Hi. Gerry Appel, Executive Director of the Brook Arts Center here. And we are so excited about Marc and Scott coming to little old Bound Brook, NJ.
I'll print the whole press release below (written by John Graf, Marc) which includes info about our project.
Mistress, I'm sorry to say that the Elks Lodge is not handicap accessible. Please be assured, though, that the Brook Arts Center, when it opens next year, will be fully accessible (bathrooms, seating, etc.). I have already spoken to NJ Transit about the station accessibility. Call me, Mistress, at 732-469-7700 and we'll discuss the challenges in the land of the Antlered Ones (the Elks Lodge). I hope you can make it.
Looking forward to meeting all of you and sharing a great night with two fabulous people.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GERRY APPEL (732) 469-7700 gerry@brookarts.org
BROADWAY’S HAIRSPRAY COMPOSERS
MARC SHAIMAN & SCOTT WITTMAN
TO PERFORM IN BENEFIT CONCERT
FOR BROOK ARTS CENTER
April 26 fund-raiser to feature songs and stories and a VIP reception
BOUND BROOK, NJ - Broadway Tony award-winning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman of the smash-hit musical Hairspray will offer an exciting evening of hilarious songs and storytelling on Monday, April 26 in a special benefit performance for the Brook Arts Center. The evening will kick-off with a meet the artists reception at 7:00 pm in the ballroom of the Bound Brook Elks Lodge, followed by an 8:00 pm performance featuring the celebrity duo.
"We're honored to have Marc (Shaiman) and Scott (Wittman), both Tony Award winners for the wonderful score of the Broadway hit, HAIRSPRAY, return home for this once in a lifetime theatrical presentation," said Brook Arts Center Executive Director Gerry Appel. "Mr. Shaiman got his start on the New Jersey community theatre circuit over 30 years ago with the Plainfield Parish Players, Unicorn Productions, and Scotch Plains Players, and is now back to be honored by many of his former theatre friends."
Serving as honorary chairpersons of the evening will be two of Mr. Shaiman's oldest and closest friends - Vicki Tripodo, now a critically-acclaimed performer with The Forum Theatre of Metuchen, and Norman Krisburg, a former leading New Jersey stage director that gave Mr. Shaiman one of his first shots as a musical director with the 1973 production of Cabaret. Mr. Shaiman was only 13 years old and a 9th grader at Scotch Plains High School at the time. Serving as mistress of ceremonies for the evening will be Broadway performer and Brook Arts Center board member Paige Price (Saturday Night Fever, Beauty & The Beast, and Smokey Joe's Café).
The Brook Arts Center is also currently looking for former community theatre colleagues of Mr. Shaiman's to attend the event. Coordinating the reunion is Mr. Shaiman's former stage producer, Dot Stebbins. Those interested in being part of the reunion should contact Ms. Stebbins at (732) 469-8786 or cecil@webspan.net.
"An Evening with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman" has a limited number of VIP tickets ($45 including a pre-concert reception with the stars) and concert only tickets ($30) available. Tickets are currently available by credit card phone orders at (732) 469- 7700, or by mailing a check payable to The Brook Arts Center, P.O. Box 387, Bound Brook, New Jersey 08805.
The Bound Brook Elks Lodge will be the site of the benefit performance due to the current renovations of the Brook Arts Center (scheduled to re-open for public performances in January of 2005). The Elks Lodge is located just around the corner from the Brook Arts Center at 305 East Second Street.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT MARC SHAIMAN & SCOTT WITTMAN
Marc Shaiman is one of the preeminent composer/lyricists, arrangers, musical directors and music producers in the entertainment industry. He has worked on or appeared in over 50 films and has been nominated for five Academy Awards-for The First Wives Club, Sleepless in Seattle, Patch Adams, The American President, and the highly acclaimed animated musical, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. He began his professional career as vocal arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director and co-producer, bringing her songs like the Grammy-winning Wind Beneath My Wings and From A Distance.
His work with Ms. Midler on her Emmy Award-winning performance for the final Tonight Show with Johnny Carson is a highlight of their collaboration. Mr. Shaiman's other film credits include A Few Good Men, Sister Act, City Slickers, The Addams Family, Misery, When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Mother, George of the Jungle, In & Out, and The Story of Us (with Eric Clapton). Mr. Shaiman has received an Emmy Award for writing Billy Crystal's opening number for The Academy Awards as well as a nomination for Saturday Night Live. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for his work with Harry Connick, Jr., and has been awarded numerous gold and platinum records. In addition to his work with Ms. Midler and Mr. Connick, Mr. Shaiman has served as musical director and/or producer and/or arranger with a variety of other performers including Peter Allen, Rosemary Clooney, The Harlettes, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Nathan Lane, Darlene Love, Patti LuPone, Andrea Martin, Lonette McKee, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross, and Raquel Welch. Born and raised in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, he currently resides in Los Angeles and New York City with theatre director and collaborator Scott Wittman. Their 23-year relationship is his proudest achievement.
