Announcing: ‘Cabaret Cares: Songs for Japan’ Benefit Set for Monday, April 11

CABARET CARES: SONGS FOR JAPAN
A BENEFIT CONCERT TO AID RELIEF EFFORTS

PROCEEDS TO SUPPORT THE JBA FOUNDATION
PRODUCED BY DAISY EAGAN AND JAMES MOONEY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE CATALINA JAZZ CLUB
MONDAY, APRIL 11 AT 8PM

In response to the devastating events in Japan, producers Daisy Eagan and James Mooney, in association with the Catalina Jazz Club, have announced Cabaret Cares: Songs for Japan, a one-night-only event on Monday, April 11 at 8pm. Proceeds will support the Japanese Business Association Foundation. The JBA is working directly with the Japanese Consulate to ensure that the money raised on this evening will make it directly to the people working “on the ground” right now.

Stars from the worlds of Broadway, television, music and cabaret will come together to show their support, entertain, and help raise money to assist with Japan’s monumental crisis. The performers, in alphabetical order, are scheduled to include Danielle Bisutti & Rob Mullins, Jim J Bullock, comedian Bill Burr, Daisy Eagan, Delious Kennedy (All 4 One), Lee Lessack, Andrea Marcovicci, Sharon McKnight, Valarie Pettiford, and The Sklar Brothers (Comedy Central). More stars are expected to participate. Please ‘like’ us at www.facebook.com/cabaretcares for up-to-the-minute updates on the list of performers.

Tickets are $30 (plus a two-drink minimum) and can be purchased online by visiting www.catalinajazzclub.com or by calling (323) 466-2210. The Catalina Jazz Club is located at 6725 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 90028.

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04-05-11

Announcing: Rebuild Japan: A Benefit Concert, at the Pasadena Playhouse, Monday 4/4 at 7:30pm

REBUILD JAPAN:
A BENEFIT CONCERT AT THE PASADENA PLAYHOUSE
PROCEEDS TO SUPPORT THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
PRODUCED BY PATTY ONAGAN AND RONN GOSWICK
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011 AT 7:30PM

In response to the devastating events in Japan, producers Patty Onagan and Ronn Goswick have announced Rebuild Japan: A Benefit Concert at The Pasadena Playhouse, a one-night-only event on Monday, April 4 at 7:30pm. Proceeds will support the American Red Cross and its efforts to assist overseas as Japan begins to rebuild.

A veritable who’s who of Los Angeles and Broadway theatre talent will be coming together to show their support, entertain, and help raise money to assist with Japan’s monumental crisis. The performers, in alphabetical order, include Erich Bergen (Jersey Boys/The Temperamentals), Doug Carpenter (Life Could Be A Dream/Camelot/Summer of Love), Davis Gaines (The Phantom of the Opera), Julie Garnye (Les Misérables), Adam Halpin (Rent/Glory Days), Cliffton Hall (Wicked), Deedee Magno Hall (Wicked), Alvin Ing (Flower Drum Song/Pacific Overtures), Dale Kristien (The Phantom of the Opera), Jodi Long (Flower Drum Song/Miss Saigon), Megan McGinnis (Dangerous Beauty/Daddy Long Legs), Adam Michaelson (Movin’ Out/Baby It’s You!), Marc Oka (Flower Drum Song/Miss Saigon), Adam Pascal (Aida/Rent), Jennifer Paz (Miss Saigon/The Last Five Years), Valarie Pettiford (Fosse), James Snyder (Cry Baby/Dangerous Beauty), Gwen Stewart (Rent), Yuka Takara (Rent), Lea Thompson (Cabaret), Jennifer Leigh Warren (Little Shop of Horrors/Having It All), and the cast of Glory Days: Derek Klena, Matthew Koehler, Ian Littleworth, Jeffrey Scott Parsons, and Alex Martinez Wallace. All appearances are subject to availability.

