Avenue Q's D'Abruzzo Will Appear in The Guys Benefit Sept. 13

By Andrew Gans
August 12, 2008

Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who received a Tony nomination for her work in the original cast of the Tony-winning Avenue Q, will appear in two benefit performances of Anne Nelson's The Guys Sept. 13 at 2 and 7 PM.

Directed by Greg Burdick, who will co-star, the benefit will commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and will be held at the Lake Gibson High School Theatre in Lakeland, FL. A talkback session will follow each of the performances.

Burdick is the school's Director of Theatre Arts, and all technical elements of the production will be handled by his theatre arts students.

Proceeds will benefit both "L.i.F.E. & Kidz" — a local Florida charity that raises money for families of Polk County firefighters or law-enforcement officers who perish in the line of duty — and Lake Gibson High School's arts education and theatre program.

The Guys, according to press notes, "documents the experience of a journalist who is enlisted to help a fire captain write eulogies for eight men lost from his company after the attacks on the World Trade Center." The Guys premiered at the Flea Theatre Jan. 17, 2002, starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray.

Stephanie D'Abruzzo — who can currently be seen in Plaisir D'Amour (part of Summer Shorts 2 at 59E59) — made her Broadway debut in Avenue Q at the Golden Theatre. She received a Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award for her work in the Broadway production and a Drama Desk nomination for her work in the Off-Broadway mounting of Q. She has also been seen on stage in I Love You Because, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Story Books, the City Center Encores! production of Carnival, the all-star Chess concert, the Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash and the Stephen Sondheim celebration, Children and Art. D'Abruzzo has spent several seasons on "Sesame Street" and the kids show "Oobi" and was seen in VH-1's "I Love the 70s Part II" and "I Love the 80s 3-D." She also made her solo cabaret debut at the famed jazz club Birdland.

The Lake Gibson High School Auditorium is located at 7007 North Socrum Loop Road in Lakeland, FL. Tickets, priced $10, can be purchased by calling (863) 853-6100; tickets will also be available at the door.