Virginia Rep Honors Pat Carroll at Second Annual Anything Goes Gala Tonight

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the second annual Anything Goes Gala tonight, February 1, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Hotel, 101 West Franklin Street.

The gala will raise important funds for Virginia Rep and highlight professional theatre in Central Virginia. The black tie fundraiser will include cocktails in the Rotunda and dinner in the Main Ball Room, silent and live auctions, and featured entertainment from Scott Wichmann (Say Goodnight Gracie, The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Stacey Cabaj (My Fair Lady, Sound of Music) and straight from Broadway as the lead role in the revival of Annie, Taylor Richardson. Taylor used to live in Richmond and played Susan Waverly in Virginia Rep's production of White Christmas.

The event will include the presentation of the Virginia Excellence in Theatre Award to award winning actor, Pat Carroll. The VET honors a nationally recognized actor with roots in Virginia for his/her contributions to the theatre arts.

Pat Carroll has been a working actor for 66 years. Her career on Broadway and in television and films has earned her a Tony-nomination, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Drama Desk Award as Best Actress of the Year. At 86 years young, she is the only actor ever to have been awarded Richmond's Key to the City.

Best known today as the model and voice of Ursula the Sea Witch in all of the Disney Little Mermaid franchises, Pat first earned national attention in 1947, appearing with Gloria Swanson in a regional production of The Goose and the Gander. That success was immediately followed by scores of stock productions coast to coast. In 1955, she took New York by storm in the musical Catch a Star, earning a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut. National tours followed, with leading roles in On the Town, Once Upon a Mattress, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Additional Broadway work included Dancing in the End Zone (1985), The Show Off (1992), and Electra (1999).

During the Golden Age of television, Pat co-starred in The Red Buttons Show, Caesar's Hour with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner (Emmy Award - Best Supporting Actress), Make Room for Daddy with Danny Thomas, and The Red Skelton Hour. Numerous guest starring roles included The Danny Kaye Show, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Cinderella (with Leslie Ann Warren), My Three Sons, Mary Tyler Moore, Designing Women, and E.R. Pat co-starred in films including With Six You Get Eggroll, Songcatcher, Freedom Writers, and the recent comedy Bridesmaids.

Pat was introduced to Richmond audiences in her touring one-woman show, Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein, which played at Hanover Tavern in the late 80s. This was followed by Barksdale's four record-breaking runs of Nunsense, and Grace and Glorie at Theatre IV.

Ellen Buoyer and Cheryl Fockler are spearheading the 2014 gala. "We are delighted to build on the momentum from last year and to honor the contributions of Pat Carroll, an icon in American theater. With the fabulous entertainment line up, we think it is the most exciting gala in town."