Goodspeed To Celebrate Paul Williams 6/12

Goodspeed Musicals will proudly honor Composer/Lyricist Paul Williams at a Gala evening on Saturday, June 12, 2010 when he will receive The Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre in recognition of his extraordinary career. Previous award recipients include Julie Andrews, Ira Gershwin, Jerry Herman, William Ivey Long, Michael P. Price, Stephen Schwartz, Tommy Tune, Susan Stroman and Gerald Schoenfeld. Proceeds from the Gala will support Goodspeed Musicals' Education Programs.

The Co-Chairs for this Gala event will be writer/director/producer Garry Marshall and his wife Barbara. Honorary Committee members include Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Tony Bennett, Grammy winner Michael Bolton; Academy Award-winning puppeteer, director/producer Brian Henson; Grammy legend Quincy Jones; Tony Award nominee Cathy Rigby; Tony Award nominee and Oscar, Grammy Award-winning composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz; and artist manager Steve Sauer.

Emcee Alan Kalter, who for the last 15 years, has been Dave's "announcer" on Late Show with David Letterman, will lead the evening's festivities, to be held at the elegant Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station in Haddam, Conn. The event will include a cocktail hour and an exquisite dinner followed by a live auction led by celebrity auctioneer and longtime Goodspeed supporter Anchorwoman Ann Nyberg, and entertainment by award-winning songwriter/orchestrator Jimmy Webb whose most loved songs include "Up, Up and Away," "MacArthur Park," and "Wichita Lineman." Entertainment will also include some of Broadway's finest performers.

Individual tickets start at $500, while tables of ten can be purchased for $5,000 and up. For Gala ticket information, please telephone Caitlin Quinn at 860.873.8664, extension 367.

This year, Goodspeed is delighted to honor Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning Hall of Fame songwriter Paul Williams (Chairman and President of ASCAP). "Evergreen," "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "The Rainbow Connection" are among his timeless standards. His film scores include the Oscar nominated Bugsy Malone and the classic The Muppet Christmas Carol. His contribution to musical theatre includes penning the music and lyrics for Jim Henson's Emmet Otter, which had its world premiere at the Goodspeed in 2008, and Garry Marshall's Happy Days: A New Musical, which was developed at Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre followed by a full scale production at the Goodspeed Opera House. Happy Days went on to play at the Paper Mill Playhouse and a successful National Tour. Paul is recognized as one of America's most prolific and gifted lyricists and composers. His standards have been recorded by such diverse musical icons as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, The Carpenters, Luther Vandross, REM, Mel Torme, Anne Murray, Diana Krall, Gladys Knight and Diana Ross.

Publicly lauded for his work as a songwriter, performer, actor and humanitarian, Mr. Williams became a member of the Goodspeed Musicals family in 2007 when it produced Happy Days at The Norma Terris Theatre. His association with Goodspeed in creating new works continues today.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. 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.

For more information, visit goodspeed.org.