Legends of Broadway A 3 concert benefit series supporting: Integrity Counselling, Edmonton Healing Centre for Grief and Loss, Life Links Community Services, Seniors Making Age-Related Transitions & Jewish Family Services Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Series Line Up 1. June 2, 2014 Chita Rivera: in CHITA: A Legendary Celebration CHITA RIVERA IN A UNIQUE SOLO CONCERT EVENT CELEBRATING THE BROADWAY LEGEND’S 80TH BIRTHDAY DIRECT FROM HER SOLD-OUT SMASH CONCERT IN NEW YORK! LIVE ON STAGE! THE ONE AND ONLY An accomplished and versatile actress/singer/dancer, Chita Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received seven additional Tony nominations. She recently concluded a successful run starring in the new Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway. She starred in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. She recreated her starring role in The Visit, the new Kander/Ebb/McNally musical at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA (originally done at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago in 2001). She also starred in the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina (from age 11) before receiving a scholarship to the American School of Ballet from legendary George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 17) was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story (1957) brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink (Tony Award), Chicago, Jerry’s Girls, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award), and the original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002 and is the first Hispanic woman ever chosen to receive this award. In May, 2013, she was appointed to a special Kennedy Center Honors Advisory Committee. Chita’s current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing. On October 7, 2013 she was honored with a star-studded concert on Broadway “Chita: A Legendary Celebration” to Benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at the August Wilson Theatre. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente. “Chita Rivera is more than a musical theatre star. She’s a force of nature.” (Associated Press)… Following Chita’s concert in Edmonton, this summer Ms. Rivera will recreate her starring role in THE VISIT at the Williamstown Theatre Festival from July 31 through August 17. Legends of Broadway Artist Information 2 2. June 16, 2014 Megan Hilty: In Concert “She's a star. She has always been a star." - Louis Peitzman, Buzzfeed In eight short years, Megan Hilty has gone from understudy on Broadway to a star of stage, screen, and music. Her impressive accomplishments have made her one of the fastest rising talents in the entertainment world. Upon graduation from Carnegie Mellon University, Megan was offered the role of "Glinda" standby for the Broadway company of Wicked. She made her Broadway debut in the fall of 2004 opposite Tony winner Idina Menzel, and was asked to take over as principal Glinda in May 2005. After a year on Broadway, Megan performed the role on tour and in the 2007-2009 Los Angeles production. During her years with Wicked, Megan was workshopping the role of "Doralee" in 9 to 5: The Musical, Dolly Parton's adaptation of the popular film. In 2009, Megan starred in the show on Broadway alongside Allison Janney and Stephanie J. Block. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Drama League Award, and an Ovation Award for Best Actress in a Musical. During this time period, Megan made guest appearances on many television shows, including: Bones, The Closer, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty, while also providing the singing voice for Snow White in Shrek the Third. In 2011, Megan joined the cast of NBC's Smash as "Ivy Lynn," an actress who is desperate to land the lead in a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker said of her work: "Hilty has built a character who feels like a real Broadway diva: sexy, funny, ambitious, Legends of Broadway Artist Information 3 insecure, at once selfish and giving." The show aired from 2012-2013 and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Outstanding Musical or Comedy Series, while also offering Megan the opportunity to record both covers of popular hits and original songs from the musical within the show, "Bombshell." During hiatus, Megan starred in the New York City Center production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as Lorelai Lee, a role made famous by Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe. Megan received rave reviews for both the production and its cast recording. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called the opening performance "...one of those single, golden nights, so cherished by theatergoers, that thrust its leading lady into the firmament of musical stardom." Megan Hilty currently stars alongside Sean Hayes in NBC’s comedy “Sean Saves the World.” Last summer, Hilty participated in a reading of a new Broadway-bound production of Cole Porter’s Can-Can. Additionally, her voice was featured as Rosetta in Disney's “Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings.” She’s previously recorded vocals in Disney's "The Secret Life of Magic Gourd," "Phineas & Ferb," "Glenn Martin DDS," "American Dad," “Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games,” “Robot & Monster” as well as singing as Snow White in the film "Shrek the Third." She also released It Happens All the Time, her first solo album with Portrait (an imprint of Sony Masterworks), made her Carnegie Hall debut and returned to TV. In addition to her television role, Megan currently makes frequent concert appearances, both with symphony orchestras throughout the United States and in solo concert at smaller venues. She also regularly performs in a variety of special events, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or Christmas in Washington. Megan maintains an active voiceover career, providing the voice of "Rosetta" in the Disney Fairies series. Hilty recently wrapped production on Summertime Entertainment's animated film "Dorothy of Oz" with Kelsey Grammer, Hugh Dancy and Lea Michele, slated for release in May, 2014. She can also be heard alongside Placido Domingo on the opera star’s duet album. Legends of Broadway Artist Information 4 3. October 5, 2014 Andrea Martin: in “Final Days: Everything Must Go” “A Comic Genius” – USA Today “Distinctive comic voltage" - Ben Brantley, New York Times "Maybe the funniest woman in the world" - Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star Andrea Martin began her career as a singing chicken on the Captain Kangaroo television show. She was then cast in the United States Touring Company of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, in which she played Lucy. During the tour, she visited Toronto, fell in love with the city, moved there and within a month, got cast in the Toronto production of Godspell, in what is now considered the legendary cast; Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Jayne Eastwood and Paul Shaffer, their musical director. Ms. Martin went on to appear in Leonard Bernstein's Candide as well as Private Lives with Maggie Smith and Brian Bedford at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre. Ms. Martin has appeared in numerous theatre and television productions in Canada, the most notable being, Toronto's Second City stage show for five years which led to the critically claimed SCTV. She has hosted every televised award program in the country, is the recipient of both the Canada Walk of Fame and Women in Television and Film awards. For Martin's work in the recent Toronto production of Love, Loss and What I Wore, as well as her one woman show, Final Days! Everything Must Go!!, she received Broadwayworld.com's 2010 best actress and best theatrical event awards. Ms. Martin has also received four ACTRA awards for her participation in SCTV, two GEMINI nominations for hosting the 2007 Winnipeg Comedy Festival and for the CBC miniseries, St. Urban's Horseman. Her film credits include, the newly released Breaking Upwards, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, (Sag award nomination and People's Choice Award, best ensemble) Hedwig and the Angry Inch, All Over the Guy, Mary Walsh's Young Triffie's Been Made Away With, Stepping Out, Bogus, Wag the Dog, New York Minute, both the original and remake of Black Christmas, and Cannibal Girls,(co-starring Eugene Levy) for which she won the Best Actress Award at SITGES, the international horror film festival of Spain. Legends of Broadway Artist Information 5 For her work on "SCTV" Ms. Martin won 2 Emmy Awards for writing and received an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Variety series. Her additional television credits include My Big Fat Greek Life, Little Mosque on the Prairie, and Nurse Jackie. She is the recipient of 3 American Comedy Award nominations for several cable specials including her own Andrea Martin Together Again, for Showtime, which also received a Cable Ace Award nomination for writing. She has lent her voice to an impressive list of animated projects including Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Rugrats Movie, The Simpsons, Superman, Anastasia, George and Martha, and Sesame Street for which she received a special Emmy Award.