THE OFFICE Star Kate Flannery Joins 'A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz' Cast

Kate Flannery from NBC's THE OFFICE and Off Broadway's LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE has joined the cast  for "When You Believe: A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz" at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs on May 19.

Schwartz,  the three-time Academy Award-winning Broadway legend and composer,  will be interviewed live onstage about his career, interspersed by performances of his stage and movie musical hits. The evening will be directed and moderated by Broadway veteran and award-winning Desert actor Scott Logsdon. Songs from Schwart'z catalogue of hits will be performer by Flannery, Broadway legend Andrea McArdle, Pamla Vale Abramson, Melissa Batalles, Garrett Hoy, Ben Reece and Laura L.Thomas. Joel Baker will be the musical director/accompanist. 

Kate Flannery is best known as Meredith on NBC's THE OFFICE. She's been seen on the NY stage in Nora Ephron's LOVE , LOSS AND WHAT I WORE, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS as Neely O'Hara at the Circle in The Square and THE REAL LIVE BRADY BUNCH as Alice at the Village Gate. She's a former member of Chicago's Second City National Tour Co. and the Annoyance Theater. Her original comedy act, the Lampshades has played Joe's Pub and plays Hollywood regularly. www.thelampshades.com

She's guest starred on Disney's WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE HBO's LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, LAST COMIC STANDING, SNL's SATURDAY TV FUNHOUSE, LENO and THE SOUP.

Kate is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia (her hometown.) She studied 2 years at Shenandoah Conservatory.
Stephen Schwartz, the three-time Acadmey Award winning composert behind such worldwide Broadway hits as WICKED, GODSPELL and PIPPIN and films including PRINCE OF EGYPT and POCAHONTAS, will be the first recipient of Desert Ensemble Theatre Company's Melpomai Award, to be given annually to honor excellence in the development of theater nationally.

"Having someone with Kate's comic sensibility and musical background will really bring the humor of Stephen's songs to life. We're excited to welcome her on-board to this exciting event," said DETC co-founding artistic director Eric Olson.

Stephen Schwartz's body of work includes the scores for the shows GODSPELL, PIPPIN, THE MAGIC SHOW, THE BAKER'S WIFE, WORKING, CHILDREN OF EDEN, CAPTAIN LOUIS, WICKED, the film PRINCE OF EGYPT (for which he won an Oscar) and the opera SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON. As a lyricist, he worked on Bernstein's MASS, RAGS and the films THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, POCAHONTAS (for which he won two Academy Awards) and ENCHANTED.

He has won many major awards in his field, including three Oscars, four Grammys, four Drama Desk Awards, one Golden Globe Award, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater and a self-described "tiny handful of tennis trophies". He has received six Tony Award nominations, for WICKED, PIPPIN, and GODSPELL, music/lyrics; RAGS, lyrics; and WORKING, music/lyrics, and book. In April 2008, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in January 2010 he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2008, WICKED reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances.

Andrea McArdle rocketed to stardom as Broadway's original ANNIE, for which she was the youngest performer ever nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. For her work as ANNIE she won the Theatre World and Outer Critics' Circle Awards. She's also been seen on Broadway in LES MISERABLES, BEAUTY & THE BEAST, STARLIGHT EXPRESS and STATE FAIR. Her television credits include playing Judy Garland in RAINBOW, the "star to be" in ABC's ANNIE and SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.

Tickets for "When You Believe: A Conversation With and Tribute To Stephen Schwartz" are available through the Annenberg Theater, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs. Tickets cost $55, $65 and $75. The Annenberg Theater box office can be reached at (760) 325-4490 or online at http://www.psmuseum.org.

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