Sonnet Repertory Theatre's Benefit Held At Joe's Pub 11/14

Sonnet Repertory Theatre presents their Tenth Annual Benefit and Cabaret on Monday, November 14, bringing together a diverse and talented group of performers and composers at Joe's Pub to honor award-winning director and teacher, Gerald Freedman. Celebrating Freedman's career, this evening will feature some of Broadway's greatest talents and legends, including: Jennifer Ferrin, Penny Fuller, HAl Holbrook, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Jeremy Jordan, Kevin Kline, Terrence Mann, John Mauceri, Estelle Parsons, Austin Pendleton, Wesley Taylor, Alfred Uhry, Price Waldman, and more, including special tributes by Olympia Dukakis and Chita Rivera.

Gerald Freedman is a strong proponent of Sonnet Rep's mission: classic theatre for the modern planet. All proceeds from the event will go towards Sonnet Repertory Theatre's 2012 key initiatives, including producing exciting, accessible classic theater, and enriching their ever-growing educational initiatives, designed to nurture arts and classical language appreciation among New York City's school children. As a non-profit organization, SRT seeks to promote classic theatre to a contemporary audience by producing insightful and relevant interpretations, while also providing diverse and challenging creative opportunities.

Sonnet Repertory Theatre's Tenth Annual Benefit & Cabaret will take place Monday, November 14, at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street, between Astor Place and West 4th). Doors open at 6:00pm with an exclusive raffle, and performances are scheduled to begin at 7:00pm. Tickets are $75 Premium; $50 Reserved. (In addition to the ticket price, there is a $12 dining or two-drink minimum). To purchase tickets, please visit the Joe's Pub website: www.joespub.com.

HONOREE

Gerald Freedman is an Obie Award-winning director and holds the distinction as the first American invited to direct at London's Globe Theatre. He is regarded nationally for productions of classic drama, musicals, operas, new plays and television. Freedman has staged 26 of Shakespeare's plays, along with dozens of other world classics. He served as leading director of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival from 1960 through 1971, and artistic director from 1968 through 1971. He was also co-artistic director of John Houseman's The Acting Company from 1974 through 1977, artistic director of the American Shakespeare Theatre from 1978 through 1979, and artistic director of the Great Lakes Theater Festival from 1985 through 1997.

Freedman has directed celebrated actors such as Olympia Dukakis, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, Julie Harris, Charles Durning, Sam Waterston, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Jean Stapleton, William Hurt, Carroll O'Connor and Kevin Kline. He made theatre history with the off-Broadway premiere of the landmark rock musical Hair, which opened The Public Theatre in 1967. Other Broadway work includes: The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour with Joel Grey, the revival of West Side Story, co-directed with Jerome Robbins, the premiere of Arthur Miller's The Creation of the World and Other Business, and Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession with Lynn Redgrave and Edward Herrmann. Productions for the Great Lakes Theater Festival include King Lear with HAl Holbrook, which went on to the Roundabout Theatre.

In addition, Freedman has directed opera productions for the Opera Society of Washington at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Opera Company, and New York City Opera (revivals of Brigadoon and South Pacific).

Freedman is the current Dean of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has also taught at Yale University and The Juilliard School, and currently serves on the Kennedy Center New Play Committee, is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, and a participant in the Oomoto Institute, Kameoka, Japan.

HOST

The host of the evening is Wesley Taylor, a Richard Rodgers and Jerry Bock Award-winning actor, who can be seen on Steven Spielberg's new NBC show "SMASH," starring Debra Messing, Angelica Houston, Christian Borle and Katherine McPhee.

Taylor made his Broadway debut in Rock of Ages, where he originated the role of German city developer, Franz. Taylor won a Theatre World Award for this role, and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. He also originated the role of Lucas Beineke in Broadway's The Addams Family, and has appeared on television in "One Life to Live," "Live! with Regis and Kelly," "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Taylor recently starred as Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the world-premiere musical, Tales of the City (based on the book series by Armistead Maupin), at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre.

He also stars alongside Rock of Ages cast mates and Jackie Hoffman in the popular YouTube web series, "Billy Green."

