Stars Bring Broadway to Upper West Side School

Monday may be Broadway's traditional dark night, but on Monday, March 10, 2008, musical-theatergoers can see starring cast members from some of Broadways biggest shows perform at a benefit at The Computer School, a public middle school on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 27, 2008 -- Monday may be Broadway's traditional dark night, but on Monday, March 10, musical-theatergoers can see starring cast members from some of Broadways biggest shows perform at a benefit at The Computer School, a public middle school on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Proceeds from the show will benefit the school's instrumental program, started by parent Tracey Grimaldi to help fill the gap left by inadequate funding for music and arts programs at New York City public schools. Lead by Jacam Manricks, an instructor at The Manhattan School of Music, the program provides The Computer School students with private instruction on instruments -- including percussion, flute, trombone, saxophone, clarinet and trumpet -- and a band to play in. Proceeds will support scholarships to help pay student's program fees.

Headlining the benefit, actor and singer Terrence Mann, renowned on the Broadway stage for his Tony Award-nominated portrayal of the stoic Inspector Javert in the original Broadway cast of "Les Misérables," his leading role as the playful cat Rum Tum Tugger in "Cats" and his Tony Award-nominated performance as the Beast in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", will open by performing a selection of his favorite numbers.

Tony award-nominee Charlotte d'Amboise, currently starring as Cassie in "A Chorus Line" and frequently seen performing Roxie Hart in "Chicago", and Valerie Wright, whose credits include Annie Oakley in "Annie Get your Gun" and Mrs. Dingleberry in the recent "Wanda's World", will stage "Nowadays" from "Chicago".

Brad Little, best known as The Phantom in the "The Phantom of the Opera," will perform "Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from his title role with his wife Barbara McCulloh (Anna from "The King and I") performing the role of Christine.

And Broadway cast members and film actors Sean McCourt ("Mary Poppins", "Wicked"), Beth Thompson ("Fiddler on the Roof", "Bare"), Jennifer Prescott ("How to Succeed in Business", "Carousel") Matthew Bennett ("Titanic", "Blood Brothers") and Anne-Julia Audray, (Rameau's "Pygmalion") will perform selections from their best-known roles.

Also playing are classical music performers The Molino Trio, jazz artists Jacam Manricks and Joe Freuen and The Computer School Jazz Band.

The host of the benefit is actor Marsha Dietlein Bennett (Cheryl in 2007 Oscar-nominated film "Little Children") who organized the event in honor of her son Jansen Bennett, a percussionist, and his fellow members of The Computer School band.

Commenting on the evening, Ms. Bennett said, "The real stars here are the kids. We are all doing this because we want to see these talented young musicians have the chance to reach their potential despite the general under-funding of public school arts. I invite New York music-lovers enjoy an evening of performances by their favorite stars and help support the budding performers."

A pre-performance mixer starts at 6:30 p.m.; the performance starts at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased ahead or reserved by calling Sara Sloves at 917-441-1234 or purchased the night of the performance at The Computer School at (M.S. 245) at 100 W. 77th St., New York.

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