Scott Wittman was the co-lyricist for Hairspray with his partner, Marc Shaiman, and conceived and directed Patti LuPone's triumphant Carnegie Hall debut as well as her solo shows, Matters of the Heart, which enjoyed runs on Broadway and at London's Donmar Warehouse, and Patti LuPone on Broadway, which won the Outer Critic's Circle Award. Mr. Wittman co-wrote the musicals The G-String Murders, Trilogy of Terror, and Livin' Dolls, and directed the west coast premiere of the musical Eating Raoul, as well as the L.A. production of Livin' Dolls for which he received both the Dramalogue and L.A. Weekly awards for best director.
Mr. Wittman directed an all-star cast, including Bette Midler, Elaine Stritch, Madeline Kahn, and Lypsinka in Doin' What Comes Natr'lly, a benefit tribute to Ethel Merman. For PBS, he directed Sarah Jessica Parker and Nathan Lane in solo performances with the Boston Pops. Other television credits include serving as writer and segment producer for The Howard Stern Show and co-writing special music material for The Martin Short Show. In theatres and nightclubs around the country, he has written, directed, and staged shows for Christine Ebersole, The High-Heeled Women, Ute Lemper, Ann Magnuson, Lonette McKee, and Raquel Welch. He saw John Waters' Pink Flamingos at the Elgin Theatre with his friends in 1973 and has never been the same since.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE BROOK ARTS CENTER
OUR MISSION - to grow the arts
The primary mission of the Brook Arts Center is to grow the arts in Somerset County - currently by creating a performing arts center and arts incubator at the for Brook Theatre of Bound Brook, NJ.
HOW IT BEGAN
About 6 years ago, a small group of local residents and businessmen looked at the Brook Theatre as a potential catalyst of artistic growth in the historic district. At that time, downtown Bound Brook was showing signs of cultural enrichment - 2 art galleries, a trendy "tea room", etc. A nonprofit corporation, the Somerset County Cultural Arts Center, dba Brook Arts Center, was created to spearhead the effort. Then, the 1999 flood struck. The US EDA (Economic Development Administration), in a report written in combination with FEMA, suggested that the vision to create an "arts incubator" would be a valuable resource for revitalization in the flood-stricken area. An arts incubator is a breeding ground for new and existing arts organizations to thrive. The model for this project, the Arlington, Virginia Arts Incubator (www.arlingtonarts.org) has been in existence for over 10 years and is home to 35 different arts organizations. Currently, the number of audience patrons at the Arlington Arts Incubator surpasses twice the county's population.
In September 2002, the US EDA backed up their support with a $2.4 million grant to help make the Bound Brook arts incubator a reality. Also, the Somerset County Freeholders generously committed $200,000 toward this special project. The theatre was leased with an option to buy and the theatre lobby was renovated. To begin the job of drawing audiences to the Brook, performances began in its 1500-square foot lobby in June 2001. Stage lighting, sound equipment and a small stage were installed. Comfortable seats, mostly donated from Verizon, were set up for the audience.
THE LOBBY SERIES
The purpose of the Lobby Series was to gauge what the audiences would attend, basically a marketing survey. In 2001, four productions were performed in the lobby (LOVE LETTERS, AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE, and NUNSENSE). Children's Theatre productions were presented by a national touring theatre company - Sail Productions. In addition, the Garden State Theatre Organ Society offered silent movies with organ accompaniment. A 75-year anniversary celebration (January 19-20, 2002) presented 10 different performances in 36 hours. The following weekend, a play was performed in Spanish to tap that market, followed by a Spanish children's theatre production sponsored by AT&T. Beginning in February 2002, a Cabaret Series was created and the Brook joined the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC). There was a ROMANCE CABARET (on Valentine's Day), followed by a PATRIOTIC CABARET (attended by Senator Jon Corzine), a JAZZ CABARET and finally a BROADWAY WAR MUSICAL CABARET, sponsored by the Somerset County Vo-Tech Schools Foundation, to commemorate the Battle of Bound Brook. The 2002-2003 season included five productions by The Alliance Repertory Theatre Company, an Associate Member of the NJ Theatre Alliance (the league of NJ professional theatres). They included Comedy Café, Children of a Lesser God, Spinning Into Butter, Lone Star/Laundry & Bourbon, and David Mamet's Oleanna, which the Star Ledger's Peter Filicia called, "a harrowingly effective production." Other productions to follow included You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Mary, Mary, Stephen Sondheim's Company, and the Pulitzer Prize winning Our Town. Princeton Packet critic Stuart Duncan cited two productions presented at the Brook on his list of Best Shows of 2003 beside works by McCarter Theatre, George Street Playhouse and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
With assistance from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority though a special direct loan from the Community Economic Development Fund, the Brook Theatre was purchased by the nonprofit on October 7, 2003. That, along with the Federal and County funding, moves us closer to opening the doors to make the Brook an amazing showpalace for Somerset County audiences to enjoy and Somerset County artists to share.
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Brook Arts Center closed due to flooding from April 2007 Nor'easter. Watch www.brookarts.org for more info.
