The March 5 benefit will also boast the talents of Chicago actors Thom Cox, Sean Fortunato, Kate Fry, Brian Herriott, Heidi Kettenring, Ericka Mac, Julian Martinez, Kymberly Mellon, Bruch Reed, Barbara Robertson, Guy Van Swearingen, Greg Vinkler and Cassie Wooley.
In a statement Actors' Fund producer Tim Pinckney said, "This is just an amazing cast. We are thrilled at the response we have gotten from the Chicago theatre community to put on this production. The cast list truly reads like a 'Who’s Who' in Chicago theatre."
The concert, which will benefit the Actors' Fund as well as Chicago's Season of Concern, will begin at 7:30 PM.
Working, which was adapted by Stephen Schwartz based on the Studs Terkel book of the same name, features songs by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz and James Taylor. The musical, according to press notes, "paints a vivid portrait of the men and women the world often takes for granted. It is a highly original look at the American landscape that is simply impossible to forget." The original 1978 Broadway cast included Patti LuPone, Joe Mantegna and Bob Gunton.
Liz Callaway, most recently on Broadway in The Look of Love, made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, and she also took part in the anniversary concert of that musical. For her work in the musical Baby, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and her other Broadway credits include The Three Musketeers, Miss Saigon and Cats. Callaway's solo recordings include "The Beat Goes On," "Anywhere I Wander—Liz Callaway Sings Frank Loesser" and "The Story Goes On." Malcolm Gets was most recently on Broadway in the short-lived Michel Legrand musical Amour. His other New York theatre credits include Finian's Rainbow, The Molière Comedies, Boys and Girls, A New Brain, Hello Again, Merrily We Roll Along, Two Gentlemen of Verona and the City Center Encores! productions of The Apple Tree and The Boys From Syracuse. He spent four years as Richard on TV's "Caroline in the City," and his other screen credits include "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" and "Love in the Time of Money." Gets can be heard on Barbara Cook's "Mostly Sondheim" CD and can be seen in the romantic comedy "Adam & Steve."
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.
The Harris Center is located at 205 East Randolph Drive in Chicago, IL. Tickets, priced $50-$500, are available by calling (312) 334-7777.
Visit www.actorsfund.org for more information.
