Tony Award winner and Actors' Fund President Brian Stokes Mitchell, who recently released his debut solo recording on the Playbill Records label, will kick off the series Sept. 25 at 8 PM. Mitchell will be followed by stage and screen star Peter Gallagher, who received a Tony nomination for his performance in Guys and Dolls and who can currently be seen in the hit FOX-TV series "The OC." Gallagher will offer his musical evening Oct. 16, and former Fosse star Valarie Pettiford will conclude the series Dec. 4.
The concerts, which will benefit the Actors' Fund, will begin will cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed by the concert and a dessert reception.
Brian Stokes Mitchell, who recently starred in the City Center Encores! presentation of Kismet, earned a Tony nomination for his performance in the title role of Man of La Mancha. He won the 2000 Tony, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards for his performance as Fred Graham/Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate, and his other Broadway credits include lead roles in King Hedley II; Ragtime; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Jelly's Last Jam; Oh, Kay!; Mail; and the City Center Encores! mountings of Do Re Mi and Carnival. Television audiences will be familiar with Mitchell's work from his roles on "Trapper John, M.D.," "Roots" and "Frasier." Mitchell was elected the twelfth president of the Actors' Fund of America, and he has performed in concert halls and cabarets around the country.
Peter Gallagher has appeared on Broadway in the Grease, The Corn Is Green, The Real Thing, Noises Off, Guys and Dolls and Long Day's Journey Into Night. He was also seen in the benefit concert of Funny Girl and the Off-Broadway mounting of The Exonerated. Gallagher's screen credits include "The OC," "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," "While You Were Sleeping," "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday," "American Beauty" and "Center Stage."
Valarie Pettiford received a Tony nomination for her performance in Fosse. She has also been seen on Broadway in Big Deal, Grind, Sophisticated Ladies and A Broadway Musical. She starred in the London production of Chicago, and her film credits include "The Wiz," "The Cotton Club" and "Glitter." Pettiford's solo recording is titled "Hear My Soul." The Pantages Theatre is located in Los Angeles, CA, at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard. Tickets, priced $150 (per concert) or $375 (the entire series), are available by calling (323) 933-9244, ext. 54.
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The Actors' Fund, which was founded in 1882, is a non-profit organization that provides for the social welfare of all entertainment professionals. Some of the many programs The Actors' Fund provides include a nursing home and assisted living care facility; senior and disabled programs; mental health services; chemical dependency services; entertainment industry assistance programs; the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative; the AIDS Initiative; and supportive housing on both coasts. For more information visit www.actorsfund.org.
