On Monday, March 7th, Ten Chimneys Foundation will begin public ticket sales for Music in the Drawing Room featuring Broadway luminary Christine Ebersole and Edward Hibbert - for two nights only, April 29th and 30th. Ms. Ebersole and Mr. Hibbert will offer a very special performance of Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward in the Lunts' beautiful, mural-filled Drawing Room, accompanied on the Noël Coward Piano.
Only 40 seats are available for each performance, as attendees sit in the very same room where so many extraordinary guests once sat and listened to concerts on "Noëlie's" piano:
Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh, Helen Hayes,
Katharine Hepburn,
Carol Channing,
John Gielgud, and on and on. Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of
Noël Coward interweaves the music of
Noël Coward and letters between
Noël Coward and his famous friends (newly collected in the critically acclaimed book, The Letters of
Noël Coward, edited by
Barry Day).
Christine Ebersole is a Broadway and cabaret star of the highest degree. She won her first "Leading Actress in a Musical" Tony Award for 42nd Street in 2001, and her second in 2007 for the dual roles of Big Edie and Little Edie in Grey Gardens - which The New York Times called "One of the most gorgeous performances ever to grace a musical." Other Broadway triumphs have included On the Twentieth Century, Oklahoma!, Camelot,
Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Dinner at Eight (for which she was nominated for another Tony Award), Steel Magnolias, and the 2009 revival of the
Noël Coward comedy Blithe Spirit with
Rupert Everett and
Angela Lansbury.
Ms. Ebersole has also enchanted audiences with her on-camera performances. Her many film credits include a critically acclaimed role in Amadeus. On television, she was a beloved cast member of Saturday Night Live (where she co-anchored Weekend Update). Other television highlights include Ryan's Hope, One Life to Live, Valerie, Will & Grace, The Nanny, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown, Ally McBeal, Samantha Who?, Boston Legal, The Colbert Report, and Royal Pains, among many others. She also appeared in the 1993 television adaptation of Gypsy starring
Bette Midler.
International talent
Edward Hibbert was born in New York City and trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. London West End credits include The Mystery of Irma Vep, Lend Me a Tenor, Hamlet and Twelfth Night. Broadway credits include acclaimed productions such as Curtains (with
David Hyde Pierce), The Drowsy Chaperone, Noises Off, The Green Bird, Me and My Girl, and Alice in Wonderland.
Off Broadway, he received an Obie and a Dramalogue for his performance in Jeffrey. Other Off Broadway includes My Night with Reg, Privates on Parade, and as
Oscar Wilde in Gross Indecency. Mr. Hibbert has also earned accolades in regional theatres across America, and has appeared in films such as Taking Woodstock, The Prestige, Fakers, The Paper, Everyone Says I Love You, Uptown Girls, The First Wives Club, and The Lion King 1 & ½.
Mr. Hibbert's numerous television appearances include 11 seasons as Gil Chesterton on NBC's Frasier and Once Upon a Mattress with
Carol Burnett and
Tracey Ullman. He is currently starring in the Roundabout's acclaimed production of The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore with
Olympia Dukakis (who will be coming to Ten Chimneys herself this summer as the Master Teacher for the 2011 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program).
During Ms. Ebersole's highly praised revival of Blithe Spirit, she was asked to spend some time exploring
Noël Coward's songs, to help select the scene change music for the show. She fell in love with Noël's work and eagerly followed her newfound passion, ultimately recording the critically acclaimed
Christine Ebersole Sings
Noël Coward. Among the numerous rave reviews of the album was a prominent online music blog's conclusion that "If you're a
Noël Coward fan,
Christine Ebersole Sings
Noël Coward is an essential recording. If you're not familiar with the material of
Noël Coward, then this is the perfect place to start."
All tickets are $100, and go on sale to the public on Monday, March 7th.
Seating is extremely limited. For reservations, call (262) 968-4110.
Ten Chimneys is the estate lovingly created by Broadway legends
Alfred Lunt and
Lynn Fontanne. With no ropes and nothing under glass, guests are treated to a VIP guided tour of a National Historic Landmark replete with original furnishings and overflowing with the romance of the 1930s and '40s. For more information, please call (262) 968-4110 or visit
www.tenchimneys.org.
