Long Wharf Theatre Announces Annual Gala with The Midtown Men June 3

The Midtown Men will display their dazzling 1960s-era musical artistry as the headliners in Long Wharf Theatre's 2011 Gala.

The Gala will take place Friday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m. Tickets to the entire event, which includes dinner, begin at $250. Show only tickets are $100.

First Niagara Bank is the presenting sponsor of the event. Additional sponsors of the event are Pitney Bowes, Inc., and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

The Midtown Men - four stars from the original cast of Jersey Boys - will headline the event. They took Broadway by storm in one of the biggest hits of all time. Now they're together again, taking their sensational sound on the road. Audiences across the country are raving about this one of a kind concert experience celebrating the music of the 1960s with classic songs by the Beatles, Beach Boys, Motown, The Four Seasons and more.

Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer, honed their craft portraying the Four Seasons on Broadway and have now created this unique and exciting homage to the 1960s.

"We love to sing together and we love the music we sing ... It is extremely moving to us when our fans say after one of our performances they can tell how much we enjoy being together onstage. All of these elements make up The Midtown Men. The history. The friendship. The family. The music. They joy of getting to do what we love to do," Reichard said.

"At the heart of it all, it's just pure entertainment," Hoff said. "The magic of the music is what inspires us."

Long Wharf Theatre will also recognize board member Louise Endel's 90th birthday at the event. Louise, a longtime, devoted Long Wharf Theatre trustee, has been a member of 56 community boards and currently serves on at least six boards, including Long Wharf Theatre, The Elm Shakespeare Company, LEAP (Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership), Friends of the New Haven Free Public Library, and the advisory board of All Our Kin. She was Vice President of the Urban League for many years.

The performance will be followed with a lovely catered dinner. A silent auction featuring a wide array of unique experiences, hard to find tickets and other valuable items, will take place as well.

For more information about the Gala or to buy tickets, call 203-787-4282 or visit www.longwharf.org. For more information about the Midtown Men, visit www.themidtownmen.com.

The Midtown Men Bios

Christian Hoff is thrilled to reunite with his fellow stars from the original cast of Broadway's "Jersey Boys" as The Midtown Men. He won a Tony Award for his performance as Tommy DeVito in "Jersey Boys", as well as Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. He was named "The Master of Mimicry" by Entertainment Weekly. His voice-over accomplishments have earned him notable success including Foreword Magazine's 2008 Audio Book of The Year, when his voicing of over 200 characters surpassed the audio book world record. As the voice of Richie Rich in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, his voice-over career was launched and continues today with numerous audio books, television and radio campaigns. Theatrical highlights include the roles of Frank-n-Furter in the Los Angeles production of "The Rocky Horror Show"; King Herod in the national revival tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar"; Governor Hugh Dorsey in the Los Angeles revival of "Parade"; George M. Cohan in "George M!"; Will Rogers in "The Will Rogers Follies"; Huck in "Big River"; and his Broadway debut in the Tony Award and Grammy Award winning "The Who's Tommy." He recorded Grammy Award Winning Cast Albums for both "Jersey Boys" and "The Who's Tommy" with famed Beatles producer George Martin. On television, Christian has most recently guest starred on NBC's "Law & Order: SVU", has appeared as D.A. Richard Blackman on ABC's "Ugly Betty", as well as federal prosecutor Thomas Grady on NBC's "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Other notable film and television credits include roles in "Encino Man," "Star Trek IV," "Honor Thy Mother," "In Love and War," "ER," "JAG," "Party of Five," "Millennium," "The Commish," "Beverly Hills 90210", and the recurring role of Marty on "All My Children." His independent film debut, "Bad Dog and Superhero", was an official selection at the Brilliant Lights Film Fest, Los Angeles, winner of the Best Director Award at the Calgary Fringe Film Festival, as well as a best screenplay nomination and winner of the Stand Up For The Stand Out Award at Hell's Half Mile Film Festival, all in 2007. Christian sings and performs the entire original film score written by Mark Hart of Crowded House, Ringo Starr and Supertramp fame. He has enjoyed solo performances in New York City's Cutting Room, Triad Theater, Joe's Pub, Metropolitan Room, BB Kings, Town Hall and repeat solo turns at Carnegie Hall. Christian is a proud husband and a father of five.

