ALBANY, NY (April 16, 2013) -- Park Playhouse today announced a special 25th Anniversary Concert event to be held on Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 8:00pm at The Palace Theatre in downtown Albany, NY. The concert will benefit the company, known for their free productions each summer in Washington Park. The company celebrates their quarter century milestone in 2013, and this unique concert event will feature a look back at summers past.
Favorite actors from the company's history will be accompanied by a full pit of musicians as they perform popular tunes from the company's first 24 years of offerings. Multimedia projections including pictures and video footage will accompany the performances to remind audiences of their favorite Park Playhouse musicals.Original orchestrations by Playhouse Musical Directors Justin P. Cowan and Brian Axford will be used for the selections. Special guest narrator Steve Fletcher (former Executive Director and featured in Guys & Dolls) will provide background about the many shows and their place in Park Playhouse history. An ensemble cast of dancers and singers from this year's productions will join the former cast members to participate in larger dance numbers.
Returning actors include Mary Pohl (Sound of Music, My Fair Lady), Steven Earl Edwards (Camelot, The Music Man), Sandra Bargman (Guys & Dolls, Damn Yankees), Tim Nelson (Damn Yankees, Kiss Me Kate), Shannon Rafferty (Cabaret), Molly McGrath (Annie Get Your Gun & Spamalot), Jason Marks (The Producers), Vincent DiPeri (Hairspray, The Producers) Mark Burgasser (Fiddler on the Roof), Michelle Adams (Oklahoma, Gypsy) and others.
This will mark Park Playhouse's first event at The Palace Theatre. The two organizations began collaborating through shared staff resources in 2012. Owen Smith, Park Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director, also serves as The Managing Director of The Palace. Park Playhouse and The Palace are continuing to seek additional ways to collaborate, with the Playhouse planning an upcoming move into available office space at the downtown Theatre.
Park Playhouse will host a Gala cocktail reception in the Theatre's lobby prior to the concert (with doors opening to VIP ticket holders at 6:00pm). Guests will be treated to refreshments and beverages by Mazzone Hospitality and will enjoy pre-show entertainment by the company's students. Park Playhouse will also honor long time supporter of the theatre (and Capital Region arts at large) Alan P. Goldberg with their "Shining Star" award. In addition to his many years as a backer of Park Playhouse, Goldberg serves as the Chairman of the Board at The Palace Theatre and has been instrumental in developing the growing collaboration between Park Playhouse and The Palace.
Concert tickets go on sale to Palace Members on Wednesday, April 17 and to the general public on Friday, April 19. Standard concert tickets are $20 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (links available through www.parkplayhouse.com and www.palacealbany.com). VIP Gala tickets are available now for $100, and can be purchased by calling the Park Playhouse offices at (518) 434-2035.
For more information, please contact Owen M. Smith at (518) 434-2035, or by email at owen@parkplayhouse.com.