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The Perfect Year---The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
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Joan Ryan
Photo by Ed Krieger
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The 20th Annual S.T.A.G.E. (Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event) will pay tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber for three performances only on March 12, 13, and 14, 2004 at Cal State University Los Angeles's Luckman Fine Arts Complex. S.T.A.G.E. veteran David Galligan directs as he has for each and every one of the benefits with Gerald Sternbach providing musical direction.
S.T.A.G.E. was the second benefit ever mounted to raise money for AIDS, and it is the longest continuously running AIDS benefit in the world, having raised well over four million dollars to benefit organizations supporting people living with HIV and AIDS. The 20th Annual S.T.A.G.E. will benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles and The Los Angeles Free Clinic.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, which this year marks 21 years of prevention, advocacy and service, provides direct services to more than 10,000 men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS in L.A. County. Services include prevention education, food banks, professional dental care, housing assistance, mental health counseling, women's services, and case management. APLA is a leader in the provision of bilingual HIV treatment information, in print and on the Internet, and advocates for effective AIDS-related policies and legislation on the local, state, and federal levels. For more information, please visit www.apla.org.
The Los Angeles Free Clinic has been providing free health care and human
services for low income and uninsured people in our community since 1967. The
Clinic believes that health care is a right, not a privilege and provides
services to men, women and children free of charge and free of judgment. Services
offered by the Clinic include: medical and dental care, legal assistance,
crisis intervention counseling, HIV testing and counseling, health education,
prenatal care, and wellness programs. The Clinic provides approximately 90,000
visits each year.
The first S.T.A.G.E. benefit took place in October 1984, honoring the
music of Leonard Bernstein, and it has become a most celebrated and prestigious
theatrical event. S.T.A.G.E. has paid tribute to Stephen Sondheim (1985, 1987,
1996), Jule Styne (1988), Jerry Herman (1989), Kander & Ebb (1990), Richard
Rodgers/Lorenz Hart/Oscar Hammerstein (1991), Irving Berlin
(1992), George and Ira Gershwin (1993), Harold Arlen (1995), Cole Porter
(1997), Lerner, Loewe & Lane (1998), Richard Adler/Jerry Bock/Cy Coleman (1999),
Charles Strouse/Arthur Schwartz/Stephen Schwartz (2000), Jerome Kern (2001),
Johnny Mercer (2002), and Frank Loesser (2003). S.T.A.G.E. presented a
retrospective of its first ten years of benefit performances in 1994. In November of
2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, S.T.A.G.E. mounted all-star shows that benefited
The Actors’ Fund of America and showcased the works of Kurt Weill, Jerry Herman,
Richard Rodgers and (John) Kander and (Fred) Ebb.
Ten of the benefits have been recorded and are on commercially available
CD’s which can be purchased through the stagela.com website. They are:
"Stephen Sondheim: A Musical Celebration"; "Jerry Herman: Tap Your Troubles Away";
"George Gershwin: A Musical Celebration"; "Harold Arlen: Over the Rainbow";
"Cole Porter: A Musical Toast"; (Alan Jay) "Lerner, (Frederick) Loewe, (Burton)
Lane & Friends"; "ABC" (Richard Adler, Jerry Bock, Cy Coleman); "Jerome Kern:
Life on the Wicked S.T.A.G.E."; "Kurt Weill: The Centennial"; and "Johnny
Mercer: Dream."
A few credits of director David Galligan are: Mame starring Carol
Lawrence, Ruth Williams and Sally Struthers, Show Boat starring Dale Kristien and
Sean McDermott, and Brigadoon for Musical Theatre West. He co-originated (with
Billy Barnes and Ron Abel) the musical revue Blame It On the Movies which played
off-Broadway as well as at the Pasadena Playhouse. He also directed the four
S.T.A.G.E. Too benefits for The Actors’ Fund of America as well as directing
for the last five years, the Help Is on the Way AIDS benefits at the Palace of
Fine Arts in San Francisco. He has also staged and directed numerous special
events including the Ford Motor Company’s special Heroes for the Planet which
aired on A&E network.
Gerald Sternbach serves as musical director for the popular Reprise! Best
of Broadway in Concert Series and conducted the national tour of Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance. As a songwriter/composer, his songs have been heard
and performed across the country.
The producers of the 20th Annual S.T.A.G.E. are David Galligan, Jonathan
Kanes, Richard Loring, Charles Pollock and Harry Prongue. Naomi Caryl and
Betty Garrett are co-chairs. Shawn Flannigan continues as event coordinator.
A number of the cast are veterans of previous S.T.A.G.E. benefits
including: Jamie Anderson (making his sixth appearance), David Burnham (Livent’s
‘Joseph’ in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Alan Campbell (the
original ‘Joe Gillis’ in L.A.’s Sunset Boulevard), Cate Caplin (second year
performing), Mary Jo Catlett (10 previous appearances), Carole Cook (2003
co-recipient of the S.T.A.G.E. Award, has appeared in all but one of the benefits),
Karen Culliver (third performance coming up), Tyne Daly (Emmy Award-winner for
Judging Amy), Franc D’Ambrosio ("World’s Longest Running Phantom" in his
second appearance), Betty Garrett (2003 co-recipient of the S.T.A.G.E. Award and a
veteran of most of the benefits), and Malcom Gets (his second appearance).
Additional S.T.A.G.E. veterans are: Brian Lane Green (sixth appearance
coming up), Bill Hutton (original ‘Joseph’ in Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat, performing in his 19th S.T.A.G.E. and a co-recipient of the 1999
S.T.A.G.E. Award), William Katt (this will be his third appearance), Dale
Kristien (‘Christine’ in the long-running Ahmanson production of Phantom of the
Opera, a veteran of all 19 previous benefits and co-recipient of the 1999
S.T.A.G.E. Award), Michael K. Lee (his second appearance), Lee Lessack (in his
third S.T.A.G.E.), Sean McDermott (in his third appearance), Pat Marshall (this
will be her fifth year), Linda Michele (performed in all 19 previous years,
co-recipient of the 1999 S.T.A.G.E. Award), Rod McKuen (three previous
appearances). Valarie Pettiford (four previous appearances), Murray Phillips (in his
second appearance), Joan Ryan (twelfth appearance this year), Marissa Jaret Winokur
(Tony Award-winner for Hairspray).
The returnees are joined by first-time S.T.A.G.E. performers: Paul Ainsley
(the original Herrod in Jesus Christ Superstar), Teri Bibb, Chris Coyne,,
Mary D’Arcy, Keith David (Tony and Emmy Award nominated actor), Ellen Greene (
Little Shop of Horrors film), Christian Klikovits, Suzanna Guzman (mezzo-soprano
with L.A. Opera), Clifton Hall, Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace), Lucy Lawless (
Xena, Warrior Princess), Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block band), Ken Page
(original ‘Old Deuteronomy’ in Cats), Valerie Perri, Camille Saviola (original
‘Mama Maddelena’ in Broadway’s Nine), Mark Smith, Janis Uhley, Mary Wilson
(of The Supremes) and the Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary Choir and Vocal
Ensemble — 40 voices strong.
The schedule for A PERFECT YEAR, THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER (20th
Annual S.T.A.G.E.) is Friday, March 12 at 8 PM, Saturday, March 13 at 8 PM
and Sunday, March 14 at 3 PM. Tickets for S.T.A.G.E. range in price from $30 to
$200 and are available by calling (323) 656-9069. Please visit the S.T.A.G.E.
website at www.stagela.com. The Luckman Fine Arts Complex is located at 5151
State University Drive on the campus of Cal State University Los Angeles.
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