Lois Pope Returns To The Stage in GIGI

Lynn University and Jan McArt, producer and director of theatre arts program development, today announced that glamorous Palm Beach philanthropist Lois Pope, who was a singer-actress earlier in her career, is returning to the stage as one of the headliners in the upcoming production of the classic Broadway hit musical Gigi by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Pope will appear as "Aunt Alicia" in the delightful, tune-filled show that will have three performances, March 14-15, at the beautiful Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this season.

"Elaine's annual musical treat" is a collaborative concert by the Live at Lynn Series and the Lynn Philharmonia Orchestra sponsored by Elaine Johnson Wold. This showcase musical features a full cast of professional stage performers who bring this delightful show to life with a full live symphony on stage. Lerner and Loewe's musical comedy is about a free-spirited young girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and the wealthy young playboy who falls in love with her as she is transformed into a poised courtesan and includes songs Thank Heaven for Little Girls and I Remember It Well.

• Saturday: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 4 p.m.
• Jan McArt, producer and director
• Terence Kirchgessner, conductor, Lynn Philharmonia
• Gordon Roberts, musical director
• Arthur Barnes, assistant musical director
• Rome Saladino, choreographer

Location: Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center

Tickets: Individual tickets are $70 for Box, $55 for Orchestra and $50 for Mezzanine

Exclusive production sponsor: Elaine Johnson Wold

Note: As produced by Edwin Lester for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Light Opera Associations and by Saint Subber for Broadway. Gigi is presented by arrangement with TAMS-WITMARK www.tamswitmark.com.

"Lynn University is thrilled to welcome Lois Pope back to their stage," says McArt. "We've been friends since we were both at William Morris Agency in New York along with other ingénues, such as Barbara Cook, Shirley Jones, Florence Henderson, Julie Andrews, all of whom were making their mark at that same time, so this is particularly thrilling to me because I want everyone to see this beautiful woman and all she stands for in the national community of philanthropists as the very talented singing actress I knew years ago."

Pope appeared as "Laurey" in an anniversary production of Oklahoma at City Center in New York City, co-starred with Phyllis Diller in Wonderful Town in Chicago, had roles in summer productions of Plain and Fancy in both New York and Florida, and appeared with Teddy Randazzo in Alan Freed's Mr. Rock and Roll.

"People don't realize all of the depths and levels in her, but performing is just one of Lois' many gifts that she doesn't talk about-like the fact that she prepared and ran in five New York Marathons. I call her 'the Wonder Woman' and I think this is the perfect role for her,' says McArt. "Aunt Alicia is the ultimate courtesan, teaching Gigi to become a lady of breeding. Alicia's reputation in her younger days for pleasing her courtiers was beyond compare. From teaching Gigi the difference between genuine gems and simulated stones to choosing the correct cigar for a gentleman, Alicia instills in Gigi that pleasing a man is an art in itself."

Widely celebrated for her philanthropy, Pope is the founder of Leaders in Furthering Education (LIFE), the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation, and the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation, which spearheaded the building of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington D.C. She is the driving force behind the establishment of the Lois Pope LIFE Center, which is home to the world's leading research facility for spinal cord injuries and connected to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; the Lois Pope Center for Retinal & Macular Degeneration Research at Bascom Palmer's campus in Palm Beach Gardens; and the Lois Pope Pet Clinic at TrI-County Animal Rescue. She is presenting sponsor of the American Humane's annual Hero Dog Awards and the K9Medal of Courage, and benefactor of the organization's Red Star Rescue mobile hospitals. In addition to her work with disabled veterans, animal welfare and medical research, Pope and her foundations provide funding for numerous nonprofit organizations to support college scholarships, summer camp experiences for disadvantaged children, the performing arts and global humanitarian relief.

As director and producer at Lynn University, McArt created and oversees four popular series at the university: Libby Dodson's Live at Lynn Theater series, Live at Lynn American Songbook series, Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret at Lincoln Center Comes to Live at Lynn, and Jan McArt's New Play Readings.

Tickets may be purchased in person at the Lynn box office, located in the Wold at 3601 N. Military Trail, online at lynn.edu/events or by phone at +1 561-237-9000.

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