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Encores! 20th Anniversary Gala Celebration
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Encores!
20th Anniversary
Gala Celebration |
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Encores! 20th
Anniversary Gala Celebration
Starring
Raúl Esparza and Kelli O’Hara
with
Sarah Uriarte Berry, Walter Bobbie, Victoria Clark, Tyne
Daly,
Rob Fisher, Christopher Fitzgerald, Debbie Gravitte, Jared
Grimes,
Judy Kaye, Rebecca Luker, Rob McClure, Bebe Neuwirth,
Megan Sikora and Daniel J. Watts
Directed by Marc Bruni; Musical Direction by Rob Berman
Monday, November 12
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New York City Center will celebrate the 20th
Anniversary of its Tony Award–winning Encores! series on
November 12 with a Gala Benefit starring Raúl Esparza and
Kelli O’Hara, and featuring performers who have starred in
Encores! productions over the past two decades.
The star-studded show, directed by Marc Bruni, will include
performances by Sarah Uriarte Berry, Walter Bobbie, Victoria
Clark, Tyne Daly, Rob Fisher, Debbie Gravitte, Jared Grimes,
Judy Kaye, Rebecca Luker, Rob McClure, Bebe Neuwirth, Megan
Sikora and Daniel J. Watts accompanied by the Encores!
Orchestra under the musical direction of Rob Berman. The
benefit will help fund New York City Center’s artistic and
education programs.
The gala, honoring Stephanie and Fred Shuman, will begin at
6:00 pm with cocktails at City Center followed by the show
at 7:00 p.m. and a post-performance dinner in The Grand
Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel (58th Street at 5th Avenue).
Gala co-chairs are Patricia and Jesse Lovejoy, Stacey and
Eric Mindich, and Robin and Fred Seegal.
New York City Center Encores! (Artistic
Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Berman),
celebrates the rarely heard works of America’s most
important composers and lyricists. Since its founding in
1994, it has presented 57 musical productions for an
audience of more than half a million people. Each production
is a whirlwind, with just eight days of rehearsals, one day
of dress rehearsal and seven performances. The cast is
backed by The Encores! Orchestra, often more than 30 players
strong. Over the years, Encores! has presented the works of
Harold Arlen, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin, Leonard
Bernstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Oscar
Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, John Kander and Fred Ebb,
Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Stephen
Sondheim, Kurt Weill and many others. The program received a
special 2000 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as
well as an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award
and Jujamcyn Theater Award. Past productions have featured
Christine Baranski, Kristin Chenoweth, Tyne Daly, Christine
Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Anne Hathaway, Megan Hilty,
Cheyenne Jackson, Patti LuPone, Donna McKechnie, Lin-Manuel
Miranda, Donna Murphy, Bebe Neuwirth, Rosie O’Donnell, Kelli
O’Hara, Lynn Redgrave, Ann Reinking, Vanessa L. Williams,
Charles Dutton, Nathan Lane, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Robert
Morse, James Naughton, Martin Short, Jock Soto, Patrick
Wilson and Jerry Zaks.
Fred Shuman, Trustee and Chair of City Center’s Executive
Committee, is the Founder of The Archstone Partnerships, one
of the original Fund of Hedge Funds. He currently serves on
the Investment Committee of the Andover Endowment Fund, is a
National Director Emeritus of Outward Bound U.S.A. and is a
member of the Leadership Council of New York Stem Cell
Foundation. Stephanie Shuman is a Trustee of International
Center for Photography and a board member of Lincoln Center
Theater. She served as President of Neighborhood Coalition
for Shelter, an Upper East Side homeless organization, and
has been a Trustee for 25 years. The Shumans support a
research lab at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and a research lab
at Rockefeller University. They manage a private foundation
that fosters cooperation amongst scientific researchers of
orphan diseases. Stephanie and Fred are generous supporters
of the Central Park Conservancy, and are Vice-Chairmen of
the upcoming Autumn in Central Park benefit.