Said Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps, “I have always found my fellow members of the theatre community to be enormously generous and always willing, ready, and eager to lend their great gifts to worthy causes, and especially to those who are suffering in extreme circumstances. This is proving to be true once again. It is a great honor for The Playhouse to participate in this tremendous effort by offering the use of our beautiful theatre in support of this benefit. I thank all of those who are participating, and all of those who will take advantage of this opportunity to aid those in need as a result of this devastating event.

The evening will feature The Playhouse’s first ever mainstage cabaret seating concert. The mainstage will “extend” over the orchestra, seating an intimate 300 patrons. Tickets are $75 for cabaret seating (which also includes two drinks), and $30 for balcony seating. All tickets are sold as general admission.

Pre-show activities begin at 6:30pm with a raffle (items donated by theatres and businesses all over Southern California), refreshments, and entertainment in The Engemann Family Courtyard in front of The Playhouse. Rebuild Japan: A Benefit Concert at the Pasadena Playhouse will be directed by Meredith Greenburg, with Adam Michaelson, James May and Ron Abel serving as musical directors.

Tickets can be purchased by calling (626) 356-7529, by visiting www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org, or in person at The Playhouse box office, located at 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena.

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03-29-11

Announcing: An Evening with Davis Gaines

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: AN EVENING WITH DAVIS GAINES
WILL BENEFIT SOSMentor
IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILDHOOD OBESITY

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19 AT 8PM
AT THE ALEX THEATRE IN GLENDALE

Broadway star Davis Gaines, who has performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times, will present Music of the Night: An Evening with Davis Gaines, an intimate concert to benefit SOSMentor, a not-for-profit organization fighting childhood obesity. The concert will take place at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 8pm.

SOSMentor is a Los Angeles based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to decrease the alarming rate of childhood obesity and related illnesses by educating students in health, nutrition and fitness through after-school mentoring programs. SOSMentor’s ShapeUp program has become a key tool in helping fight childhood obesity within LA County by offering high school students a five-week educational program in nutrition, health, and fitness. The high school students are then sent out to mentor middle and elementary school students by sharing what they’ve learned about making smart food choices and the importance of physical fitness. Since 2006, the SOSMentor ShapeUp program has expanded to 26 elementary, middle and high schools in the LAUSD, with over 2,000 students participating. For more information, visit www.sosmentor.org.

Davis Gaines played The Phantom on Broadway, in Los Angeles (where he remains LA’s longest running Phantom), and in San Francisco (winning the Bay Area Critics Award for Best Actor). His other stage credits include playing Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down the Wind, Hello, Dolly! with Carol Channing, Camelot with Richard Burton, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Alexis Smith. Aside from Phantom, other LA stage credits include 1776 (Musical Theatre West), Side By Side By Sondheim (Rubicon Theatre/Pasadena Playhouse), and Parade (Mark Taper Forum). Gaines has worked extensively on television (Desperate Housewives, Charmed, Chicago Hope, Veronica’s Closet, Bodies of Evidence, Murder, She Wrote, and three PBS Great Performances specials, among others). He has sung for five U.S. Presidents, and with every major symphony orchestra in North America.

Gaines’ concert will feature Broadway show tunes and popular standards, with all proceeds benefitting SOSMentor/ShapeUp. The curtain will rise at 8pm on Saturday, February 19, and the event will also feature drawings for valuable prizes. Regular tickets are $75 and $100 and are available by visiting www.AlexTheatre.org or by calling (818) 243-2539. A limited number of VIP tickets are available (which include a post-performance reception with Mr. Gaines) for $150, and may be purchased by calling (818) 222-4243.

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. Brand Boulevard in Glendale. Ample parking is available. There is validated parking at the Orange Street Garage located at the corner of California and Orange, the Exchange Garage located on Maryland Avenue, and the Glendale Marketplace Garage, located at the corner of Harvard and Maryland. Parking costs $1.00 for four hours with validation (rates subject to change). Parking tickets can be validated by the house manager in the Alex Theatre lobby.

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01-26-11