Rapp, D'Abruzzo and Tartaglia Star In FREE TO DREAM 8/2 At Joe's Pub

On August 2, 2010, at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM, take a musical road trip across the country in Free to Dream, an evening devoted to the songs of Katsaros and Schermerhorn at Joe's Pub. Featuring an all-star Broadway cast including Rent star Anthony Rapp and Avenue Q's John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Free to Dream showcases the people and places that make up the fabric of America; from country, rock and pop, to swing and the blues. Proceeds from Free to Dream benefit The New York Pops' education programs, which bring music to thousands of public schoolchildren across the five boroughs of New York City. The evening will be hosted by The New York Pops Music Director Steven Reineke, and will feature the Camp Broadway Kids, as well as the voice of Willard Scott as ‘DJ Sam'.

For nearly a decade, Grammy-winning composer Doug Katsaros and Emmy-nominated lyricist William Schermerhorn have been writing songs for national audiences as part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and other notable events. In addition to the title song "Free to Dream", highlights of the August 2 concert program include the original songs "It's All About Tonight", "Beneath a Summer Sky", "Gift of Light" and "Sing Another Day".

This night is made for sharing - so bring your friends and help fulfill childrens' dreams through music education!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Doug Katsaros
Doug Katsaros is a composer, arranger, keyboardist and vocalist who has worked on recordings with a variety of performers such as Elton John, Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, Kiss, and Cher. In the world of musical theater, Katsaros has composed for numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Rockabye Hamlet, The Life, Hair, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Footloose, Laughing Room Only, Altar Boyz, A...My Name Is Alice, Hal Prince's Diamonds, Abie's Island Rose, Just So, and The Toxic Avenger among others. He is currently in pre-production for his opera Moby Dick, and his musical about the Orphan Train will soon be on tour directed by Patricia Birch.

Katsaros has provided original music for the feature films If Lucy Fell (Sarah Jessica Parker, Elle McPherson) Me And The Mob (Sandra Bullock, Steve Buscemi), and the science fiction classic Star Crystal, as well as television programs "The Jim Henson Hour", "Mancuso FBI", and the animated series "The Tick". He has conducted "Great Performances" on PBS, written special material for the Tony Awards, and been a guest on "Oprah". His latest score for HBO is entitled "The Collector".

Katsaros' many projects have garnered Emmy and Drama Desk nominations, and a Grammy Award. He has been commissioned to write music for Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® on NBC, Universal Studios Orlando, the Ringling Brothers Circus, the Seville Worlds Fair, and much more. Among his jingles for numerous advertising campaigns, Katsaros wrote "By Mennen!" (www.themusicofyourdreams.com)

William Schermerhorn
As VP/Creative Director of Macy's Parade & Entertainment Group, William Schermerhorn is the leader of the creative team responsible for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and other extravaganzas for "America's Department Store." He received an "Outstanding Original Song" Daytime Emmy nomination in 2009 for the Christmas song "I Believe," and in the same year celebrated the Carnegie Hall debut of his American River Suite, a five-piece musical tone poem written with composer Stephen Flaherty. Schermerhorn has also written original material for performers as diverse as Julie Andrews, Harvey Fierstein, Walter Cronkite, Deborah Voigt and the Clique Girlz. He was born on the 4th of July.

Anthony Rapp
Within an extensive list of achievements, Broadway star Anthony Rapp is best known for originating the role of ‘Mark Cohen' in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award-winning rock opera, Rent. He reprised his role in Chris Columbus' film version opposite other members of the original cast, and recently visited the role once more with original cast member Adam Pascal in the Rent Tour. Anthony will next be seen in Don Roos' Love and Other Impossible Pursuits opposite Natalie Portman and Lisa Kudrow.

