For immediate release
Contact: Helene Davis
(212) 354-7436
helene@helenedavispr.com
A Gala Evening with Kristin Chenoweth
New York City Center’s Spring Benefit
on Monday, May 11
honors Dolores and Clifton R. Wharton
New York, NY, December 7, 2008- New York City Center’s annual spring gala will star Kristin Chenoweth in “A Gala Evening with Kristin Chenoweth,” a musical show featuring a full orchestra conducted by Encores! Music Director Rob Berman, on Monday, May 11 at 7 pm, at City Center, W. 55th Street between 6th & 7th Aves. A post-performance dinner at The Plaza Hotel is planned; tickets to the performance only are also available.
The Gala evening, honoring Dolores and Clifton R. Wharton, will begin with cocktails at New York City Center 6:00pm. The performance will be followed by dinner at The Plaza Hotel. Gala Co-chairs are Sherry and Steve Jacobs; Monica and Raymond A. Lamontagne; Patricia W. and Jesse Robert Lovejoy, Stephanie and Fred Shuman; and Judy and Fred Wilpon.
Kristin Chenoweth received a Tony nomination for her work as Glinda in Stephen Schwartz's Wicked and a Tony Award for her performance as Sally in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Her other Broadway credits include Steel Pier and Epic Proportions and Candide with The New York Philharmonic. She has starred in the New York City Center Encores! productions of Strike Up the Band, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Stairway to Paradise, and The Apple Tree (continuing with the show in its Broadway run.). Her television credits include next season’s “Legally Mad,” “Kristin,” "The West Wing," and "The Music Man;" she has been seen on film in Four Christmases, The Pink Panther, Stranger Than Fiction, Deck the Halls and Running with Scissors. Her solo recordings include "Let Yourself Go," "As I Am" and the newly released "A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas."
Dolores Wharton was Founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Fund for Corporate Initiatives, Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to strengthening the role of minorities and women in the corporate world. She served as a trustee of City Center from 1994-2007. Mrs. Wharton was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts and has served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1976, Mrs. Wharton was elected the first woman and first African-American to the board of the Phillips Petroleum Company, a position she held for 18 years. She also served as a former director of the Kellogg Company for 22 years and the Gannett (media) Company for 18 years.
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., is President Emeritus of Michigan State University, former Chancellor of the State University of New York system, and former Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF. Dr. Wharton was the first African-American to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, as well as the first African-American to head a major university. He spent 22 years working in foreign economic and agricultural development in Latin America and Southeast Asia for the Rockefeller family philanthropic interests. Dr. Wharton has served six presidents in foreign policy advisory posts and most recently was appointed by President Clinton as Deputy Secretary, the second highest post in the U.S. Department of State.
New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President and CEO) has long been known and beloved by New York audiences not only as one of the City’s preeminent performing art institutions but also as an accessible and welcoming venue for dance and theater. New York City Center produces the Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series, and is home to some of the country’s leading dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club, one of New York’s leading theater companies. In 2004 New York City Center launched the acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival, continuing to fulfill its mission to make the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience. In 2006, New York City Center formed partnerships with both London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre to facilitate the exchange of innovative dance works, and with Carnegie Hall to work together on exciting new programming initiatives between the two neighboring institutions. In 2007 New York City Center introduced the Encores! Summer Stars series with the critically-acclaimed production of Gypsy¸ currently enjoying a successful run on Broadway, which was followed by this past summer’s Damn Yankees starring Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski.
Performance only tickets are available for $25, $40 and $100 at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org. Benefit tickets range from $300 – $2,500 and are available by calling 212-763-1205.