The Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) honored Rodgers & Hammerstein president Ted Chapin (left) at its annual gala Wednesday night for his support in helping the Queens-based theater "bring Allegro to the stage," according to Shelly Felder, president of APAC's board of directors. APAC produced the rarely seen Rodgers & Hammerstein flop last spring, some six months before Classic Stage mounted it under the direction of John Doyle. APAC's Allegro received a 2014 Innovative Theatre (IT) Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.
New York City Council member Jimmy Van Bramer, whose district includes part of Astoria, was also honored at the APAC gala, which was held at the Museum of the Moving Image. Entertainment at the event included a performance of the song "Our Time" from Merrily We Roll Along, APAC's next production.
The Astoria Performing Arts Center, established in 2001, produces premieres and revivals of plays and musicals and runs outreach programs for children and seniors in the community. It will present Merrily We Roll Along from April 30 to May 23. Click here for more information.
Honorees Jimmy Van Bramer (left), majority leader of the New York City Council, and Ted Chapin, president of Rodgers & Hammerstein, the organization that handles licensing for all R&H shows as well as the work of many other songwriters.
Heather Shields (left), interim executive director of the Astoria Performing Arts Center, with Dev Bondarin, APAC's artistic director, who is directing its upcoming production of Merrily We Roll Along.
Entertainment at the gala began with an NYC-themed medley, starting with On the Town's "New York, New York," performed by (from left) Jason Pintar, Jan-Peter Pedross and Jonathan Gregg. They've all been in multiple APAC shows.
Jason Pintar sang "New York State of Mind" while (from left) Victoria Bundonis, Jaimie Kelton and Marcie Henderson performed the refrain from "Empire State of Mind." The women are also APAC alumni.
Jaimie Kelton and Jonathan Gregg duetted on an Allegro love song, "You Are Never Away."
(From left) Jason Pintar, Victoria Bundonis, Jan-Peter Pedross and Marcie Henderson joined in on songs from Allegro and "Our Time."
Yet another 50th-anniversary tribute to The Sound of Music! The title song was performed by Broadway vet Christine Toy Johnson, who was in York Theatre's 1994 production of Merrily We Roll Along.
The Allegro medley included "The Gentleman Is a Dope," sung by Bundonis, Kelton and Henderson.
George Mihaltses (left), vp for government and community affairs at the New York Public Library, presented the award to Jimmy Van Bramer, chair of the City Council's committee on cultural affairs and libraries. "I love all things that have 'Astoria' at the beginning of their name," said the councilman, who grew up in the neighborhood and spoke about his family's tradition of watching The Sound of Music on TV every year at the behest of his mother (who attended the gala). "People talk about the economic impact of the arts," Van Bramer said, "but beyond that, it enriches our souls and makes us happier, better, more well-rounded people."
In presenting the award to Chapin, APAC board president Shelly Felder (right) said, "It was only through his support that Allegro found the success at APAC that it did." But Chapin informed the audience of his other Astoria connection: His mother was a member of the Steinway family, whose piano factory has been operating in Astoria since the 1870s.
Chapin talked about how the 2009 studio recording of Allegro (featuring Audra McDonald, Patrick Wilson, Laura Benanti, Nathan Gunn, Liz Callaway and Norbert Leo Butz) came to be. "We did it...for the good of Allegro, because we figured nobody was going to know what this piece was without this kind of recording. And I have to say, the APAC production was the first--and, up until this point, I will say the best--example of why we did that." APAC "really captured what I believe the essence of that piece is," Chapin stated, noting that the company was even able to lure some "fancy-pants people from across the river" to come see Allegro.
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The Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) honored Rodgers & Hammerstein president Ted Chapin (left) at its annual gala Wednesday night for his support in helping the Queens-based theater "bring Allegro to the stage," according to Shelly Felder, president of APAC's board of directors. APAC produced the rarely seen Rodgers & Hammerstein flop last spring, some six months before Classic Stage mounted it under the direction of John Doyle. APAC's Allegro received a 2014 Innovative Theatre (IT) Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.
