Clark recently starred in the The Chorale's highly praised March 12 concert revival of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's Firebrand of Florence.
The benefit - dubbed Sing Happy! - celebrates The Collegiate Chorale's 2008-2009 season and will hint at things to come in 2009-2010.
The festivities will begin at 7 PM with cocktails and a light buffet supper, followed by a champagne toast and exclusive performance featuring Mr. Rees and Ms. Clark, "who will lighten hearts and lift spirits with only the happiest of songs and soliloquies from Broadway and The American Songbook."
The concert will be followed by a live auction of items donated by The Chorale's many friends from the stage, screen, and literary worlds. Guests will then be invited to a coffee and dessert reception to close out the evening.
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Sing Happy!
Hosted by Roger Rees
Special Musical Guest Victoria Clark
7:00 PM _ Cocktails and a light buffet supper
8:15 PM _ Performance and champagne
9:00 PM _ Live auction of a few special items
9:30 PM _ Dessert and Coffee Reception
Sing Happy! will be held at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Hotel, 145 West 44th Street.
Benefit ticket prices range from $300 to $1,000. All tickets are tax deductible. To purchase, contact Patrick Goss at 646-435-9052 or visit www.collegiatechorale.org. Concert-only tickets are priced at $50 and may be purchased here.
Recently seen on the New York stage in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Victoria Clark received a 2005 Tony Award for her performance in The Light in the Piazza. Other Broadway credits include Cabaret, Urinetown, Titanic, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Guys and Dolls and A Grand Night for Singing. Among Clark's screen credits are "The Happening," "Cradle Will Rock," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: SVU" and "Sweeney Todd in Concert." As a director, she helmed the 92nd Street Y's "Lyrics & Lyricists" series Serenade in Blue: The Mack Gordon Song Cavalcade. PS Classics released Clark's debut solo recording, "Fifteen Seconds of Grace," in November 2007. The actress also co-starred in the City Center Encores! production of Follies.
Roger Rees gained international attention for his portrayal of the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's London, Broadway, and TV productions of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, which earned him Tony and Olivier awards, and an Emmy nomination. In London's West End, Rees has starred in many RSC productions, and created the lead roles in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Hapgood and in his own thriller, Double-Double. Rees also has many memorable New York theater credits, and recently toured America in his one-man show about Shakespeare, What You Will.
The Collegiate Chorale, among New York's foremost vocal ensembles, has added to the richness of the City's cultural fabric for more than 65 years. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw, The Chorale achieved national and international prominence under the leadership of late Music Director Robert Bass. The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists. In the summer of 2007, The Chorale performed for the third consecutive season at Switzerland's Verbier Music Festival, where Mr. Bass conducted the ensemble in Orff's Carmina Burana. In July 2008, The Chorale toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. This summer, The Collegiate Chorale returns to the Verbier Festival for performances of Faure's Requiem and Mozart's Don Giovanni.
