Tony Award-winning actor John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys, GLEE) joins Grammy-winning and Tony- and Emmy-nominated songwriter Allee Willis (The Color Purple, Friends) on Sunday, May 23 to host FOOD FOR THOUGHT, the world premiere exhibition of Young's artwork. Young specializes in Pop Kitsch art, and FOOD FOR THOUGHT spotlights pieces that play off iconic comfort food and drinks, including mac ‘n' cheese, Good & Plenty®, Grape Crush®, and Hungry-Man® frozen dinners. The event, set for 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., is a fundraiser for AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). It is expected to draw 200 VIP guests including Lesley Ann Warren (Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace).
FOOD FOR THOUGHT will take place at Willis Wonderland, Willis' private studio and home to the world's largest collection of Kitsch. It is also a party house-extraordinaire, and Willis is celebrated as an impresario of inspired theme parties and events-as-performance art. Among Willis' songwriting credits are "I'll Be There for You" (the hit theme from Friends), "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" (Earth, Wind and Fire) and "Neutron Dance" (The Pointer Sisters). She also wrote the music and lyrics for the Oprah Winfrey-produced Broadway production of The Color Purple, for which she was Tony- and Grammy-nominated. Young is best known for his Broadway turn as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, for which he won the Tony the same year Willis was nominated. He is also lead singer on the musical's Grammy-winning, platinum soundtrack album. More recently, Young has created his series of original Pop Kitsch art pieces, a selection of which will be auctioned at FOOD FOR THOUGHT.ABOUT AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES (APLA)
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. With more than 25 years of service, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit apla.org.
Photo Credit: BWW-Staff
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