Herman, the Tony Award winner who penned the scores of Mame; Hello, Dolly!; and La Cage aux Folles, will receive The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre.
The gala celebration will be held at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT. Proceeds from the benefit will support Goodspeed Musicals' education programs through The Max Showalter Center for Education in the Musical Theater.
Previous Goodspeed award recipients include Julie Andrews, Ira Gershwin, Tommy Tune, Susan Stroman, Gerald Schoenfeld and Stephen Schwartz.
The gala, hosted by master of ceremonies John McDaniel, begins at 6:30 PM and will include cocktails, dinner and the special show under the musical direction of longtime Broadway conductor Tim Stella.
A highlight of the evening is expected to be a "sneak preview" of the upcoming national PBS special "Words and Music by Jerry Herman," produced by Yale graduate and Newtown, CT, resident Amber Edwards and NJN Public Television. The evening's emcee, John McDaniel, returns to Goodspeed, where he was Music Supervisor for last season's hit Pirates of Penzance, which has been re-christened as Pirates! at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.
Individual tickets start at $500, while tables of ten can be purchased for $5,000 and up. For gala ticket information, telephone Karen Hatcher, Goodspeed director of individual giving, at (860) 873-8664, extension 366.
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According to the troupe known for revivals of American musicals, as well as new work, "Herman became a member of the Goodspeed Musicals family in 2000 when it produced Dear World at The Norma Terris Theatre and his association with Goodspeed continued in 2004 when Mack & Mabel played at the Goodspeed Opera House."
Florence Lacey starred in the title role in Evita on Broadway and in touring companies in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. She won the Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut as Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly!. Her other Broadway credits include The Grand Tour, Les Misérables and An Evening With Jerry Herman.
Jennifer Hope Wills is currently starring as Christine in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera. Other Broadway credits include starring as Eileen in the critically-acclaimed revival of Wonderful Town opposite Brooke Shields, The Woman in White and Beauty and the Beast.
Gary Mauer was recently the Phantom in the The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. His Broadway and national tour credits also include Les Miserables and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. He was cast opposite his wife, Elizabeth Southard, in the national tour of Harold Prince's Show Boat.
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Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, and additional shows at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT, which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals.
It's the only regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in the Musical Theater.
Visit www.goodspeed.org.