Rob Berman is entering his sixth season as
music director of Encores! He has conducted 16 productions,
including Merrily We Roll Along (2012), On the Town (2009),
Stairway to Paradise (2007), and both the Encores! and
Broadway productions of Finian’s Rainbow (2009).
Sarah Uriarte Berry starred in the Encores! productions of
Tenderloin (2000) and The Boys from Syracuse (1997).
Walter Bobbie directed Fiorello! (1994), the first Encores!
production, and was Artistic Director of the series from
1995 to 1996. Walter directed the Encores!, Broadway and
international productions of Chicago (1996), winning Tony,
Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. He also directed
the Encores! productions of No, No, Nanette (2008), Golden
Boy (2001), and Tenderloin (2000), and as an actor he
starred in Face the Music (2007) and Bye Bye Birdie (2004).
Marc Bruni directed the Encores! productions of Pipe Dream
(2012) and Fanny (2010) and served as Associate Director of
Finian's Rainbow (2009); No, No, Nanette (2008); Applause
(2008); 70, Girls, 70 (2006); and Bye Bye Birdie (2004).
Victoria Clark starred in the Encores! productions of Juno
(2008), Follies (2007) and Bye Bye Birdie (2004).
Tyne Daly starred in the Encores! second-season production
of Call Me Madam (1995).
Raúl Esparza starred in the Encores!
production of Anyone Can Whistle (2010).
Rob Fisher was Music Director of Fiorello! (1994) and became
Music Director of the series the following year, continuing
through 2005. He was Music Director of 33 productions,
including Lady in the Dark (1994), Promises, Promises
(1997), and The Apple Tree (2005). Rob directed the
Encores!, Broadway and international productions of Chicago
(1996).
Christopher Fitzgerald met his wife, Jessica Stone, when the
two appeared in the Encores! production of Babes in Arms
(1999). Christopher starred in the Broadway production of
Finian’s Rainbow (2009) and in the Encores! production of
Stairway to Paradise (2007).
Jared Grimes starred in the Encores!
production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (2012) and in the
Encores! special event Cotton Club Parade (2011), in a role
he will be repeating in November.
Rob McClure starred in the Encores! production of Where’s
Charley? (2011).
Bebe Neuwirth starred in the Encores! productions of Chicago
(1996) and Pal Joey (1995), and received a Tony Award when
Chicago moved to Broadway.
Kelli O’Hara starred in the Encores! production of Bells Are
Ringing (2011).
Megan Sikora appeared in the Encores! productions of
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (2012), Fanny (2010), Applause
(2008), and A Connecticut Yankee (2001).
Daniel J. Watts appeared in the Encores! special events The
Wiz (2008) and Cotton Club Parade (2011), in a role he will
be repeating in November.
New York City Center (Arlene Shuler,
President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural
life of the city for nearly 70 years. It was Manhattan’s
first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello
LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music,
theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City
Center is home to many distinguished companies, including
City Center’s Principal Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater, as well as American Ballet Theatre, New York
City Opera, and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned
national and international visiting artists; and its own
critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored
Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as “one of
the very best reasons to be alive in New York.” Dance has
been integral to the theater’s mission from the start, and
dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance
Festival, remain central to City Center’s identity. City
Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities
to New York City students and teachers with programs such as
Encores! In Schools and the Young People’s Dance Series.
Last year, CityCenter completed an extensive renovation to
revitalize and modernize its historic theater.
Show-only tickets are $30, $50 and $115 and can be purchased
at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street
between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at
212-581-1212, or online at
www.NYCityCenter.org
. Program and artists subject to change.
Benefit Tickets are available at $5,000; $2,500; $1,500 and
$500 per person. Tables of 10 are available at $100,000,
$50,000 and $25,000. For additional information and
reservations, call
212-763-1205 or visit
www.NYCityCenter.org .
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