Cady Huffman And More Sing SONGS OF HOPE To Benefit Center for Safety and Change

Artsrock will present SONGS OF HOPE in collaboration with THE CENTER FOR SAFETY AND CHANGE.

Tony winner Cady Huffman, who played Ulla in the smash Broadway hit THE PRODUCERS and played herself on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, comes to Nyack to share the stage with a host of high wattage talented women, all of whom have played major roles on Broadway and the concert stage. Songs for the night will reflect hope, love and promise, while expressing strength, support and solidarity.

This special evening will help benefit CENTER FOR SAFETY AND CHANGE and will be hosted by Nancy Giles from CBS SUNDAY MORNING.

The evening will feature Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman, composer Georgia Stitt, Mayra Casales, Rita Harvey, and Mary Ann McSweeney. The evening will be hosted by Nancy Giles on CBS Sunday Morning.

Tickets

Taking the stage Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 8pm at Old Nyack High School Theater (131 N Midland Ave., Nyack, NY, 5th Ave. Entrance). Tickets available at ArtsRock.org. $60 Premium/$35 General Admission. Center for Safety & Change provides critical services and support to women and all victims and survivors of gender-based violence and other crimes.  

About the Artists

Cady Huffman Cady Huffman is perhaps best known for her Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winning performance as “Ulla” in The Producers on Broadway opposite Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. This led to her unforgettable recurring role on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm where she almost became Larry David's 10th anniversary present. This success also brought her to the Food Network's kitchen stadium where she judged for 10 consecutive seasons on Iron Chef America.

Cady's other Broadway credits are her Tony-nominated performance as Ziegfeld's Favorite in THE Will Rogers FOLLIES, her Outer Critics' Circle Award nominated performance as Sylvie in THE NANCE, the original production of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, CHICAGO, STEEL PIER, Dame Edna: THE ROYAL TOUR, and Bob Fosse's last original musical BIG DEAL. She has had several guest starring appearances on television, including recurring roles on The Good Wife and Blue Bloods,  Younger, Madam Secretary, Master of None, Difficult People, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Frasier and Mad About You. 

Georgia Stitt is a composer/lyricist, music director, pianist, and music producer. Her original musicals include Samantha Spade, Ace Detective (National Youth Theatre 2014 Winner “Outstanding New Musical”) and Big Red Sun (NAMT Festival winner in 2010, Harold Arlen Award in 2005). Georgia's non-theatrical compositions include Fanfare for the Ups and Downs, commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony  and With Hope And Virtue, using text from President Obama's 2009 inauguration speech and featured on NPR as part of Judith Clurman's Sing Out, Mister President! Cycle. Georgia is the Founder and President of Maestra, an activist organization for women and nonbinary musicians in the theater.

Percussionist Mayra Casales, founder of Cocomama Music, is considered to be one of the most versatile percussionists of her generation. Born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami, Mayra studied with Carlos "Patato" Valdez. Before long she was performing with some of the biggest names in Latin music such as Celia Cruz, Machito, Joe Cuba, Miguelito Valdez and Tito Puente. Mayra moved to New York City where she continued her musical journey, working with such legendary artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Ray Barretto, Angela Bofil, Carmen Lundy, Tania Maria, Regina Carter and many others. Mayra's Woman on Fire/Mujer Ardiente album made it to #19 on the World Charts.

Mary Ann McSweeney, Bass, has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Joanne Brackeen, Lee Konitz, Gil Goldstein, and Bucky Pizzarelli. She has also played for renowned conductors, Leonard Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, and John Williams. Big Band performances include Maiden Voyage and Diva, and she has performed with her own quintet at the Seixal Jazz Festival in Portugal, with the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center and at the White House with the Eli Yamin Quintet.  She was musical director/arranger for three shows at NYC's Birdland Jazz Club featuring Jane Monheit, in a program that included selections from Irving Berlin and the Cole Porter musical, “Anything Goes.” McSweeney has played more than 45 Broadway shows, including Tony award-winning “A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.”

Rita Harvey performed the role of Hodel in the Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof," directed by David Leveaux and starring Alfred Molina, Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O'Donell. She made her Broadway debut performing the role of Christine Daae in "The Phantom of the Opera" after two and a half years in the role with the national touring company. Rita created the role of Lady Edith in the Off-Broadway hit musical "The Prince and The Pauper" at the Lambs Theatre. Regional credits include “Fun Home,” “Footloose,” “Oklahoma,” “Carousel,” and “Sweeney Todd.” Rita is the principal soprano in "Neil Berg's 100 Years of Broadway," which was voted the number one touring concert in the country.