Cultural Council For Palm Beach County Announces 20th Season Of CULTURE & COCKTAILS At The Ben
All three events will be held in the Blue Heron Ballroom.
The Cultural Council will present three CULTURE & COCKTAILS conversations in early 2025 featuring some exciting personalities from the worlds of entertainment—all at our beautiful venue,
The Ben, in downtown West Palm Beach,” says Lawrence. “All three events will be held in the hotel's gorgeous Blue Heron Ballroom, a popular rooftop venue with outdoor terrace and stunning water views, overlooking the intracoastal packed with pleasure boats and yachts.”
The Ben is located at 251 N. Narcissus Avenue in West Palm Beach. Free valet parking will be provided for each of the Monday evening CULTURE & COCKTAILS conversations, running from 5 to 7 pm.
January 6
LAUGH LINES
From Gilda Radner & Billy Crystal to Dave Barry & Larry David
A Chat with Emmy & Tony Award Winning Comedy Writer
An original Saturday Night Live writer, Alan Zweibel has won five Emmy Awards for his work in television, which also includes It's Garry Shandling's Show (which he co-created and produced), The Late Show with David Letterman and Curb Your Enthusiasm. A frequent guest on all the late-night talk shows, his theatrical contributions include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award winning play 700 Sundays, Martin Short's Broadway hit Fame Becomes Me, and six off-Broadway plays including Bunny Bunny – Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy, which he adapted from his best-selling book. Zweibel has written 11 books including his cultural memoir titled Laugh Lines – My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier; the 2006 Thurber Prize winning novel The Other Shulman; the popular children's book Our Tree Named Steve, a parody of the Haggadah — For This We Left Egypt? which he wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach, and Lunatics co-written with Dave Barry. In addition, he has appeared in episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Law & Order and can be seen in the documentary The Last Laugh about humor and the Holocaust; Judd Apatow's Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (HBO), Gilbert about the life of Gilbert Gottfried, and the Emmy nominated CNN documentary he executive produced titled Love, Gilda.
Interviewer: Bill Boggs, a four-time Emmy Award-winning TV talk show host and producer, a professional speaker, and author of four acclaimed books. His shows ran on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, ESPN, The Food Network, The Travel Channel, and Showtime, and hundreds of his interviews can be found at BillBoggsTV on YouTube.
February 24
DIVINE DRAMATIC DIVAS
Dishing with Andrew Kato
& Elizabeth Dimon, Angie Radosh, Karen Stephens
Andrew Kato is celebrating his 20th season at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre as the Producing Artistic Director/Chief Executive. During his tenure, he has produced over 95 productions and subscriptions have grown to over 7,000 patrons. Overall attendance has grown to nearly 100,000 guests annually, securing the Theatre to be one of the most successful regional theatres in the southeast. He was the Creative Consultant/Coordinating Producer on the Tony Awards for 13 years, and his Broadway credits include Jelly's Last Jam, Angels in America and the off-Broadway production of Cryptogram. In addition, he conceived and developed several musicals, including Switch!, Academy, 1001 Nights, Street Songs, Diva Diaries, Through the Looking Glass, and Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, which made its off-Broadway debut in September 2023.
+ Elizabeth Dimon has been part of South Florida's theatre community for more than 30 years. She is a member of Actors Equity, SAG, and is a multiple Carbonell Award winner. Recent credits include Family Tree (Ronnie Larsen Presents/Plays of Wilton), Rooted (Theatre Lab at FAU), A Christmas Carol (Maltz Jupiter Theatre), Into the Woods (Slow Burn Theatre Company), and A Doll's House, Part II (GableStage). She has also performed at Palm Beach Dramaworks, Florida Stage, The Wick Theatre, Florida Stage, and more.
+ Angie Radosh recently had starring roles in Hello Dolly (Broadway at LPAC), the world premiere of La Shonda (Ronnie Larsen Presents/Plays of Wilton), and Boeing Boeing (Boca Stage at Delray Beach Playhouse). A three-time Carbonell Award winner and recipient of a Silver Palm Award, she also appeared in Exit The King (Palm Beach Dramaworks), Cabaret (Maltz Jupiter Theatre), Suddenly Last Summer (Island City Stage) Mothers and Sons (GableStage), and Funny Girl, Beauty and the Beast, and The Music Man, all at The Wick.
+ Karen Stephens, a longtime member of the South Florida theatre community, has played pivotal roles in several productions over the last few seasons including Clyde's at Zoetic Stage, The Cancellation of Laura Fein (Palm Beach Dramaworks), Time Alone (Boca Stage), Matilda (Slow Burn Theatre Company), and Dorothy's Dictionary (Theatre Lab). A multiple Carbonell Award nominee and Best Actress winner for Fear Up Harsh (Zoetic Stage), she has received five Silver Palm Awards and is a longtime member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
April 14
THE ULTIMATE MUSICAL FINALE
With Rob Russell, Avery Sommers & Special Guests
This season's closing CULTURE & COCKTAILS brings back two longtime favorites and frequent musical performers along with several surprise guests:
+ Rob Russell is a Master Showman widely recognized as “Mr. Palm Beach.” His popular monthly musical series Rob Russell's Open Mic runs twice monthly at Café Centro. From his years as the polished front man at the distinguished Governor's Club at Phillips Point to his nearly two decades as producer and emcee of the world famous Royal Room Cabaret at The Colony Hotel, to his recent years as a singer, recording artist (his popular CD Hello Again), and—after graduating top in his class at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting —Dick Robinson's fill-in tune-spinner on Legends Radio 100.3 FM, Rob Russell has amassed numerous fans of his audience-wowing musical talents and flashy show biz anecdotes. The ever dapper, occasional tapper Russell has even been known to get music lovers and fans to jump up, dance between tables, and join in the revelry.
+ Avery Sommers is a South Florida treasure with a “powerhouse” voice (The New York Times) and a charismatic stage presence. She appeared on Broadway in Ain't Misbehavin' replacing Nell Carter, Chicago, Showboat, and Broadway, and was in the first national tours of both The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (starring Ann-Margret) and Chicago (with Chita Rivera and Joel Grey), for which she won a Los Angles Ovation Award for Best Supporting Actress. On TV, she appeared on Miami Vice, many episodes of B.L. Stryker starring Burt Reynolds, and the CBS soap As The World Turns. Film credits include Lost Everything, Mysterious, Letters to God, and Hiding Victoria. A frequent headliner at The Colony Hotel's Royal Room, Kravis Center, Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts, Café Centro, Arts Garage, and more, Sommers is both a Carbonell Award winner and a seven-time nominee, and recently received the prestigious Randolph A. Frank Prize for the Performing Arts.
The 2025 season of CULTURE & COCKTAILS is generously sponsored so far by The Roe Green Foundation, Roe Green, Founder; Donald M. Ephraim Family Foundation; Scott Teich, Senior Vice President, Teich Wealth Management of Raymond James; The Gardens Mall; Palm Beach Media Group; Palm Beach Daily News; Legends Radio; and PR-BS, a Boca-based public relations firm. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available.
Please Note:
Admission to each one of next season's CULTURE & COCKTAILS At The Ben is $125 per person, and $165 for VIP Seating.
A Season Pass to all three Conversations is $300 per person, and $450 for VIP seating.
All proceeds from CULTURE & COCKTAILS go to support the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County's mission to champion, engage, and grow the arts in Palm Beach County.
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