PERFORMERS

Award-winning performers are scheduled to appear in SRT's 2011 Benefit & Cabaret including: Jennifer Ferrin (HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," "As the World Turns" - two Daytime Emmy nominations, "Life on Mars," "The Cape," and Broadway's The 39 Steps), Penny Fuller (The Dinner Party - Tony Award nomination, A New Brain - Drama Desk Award, Applause - Tony Award, and TV's "Judging Amy"), HAl Holbrook (Mark Twain Tonight! - Tony and Drama Desk Awards, Into the Wild - Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations), Rebecca Naomi Jones (Broadway's American Idiot, Passing Strange, and TV's "Nurse Jackie"), Jeremy Jordan (upcoming Broadway's Bonnie and Clyde, TV's "SMASH," and upcoming film, Joyful Noise, starring Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda - Academy Award, Broadway's On the Twentieth Century - Tony and Drama Desk Awards, The Pirates of Penzance - Tony and Drama Desk Awards, as well as multiple Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations, five Golden Globe Awards, an Emmy Award), Terrence Mann (Broadway's Cats, Les Misérables - Tony Award nomination, Beauty and the Beast - Tony Award nomination, John Mauceri (music directorship of Pittsburgh Opera from 2000 to 2006, principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra from 1991 to 2006, and Chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts since 2006), Estelle Parsons (Broadway's Good People, August Osage County; Tony Award nominations for Estelle Parsons, Morning's at Seven, Miss Margarida's Way), Austin Pendleton (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, A Beautiful Mind, My Cousin Vinny, and Broadway's Little Foxes - Tony Award nomination, The Last Sweet Days of Isaac - Drama Desk Award), Alfred Uhry (Lovemusik - Drama Desk Award nomination, Parade - Tony and Drama Desk Awards, The Last Night of Ballyhoo - Tony Award, Driving Miss Daisy - Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award), and Price Waldman (Broadway's The Little Mermaid, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Lion King).

Additional performers will be announced shortly.

COMPOSERS

Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story - Tony Award nomination, Candide - Tony Award nomination, Wonderful Town - Tony Award, and a Tony Award Special Award recipient), Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens - Tony and Drama Desk Awards nominations for Best Original Score, Happiness - Lincoln Center Theatre, Doll - Richard Rodgers Award, Meet Mister Future - winner of Global Search for New Musicals), Galt MacDermot (Hair - Tony Award), Terrence Mann (Cats, Les Misérables - Tony Award nomination, Beauty and the Beast - Tony Award nomination), Ben Toth (recently served as vocal coach for the New York Philharmonic's concert production/film of Stephen Sondheim's Company, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, and Stephen Colbert, and as musical director and vocal coach for an all-star tribute to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, featuring Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Nicole Scherzinger), Robert Waldman (The Robber Bridegroom - Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The School for Scandal).
Additional composers will be announced shortly.

ABOUT Sonnet Repertory Theatre

Sonnet Repertory Theatre recently closed a summer 2011 run of Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle. 2010's season featured a sold-out Richard II (co-produced with Matchbook Productions) and a critically acclaimed production of Twelfth Night, which the New York Times called a "solid, talent-filled production." Sonnet Repertory Theatre is led by Co-Artistic Directors Tiffany Little Canfield (Casting Director at NYC's Telsey + Company, the team behind casting for the films 17 Photos of Isabel, I Love You Phillip Morris, Rachel Getting Married, Sex and the City (both films), Dan in Real Life, Julie Taymor's Across the Universe, and countless Broadway shows including Spiderman, Catch Me if You Can, In the Heights, and Baz Luhrmann's production of Puccini's La Boheme) and Todd Loyd (numerous on and off-Broadway credits as actor, director and everything in-between including the Broadway productions of La Boheme, The Color Purple, works at The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O'Neill Playwright's Conference, Lincoln Center Institute, Cedar Lake Dance, PCPA Theaterfest, The Belt Theatre, and such festivals as NYMF and NAMT).

www.sonnetrepertorytheatre.org

Sonnet Repertory Theatre's Tenth Annual Benefit & Cabaret will take place Monday, November 14, at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street, between Astor Place and West 4th). In addition to the ticket price, there is a $12 dining or two-drink minimum.

To purchase tickets, please visit the Joe's Pub website: www.joespub.com.