The evening's special guest performer will be Tony Award winner Betty Buckley, who recently played an acclaimed run at the famed jazz club Birdland. Buckley will be accompanied by her long-time musical director, jazz pianist Kenny Werner.
The Doug Varone and Dancers company will also perform one of Varone's signature works, Rise. Buckley, according to a press statement, will "sing favorites leading up to the culmination of a final onstage collaboration with the Company Dancers."
The evening is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed by the 7:30 PM performance with a seated dinner with the artists in the Hudson's orchestra pit at 8:30 PM.
Proceeds will support the creation and presentation of new work in the dance company's 2008-2009 season.
Betty Buckley offered acclaimed performances in Sunset Boulevard, Carrie, Song & Dance, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1776 and Promises, Promises. She won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella in the Broadway production of Cats, and she starred on the London stage in Promises, Promises and Sunset Boulevard, earning an Olivier Award nomination for her work in the latter. Also a TV ("Eight Is Enough") and film ("Tender Mercies") star, the actress-singer devotes much of her time to concert appearances around the world. Her solo CD, "Stars and the Moon: Betty Buckley Live at the Donmar Warehouse," was nominated for a Grammy Award and is available on the Concord Records label. The actress was also seen on the final three seasons of the acclaimed HBO series "Oz" as well as in the Lincoln Center revue, Elegies: A Song Cycle. Buckley's newest recordings, "Quintessence" and "Betty Buckley 1967," are both available on the Playbill Records/Sony BMG Masterworks Broadway label. Buckley most recently scored raves for her work as Mrs. Jones in "The Happening." The Hudson Theatre is located within the Millennium Hotel at 145 West 44th Street. Gala and performance only tickets are available by calling (212) 279-3344 or by visiting www.dougvaroneanddancers.org.
