Many of Broadway's best and brightest talents will perform in Westport Country Playhouse's one-night-only fundraising gala, "Playing Our Songs: Celebrating 80 Years of Musical Theater," a fully orchestrated and choreographed retrospective of musicals that have been produced at The Playhouse since its founding in 1931, on Monday evening, September 19.
Taking the stage in "Playing Our Songs" will be many performers who have a close affiliation with
The Playhouse and are alumni of previous productions or galas. The cast, in alphabetical order, includes Tony Award nominee
Tituss Burgess ("Jersey Boys," "The Little Mermaid," "Guys and Dolls"); Tony Award nominee
Melissa Errico ("My Fair Lady," "Anna Karenina," "High Society"); Tony Award winner
Shuler Hensley ("Oklahoma!," "Young Frankenstein");
Dirk Lumbard ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Imaginary Friends," "The Music Man");
Neil McCaffrey ("Mary Poppins," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Billy Elliot");
Jessica Patty ("The Addams Family"); Tony Award nominee
Andrew Rannells ("The Book of Mormon," "Jersey Boys," "Hairspray");
Max Von Essen ("Les Misérables," "Jesus Christ Superstar"); and Tony Award winner
Karen Ziemba ("Contact," "Curtains," "Chicago").
The evening will include the presentation of Westport Country Playhouse's Distinguished Dedication and Service to the American Musical Theater Award to musical theater legend
Bernadette Peters. The presentation will be made by Ms. Peters' good friend
Mary Tyler Moore. They are co-founders of Broadway Barks, an annual dog and cat adoption event benefiting New York City area rescue shelters.
Directing the 2011 gala production is Joshua Rhodes (the film version of "Company," "2011 Tony Awards," "Broadway Bares," "Sondheim: The Birthday Concert"); music director is Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for "Company"; "The Addams Family"; "Sweeney Todd"; "Next to Normal"); and choreography is by Rhodes and
Lorin Latarro (Encore's "Fanny"; "American Idiot").
The ensemble includes
Lisa Gadja,
Shannon Lewis,
Matthew Loehr,
Patrick McCollum,
Kevin Munhall,
Kat Nejat,
Sarah O'Gleby and
Anthony Wayne.
Gala chairs are Kim and
Niv Harizman of Westport.
Joining
The Playhouse celebration, which also marks the legendary venue's 80th birthday, will be a star-studded group of alumni artists whose work has graced the Westport stage during their careers. Planning to attend
The Playhouse gala, schedule permitting, are
Lucie Arnaz,
Joel Grey,
Sheldon Harnick,
Tom Jones,
Jo Sullivan Loesser,
Laurence Luckinbill,
James Naughton,
Christopher Plummer,
Jane Powell,
Stephen Schwartz and
JoAnne Woodward.
Westport Country Playhouse's 2011 gala will be steeped in the atmosphere of a 1930s soiree in celebration of
The Playhouse's founding 80 years ago in 1931. The evening includes pre-show cocktails at 6 p.m., performance at 7:30 p.m., and post-show dinner, parties and dancing at 8:45 p.m. In addition, there will be a silent auction of unique and one-of-a-kind items, and a "giving tree" in support of
The Playhouse's educational and artistic programs. Attire is 1930s-inspired elegance/black tie optional.
Gala tickets are $2500, $1000 and $500. For more gala information or ticket purchases, contact Kathryn Gloor at (203) 227-5137, ext. 122, or kgloor@westportplayhouse.org.