Michael Longoria is best known for his star turn on Broadway as Frankie Valli in the Tony Award Winning musical "Jersey Boys." Hollywood born and Broadway bound, Longoria trained at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, then traveled to the east coast to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned himself a BFA in Drama. Michael made his Broadway debut in the smash hit musical Hairspray (2003 Tony award for Best Musical), later creating the role of Joey in the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys (2006 Tony award for Best Musical) before taking over the role of Frankie Valli and taking his career to new heights beginning with performing solo for hundreds of thousands of fans in Times Square for Broadway On Broadway. Other theatrical credits include Peter Pan in Peter Pan & Wendy at the Prince Music Theater, for which he earned a Barrymore Award nomination for Best Actor in a musical; Chino in West Side Story at the Walnut Street Theatre; Mark in A Chorus Line at Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center; and Chuck in Avenue X at the Abe Burrows Theater. In Europe, he performed the role of Paul in the German Tour of A Chorus Line, and Baby John in West Side Story at the famed Teatro alla Scala-Milan. As a singer-songwriter, Longoria has shared his one of a kind talent at such venues as New York City's CB's Gallery, Cutting Room, Joe's Pub, The Knitting Factory, and Caroline's on Broadway.

Daniel Reichard, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, is best known for his portrayal of chief songwriter and original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio in the box-office smash Jersey Boys, a role he originated both on Broadway and in the La Jolla Playhouse premiere. He followed Jersey Boys with a critically acclaimed performance as Candide in Leonard Bernstein's Candide at the New York City Opera. Daniel made his New York City debut after graduating with a BFA from the University of Michigan with the original cast in the world-famous Forbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary Celebration. His signature style and enormous talent paved the way to starring roles in New York City and beyond, including his triumphant portrayal of artist and social activist Keith Haring in Radiant Baby at Joe Papp's Public Theater; Man in The Thing About Men, whose cast album he also appears on; and Emmet in the world premiere of the musical version of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas at the Goodspeed Opera House. As a concert singer, Daniel has had sold-out engagements at New York City's Joe's Pub, Metropolitan Room and Ars Nova. Other concert appearances include Symphony Space, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, BB Kings, Town Hall, Firebird and the Cutting Room, as well as appearances with the Arkansas and Grand Rapids Symphonies. He can be seen as Frankie in the 2009 film version of the international hit musical comedy Forever Plaid.

J. Robert Spencer is a Tony Award Nominated Actor, Independent Film Director, Producer, and Writer. In 2004, he was cast and originated the role of Nick Massi in the Tony and Grammy Award winning musical "Jersey Boys". In 2008 J. Robert was cast and originated the role of Dan Goodman in the critically acclaimed Broadway production of "Next To Normal," for which he was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, and nominated for a 2008 - 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. As a voiceover artist, he has performed the lead voices for two Japanese animated features: "Nightmare Campus" and the critically acclaimed, award winning "Grave of the Fireflies." In 2004, J. Robert appeared as a psychopathic killer named Bob in the independent feature film "Night of the Dog". The role earned him a Best Supporting Actor Nomination at the Smmash Film Festival, and the film won Audience Awards for best feature film at Palm Beach, Santa Barbara, SMMASH and PBIFF. In 2005, J. Robert began his Independent Film Company, 7 Spencer Productions, for which he produced, wrote, starred and directed his first independent feature comedy titled "Farm Girl In New York". The film was featured on The Today Show with Ann Currey and Al Roker, and was the official selection of the Sacramento International Film Festival (Nominated for Best Comedy and Best Actress,) Big Apple Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, and the Seattle True Independent Film Festival, and is being distributed by Maverick Entertainment. He just completed his second independent feature film titled "Heterosexuals", for which he is listed as executive producer/producer/actor. He is also executive producer with Wood Media Films on an environmental documentary titled "On Coal River", which has been the official selection of Silverdocs, Camden, Hamptons, Chesapeake and New Orleans Film Festivals. J. Robert can be seen and heard in CD/DVD through Sony Masterworks with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops in the PBS performances of "Handel's Messiah Rocks", in which he was Nominated for a 2010 Midwest Emmy Award for Best On Camera Performance by a Leading Actor. J. Robert Is the 2009 recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Shenandoah University.

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