Anthony has an extensive theatre background; his most recent Broadway show was Second Stage Theatre's Some Americans Abroad. Other Broadway credits include the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation. His Broadway debut was in Precious Sons with Judith Ivey and Ed Harris, for which he received an Outer Critics Circle award and a Drama Desk nomination. Film credits include Adventures in Babysitting, School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, Man of the Century, David Searching, Road Trip, A Beautiful Mind, and Winter Passing - a film written and directed by his brother, Adam Rapp. Television credits include The Lazarus Man, The X-Files, The Beach Boys: An American Family, Kidnapped and Law & Order.

Rapp recently adapted his book Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent (Simon & Schuster) into a one-man show entitled "Without You" which he has performed on stages throughout the country. In 2000, he released his debut album, Look Around.

Stephanie D'Abruzzo is best known for her Tony-nominated debut performance as Kate Monster and Lucy The Slut in the award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q, a role which earned her Tony and Drama Desk nominations, a Theatre World Award, and a special Outstanding Ensemble & Puppet Artistry Award from the Outer Critics Circle. Additional New York stage credits include Don't Say Another Word, Plaisir D'Amour, Austentatious, Kiss and Makeup, I Love You Because, Carnival (Encores!), Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash, and the Theatreworks/USA limited NYC run of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Story Books. Outside of NYC, her credits include [title of show] at St. Louis Rep and the world-premiere of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at the Kennedy Center.

Stephanie made her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops in Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004, and performed in two star-studded concerts honoring Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday in 2005, at the New Amsterdam Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition, she made her solo cabaret debut at the famed jazz club Birdland in 2005, and has also performed at Caroline's, Town Hall, and a number of Broadway theatres for countless benefit performances including the Atrainplays XXI and XXII, More Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds, and the Actor's Fund concert of Chess.

Stephanie has spent 17 seasons as a Muppet Performer on the Emmy-winning Sesame Street, where she currently lends her talents to Curly Bear, as well as a myriad of walk-on characters on the street, and also brings life to countless inanimate objects on Elmo's World.

John Tartaglia earned a Tony Award® nomination for his performance in the Tony-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q, for which he originated the roles of Princeton and Rod. Tartaglia is currently in the Broadway cast of Shrek The Musical, and was Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. A 10-year veteran of "Sesame Street," Tartaglia was one of the youngest puppeteers ever to perform on the show, starting at the age of 16. In addition to his work on "Sesame Street," he also starred in Sesame Workshop's innovative English as a Foreign Language project, "Sesame English". Tartaglia is also executive producer and star of Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites", and has appeared on Discovery Channel's "Animal Jam" and Disney Channel's "Bear in the Big Blue House" and "JoJo's Circus". Tartaglia is a past host of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts.

Steven Reineke's boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation's most sought-after pops conductors, composers and arrangers. Reineke begins his second season as Music Director of The New York Pops. In addition to conducting the orchestra's annual Carnegie Hall concert series, Reineke leads concert tours, recordings, and nationwide telecasts, including the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks on NBC Television. Mr. Reineke also serves as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras and he retains the title of Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for fifteen years he served as a composer, arranger, and conducting protégé of the late celebrated pops conductor Erich Kunzel. Steven Reineke's notable guest conducting appearances include the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra and his debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer, with the most recent performances of his works by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The New York Pops' Music Education Programs
All proceeds from the concert benefit The New York Pops' music education programs. The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. The New York Pops' extensive education programs allow thousands of public schoolchildren to participate in concert and music-making experiences at Carnegie Hall and in schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

Concert and Ticket Information
Monday, August 2, 2010, 7:00PM and 9:30PM, Joe's Pub
FREE TO DREAM
The Songs of Katsaros & Schermerhorn
Music by Doug Katsaros
Lyrics by William Schermerhorn

VIP Seating: $125
General Admission: $45
Proceeds to benefit The New York Pops' Music Education Programs

Purchase tickets online at www.joespub.com, by phone at 212-967-7555 or in person at The Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM) or Joe's Pub Box Office (6 PM to 10 PM), both located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.
For general admission tickets, seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows.