The gala, directed by Charlotte Moore, included special guests Shirley Jones ("Oklahoma!," "Carousel," 42nd Street) and her son, Patrick Cassidy (Annie Get Your Gun, 42nd Street), as well as Tony Award winner Paulo Szot (South Pacific), Matt Cavenaugh (Grey Gardens), Jenny Powers (Grease), Christine Anderas (La Cage Aux Folles), Tony nominee Howard McGillin (Anything Goes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Jason Tam (Marry Me a Little), Olivier Award winner Alexandra Silber (Carousel, Master Class), Max von Essen (Evita), Bill Newhall, Georga Osborn, Kerry Conte (national tour of Mary Poppins), Bonnie Fraser (Las Vegas Phantom), Nancy Anderson, Donna Kane (Meet Me in St. Louis) and Ciaran Sheehan (The Phantom of the Opera).
Something Wonderful! The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein featured Rodgers & Hammerstein favorites from their musicals Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, State Fair and Flower Drum Song.
Songs included "It's a Grand Night for Singing," "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Shall We Dance?," "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," "I Cain't Say No," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out-a My Hair" and others. Musical direction is by Mark Hartman (Avenue Q, Silence!). Co-founded by producing director Ciarán O'Reilly and artistic director Charlotte Moore, The Irish Repertory Theatre opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars. The mission of the theatre remains to "bring works by Irish and Irish American masters and contemporary playwrights to American audiences; to provide a context for understanding the contemporary Irish American experience; and to encourage the development of new works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures."
Irish Rep is the recipient of a 2013 Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award in recognition of 25 years of producing outstanding theatre.
