Broadway Star Beth Leavel Headlines FPAC's GALA 2012: BROADWAY RETURNS Tonight, 5/5

The Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) previously announced that Tony® Award-winning Broadway star Beth Leavel would headline Gala 2012: Broadway Returns, An Evening with the Stars, taking place tonight, May 5 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The evening will also feature Tony Mansker of Broadway's Mary Poppins. Leavel and Mansker will entertain with an exclusive one-night-only show, bringing the magic of 42nd Street to the Boston suburbs.

Beth Leavel received a 2006 Tony® Award, as well as Drama Desk, NY Outer Critics Circle and LA Drama Critics Awards, for her performance as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone. Leavel's extensive Broadway credits include Emily in Elf, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein, Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street (revival), Tess in the original company of Crazy for You, Mrs. Bixby in the original company of The Civil War, Ellie in Hal Prince's Show Boat and Anytime Annie in 42nd Street. Leavel most recently starred as Florence Greenberg in Broadway's Baby It's You!, for which she received a 2011 Tony® nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Tony Mansker made his Broadway debut in 2006 as an original cast member of Mary Poppins. Performing the lead role of Bert, Mansker has had the distinct experience of tap dancing across the New Amsterdam Theatre ceiling! Touring credits include the US and International Tours of West Side Story, while New York performances include The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Mansker's regional performing credits include 42nd Street, Singin' in the Rain, Footloose, Cabaret, Oklahoma, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Wizard of Oz.

Broadway Returns will also feature silent and live auctions, dynamic performances by Electric Youth and the Franklin Performing Arts Company, and dancing until midnight to Boston's R&B band Soul Kitchen. Funds raised from Gala 2012 will support the Franklin Performing Arts Company's efforts to secure local performance space in which a passion for the arts can be fostered. The event celebrates friends, honors volunteers, recognizes significant contributors to the performing arts and cultivates new relationships for the future.

Tickets for Broadway Returns cost $125. For more information about FPAC or to purchase Gala tickets, call (508) 528-8668 or visit www.fpaconline.com.

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