Anita Gillette to Host Workshop In Baltimore 5/14

Tony Award nominated actress and singer Anita Gillette will return to her hometown of Baltimore to host a workshop based on her one-woman show, After All, for a single performance on Friday, May 14, as part of the UB Spotlight performance series. Gillette's mix of songs and stories will begin at 7 p.m. in the UB Student Center Performing Arts Theater, 21 W. Mt. Royal Ave. It will be followed by a special Q&A and a reception. 

An autobiographical work, After All takes audiences backstage with the Baltimore-born Gillette as a young showgirl starting out in the original cast of Gypsy with Ethel Merman, on to the world of David Merrick and Gower Champion in Carnival, and still further through her growing career that culminated in a Tony-nominated performance in the Neil Simon comedy Chapter Two. While Gillette's primary acclaim has come from her stage work, she also has appeared in a number of feature films, such as Moonstruck(she played Ms. Mona), and on hit television shows such as Quincy, and, currently, 30 Rock (she plays Tina Fey's mother). She also made a splash as a game show guest in the '70s, including The $50,000 Pyramid.

It was on that show that Gillette met Maryland-based actor and filmmaker Robert Neal Marshall, a relationship that years later led to After All. Marshall was a contestant on the show, while Gillette was the celebrity guest who helped him win the top prize. In 2009, while Marshall was lecturing on board the Queen Mary 2, he was reunited with Gillette. After All is the result of their new partnership. The project is now in tryouts before heading to New York. Because Gillette hails from Baltimore, the city is the ideal place to present this new work. The May 14 After All workshop is produced by Marshall with Kimberley Lynne, theater events coordinator for UB.

Directed by award-winning New York cabaret veteran Barry Kleinbort, whose writing and directing credits include work with Kaye Ballard, Regis Philbin, Marcia Lewis, John Epperson (also known as Lypsinka), Donna Murphy, Jerry Orbach, and many others,After All features musical direction by Paul Greenwood, also an award winning cabaret artist and accompanist to George Burns, Elly Stone, Art Garfunkel and several more.

General admission seats are $20; seniors are $15, and students are $5. The performance is one night only. Tickets are available at www.etix.com (search under University of Baltimore). Tickets to both Spotlight UB and Rosenberg Center for Student Involvement events are now available at the Student Center Information Desk during the following hours: Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets can be purchased with cash, check or charge.

Parking is available on event nights in the Fitzgerald Garage, 80 W. Oliver St. With a voucher provided at the box office, the parking fee is $7.

Complete details about the Spotlight UB 2009-10 season are available here. For more information about Spotlight UB, please visit www.ubalt.edu/spotlightub or send an e-mail to spotlightub@ubalt.edu.

The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.
www.AnitaGillette.com

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