adult situations (like full-puppet nudity), AVENUE Q is definitely not "fur" the little ones.
The Valerie Center, which is part of The Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, provides comprehensive medical services to children, adolescents and young adults (from birth to age 21) with leukemia and other cancers, and blood disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and thrombocytopenia.
Monmouth Medical Center is among seven hospitals in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania that is part of The Valerie Fund Children's Centers for Cancer and Blood Disorders, one of the nation's largest and most advanced pediatric oncology/hematology networks, providing care to more than 5,000 children with cancer and blood disorders each year.
Work Light Productions is dedicated to creating and producing quality live entertainment. Their critically acclaimed productions reach tens of thousands of concertgoers and theater lovers each year. In keeping with their mission to develop original work, Work Light Productions has launched three new musicals in the last two years and continues to seed new projects for the future. Work Light Productions has been honored to collaborate with world-class creative professionals whose artistry has inspired each and every production.
For more information about Work Light Productions, please visit
www.WorkLightProductions.com.
For more information on AVENUE Q visit
www.AvenueQonTour.com.
For more information about Monmouth Medical Center Foundation / Valerie Center, please visit www.MMCValerieCenter.org.
