Arden, Benanti, Keenan-Bolger, Gettelfinger, Von Essen Star in Dec. 5 Secret Garden Benefit Concert

By: Oct. 12, 2005
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A star-studded cast will headline the Third Annual World AIDS Day Benefit Concert of The Secret Garden. Artistic Producer Jamie McGonnigal and producers Brad Bauner, Adam Caldwell, Josh Fiedler, Ryan Hill and Erica Lynn Schwartz, in association with The Storm Theatre, will present the concert on Monday, December 5, 2005 (7 p.m.) at Manhattan Center Studios Grand Ballroom (311 West 34th Street).

With more casting to be announced, The Secret Garden will star Michael Arden (Big River, Bare) as Dickon, Laura Benanti (Into the Woods, Swing!) as Lily, Celia Keenan-Bolger (...Spelling Bee) as Martha, David Canary ("All My Children") as Ben, Sara Gettelfinger (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nine) as Rose, Terrence Mann (Lennon, The Rocky Horror Show) as Neville Craven and Max Von Essen (Dance of the Vampires) as Albert. Stafford Arima (Altar Boyz) will direct.

The Secret Garden opened at the St. James Theatre in April 1991, playing 709 performances before closing in January 1993. The musical, based on the famed novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, features a book and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon. The original Broadway cast featured Mandy Patinkin, Alison Fraser, Howard McGillin, Rebecca Luker, Robert Westenberg, John Cameron Mitchell and Daisy Eagan, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Mary Lennox.

The creative team for the benefit concert includes musical direction by Michael Kosarin (Little Shop of Horrors), orchestrations by William David Brohn (Wicked, Ragtime), set consultation by Lauren Helpern (Underneath the Lentil) and lighting design by Traci Klainer (MTC's Four). Stephen DeAngelis is the casting director.

Proceeds from the concert presentation of The Secret Garden will benefit The Joey DiPaolo AIDS Foundation and Camp TLC (Teens Living with a Challenge).

The World AIDS Day Concerts were founded in 2003 by Kate Shindle and McGonnigal to help raise awareness of the health holiday and to celebrate the lives of those lost and those still fighting the ever-present disease. Through the creation and instillment of community, while fighting for a common cause, The World AIDS Day Concerts have successfully grown from idea to fruition. The inaugural concert, the New York Professional Premiere of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden, sold-out the majestic Riverside Cathedral on Manhattan's Upper West Side. 2004's sold-out concert presentation of Pippin featured performances from Rosie O'Donnell, and a return to his Tony-Award Winning role by Ben Vereen.

Tickets are scaled from $50-$150 and are now available by calling TicketCentral.com at 212-279-4200, or in-person at the Ticket Central offices, located at 416 West 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets are available daily between noon and 8 p.m.

To inquire about special donor seating (prime and rear orchestra seats for donations of $1,000.00 and $500.00 respectively), please call 212-769-7930. Special donors will be contacted shortly thereafter by a production team member to confirm and review the order. Tickets purchased at the $500 and $1000 levels will include passes to the exclusive post-show party with the cast and creative team.

All ticket holders are invited to attend a Pre-show Silent Auction. The auction will begin at 6:30pm in the Grand Ballroom. If interested in providing an item to be auctioned, please contact Erica Lynn Schwartz at erischwa@gmail.com.

For more information, visit www.WorldAIDSDayConcert.org.

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