Patti LuPone is The Lady with the Torch in May 22 Concert

Tony and Olivier Award winning actress-singer Patti LuPone, currently starring to critical acclaim in the hit Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, will return to the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 W 65 Street), to perform a special one-night only concert of her critically acclaimed one-woman show "The Lady With The Torch" on Monday, May 22 at 8 PM to benefit Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.

The concert will help celebrate the launch of her new CD "The Lady With The Torch," which was released on April 25 on Ghostlight Records.

"The Lady With The Torch," which is conceived and directed by Scott Wittman, with orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick and musical direction by Chris Fenwick will feature a 10-piece orchestra performing an eclectic collection of torch songs by such composers and lyricists as Arthur Schwartz, Jule Styne, Billy Barnes, Stan Kenton and June Christie, Johnny Mercer, George and Ira Gershwin, Willie Nelson, and Cole Porter. The concert is being performed in memory of Dick Gallagher, LuPone's longtime musical director.

LuPone premiered 'The Lady With The Torch" last year in a sold-out solo concert at Carnegie Hall, following engagements in New York at Feinstein's at the Regency, at the Cinegrill in Los Angeles and at the Plush Room in San Francisco.

LuPone, who is Tony-nominated for her current Broadway turn as Mrs. Lovett in the hit Sweeney Todd revival, has been one of Broadway's foremost leading ladies since her star-making performance in 1979's Evita, for which she won a Tony Award. The star, who graduated from Julliard and was a member of John Houseman's famed Acting Company in the '70s. Broadway credits include Noises Off, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class, Anything Goes (Tony nomination), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Oliver!, Working, The Three Sisters, The Robber Bridegroom (Tony nomination) and The Beggar's Opera; she has also starred in Pal Joey and Can-Can at Encores! Additionally, she originated the role of Fantine in the London production of Les Miserables, starred as Norma Desmond in the 1993 West End production of Sunset Boulevard (her last appearance in a fully-staged musical), and played Genevieve in the original production of The Baker's Wife. She will next appear at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago as Rose in Gypsy this August.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fund raising and grant making organization. BC/EFA is the on-going, committed response from the American theater community to an urgent worldwide health crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of this community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States. Since it's founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $100 million for critically needed services for people with AIDS, HIV, or HIV-related illnesses.

Tickets for "The Lady With The Torch" range from $50 to $500 and are available by calling Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at 212-840-0770 or online at www.BroadwayCares.org.

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