|
Broadway
Reflections
~ An Enchanted Evening
~ |
|
Joy Abbott and Davis Gaines |
‘Phantom'
star Davis Gaines and Joy Abbott
to
perform fundraiser concert at Hawaii Theatre
September 22
Event
will launch Hawaii Performing Arts Foundation
Broadway
star Davis Gaines (Phantom of the Opera)
will join Joy Abbott, celebrated jazz singer and
widow of the legendary George Abbott (The Pajama Game,
Damn Yankees) in concert at the Hawaii Theatre. “"Broadway
Reflections" is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday, September 22, and is
a fundraiser to endow the new Hawaii Performing Arts Foundation.
Joining Gaines and Abbott
are pianists Betty Loo Taylor and Carol
Anderson, a longtime collaborator of Gaines's who is currently
playing in Wicked during its Los Angeles run. The duo
will perform a selection of Broadway favorites, including Gaines's
unforgettable "Music of the Night" (Phantom) and "Old Man
River" (Showboat), Joy's favorite pieces from George Abbott's
musicals, and other great songs.
They'll also share humorous
anecdotes and tantalizing celebrity tidbits from behind-the-scenes
Broadway and life with the inimitable George Abbott. Known
familiarly as Mister Broadway,
George Abbott was a writer, theatre
producer, director, and film director whose seven-decade career
in American theatre included such hits as The
Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Where's
Charly, and A Tree Grows
in Brooklyn, among many others.
AT
A GLANCE
When:
Saturday, September 22, 7pm
Where: Hawaii Theatre
Cost: $35,
$50 and $75, with a special $125 Golden Circle ticket that includes
premium seating, a post-performance "Meet the Stars" reception and
an arts and entertainment-themed goodie bag.
PURCHASE
TICKETS
528-0506
or online
at www.hawaiitheatre.com
ABOUT
HAWAII PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION
The Hawaii Performing Arts
Foundation was created this year. Its mission is to generate support
for Manoa Valley Theatre, the performing arts in Hawaii and Hawaii's
youth through the arts. Inaugural board president is Guy Merola,
vice president of finance with Commercial Data Systems. Initial
donors of $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 will make up the Founder's
Club. Members will receive tickets to "Broadway Reflections" as
well as other HPAF events for a period of five years.
ABOUT
THE STARS
Gaines has performed the
title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera
more than 2000 times for more than 5 million people during
his run on Broadway, in Los Angeles and in San Francisco, where
he received the Bay Area Critics' Award for Best Actor. Subsequently,
he was chosen by Hal Prince and Andrew Lloyd Webber to play the
leading role in the world premiere of Whistle Down the Wind
in Washington, D.C.
Other Broadway and national
tour credits include Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera ,
Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! with Carol Channing,
Camelot with Richard Burton and The Best Little Whorehouse
in Texas with Alexis Smith.
In addition to dozens of
film and television credits, Gaines has sung for five U.S. Presidents
and with every major symphony orchestra in North America, including
the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
at the Hollywood Bowl.
Abbott, one of Hawaii's distinguished
singers, is a longtime patron of the arts. She was born and raised
in Hawaii, graduated from Punahou School and is a part-time Honolulu
resident today. Before she became Mrs. George Abbott in 1983 she
enjoyed success as a business woman, performer and coordinator-director
of fashion productions.
Accompanied by Betty Loo
Taylor, she recently recorded "For All We Know," a CD of pop standards
and show tunes that showcases her versatility. In recent years she
has written and directed several celebrity AIDS benefits and other
theater benefit galas. She is a patron of the American Theater Wing
and The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, who sponsor
the annual "Mr. Abbott Award."
In Florida she directed for
SUMMER SHORTS. MR. ABBOTT, A BROADWAY LEGACY, which she co-created
for Florida Stage, was nominated for a Carbonell award.
With theater critic Christine
Dolen, Joy Abbott is co-authoring a biography of George Abbott,
a sequel to his 1963 autobiography.
|
