Tenth Annual Benefit & Cabaret Honored Gerald Freedman
SRT’s Tenth Annual Benefit and Cabaret, on November 14th at Joe’s Pub, celebrated the career and artistic mastery of internationally regarded director and teacher, Gerald Freedman.
PHOTO COVERAGE: Playbill, BroadwayWorld
About Gerald Freedman
The evening featured performances from some of Broadway’s greatest talents and legends tipping their hats to Freedman, an Obie Award-winner, leading director of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival from 1960 through 1971 (the last four years as artistic director), and the first American director invited to direct at London’s Globe Theatre. Freedman made theatre history with his off-Broadway premiere of the landmark rock musical Hair, which opened the Public Theatre in 1967.
We launched our tenth season with this cabaret benefit event honoring Freedman, present Dean of the School of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, who has influenced the lives of many generations of professionals with his aesthetic.
Contributors and Performers
The evening featured some of Broadway’s greatest, including: Brian d’Arcy James, Christine Baranski, Jennifer Ferrin, Penny Fuller, Hal Holbrook, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Jeremy Jordan, Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Terrence Mann, John Mauceri, Mandy Patinkin, Austin Pendleton, Bryce Pinkham, Wesley Taylor, Alfred Uhry, Price Waldman, Emily Young, and included special video tributes by Olympia Dukakis and Chita Rivera.
The host of the evening was Wesley Taylor, a Richard Rodgers and Jerry Bock Award-winning actor, who can be seen on Steven Spielberg’s new NBC show “SMASH.”
Composers included: Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story – Tony Award nomination, Candide – Tony Award nomination, Wonderful Town – Tony Award, and a Tony Award Special Award recipient), Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens – Tony and Drama Desk Awards nominations for Best Original Score, Happiness – Lincoln Center Theatre, Doll – Richard Rodgers Award, Meet Mister Future – winner of Global Search for New Musicals), Galt MacDermot (Hair – Tony and Grammy Award), Terrence Mann (Cats, Les Misérables – Tony Award nomination, Beauty and the Beast – Tony Award nomination), Jule Styne (Hallelujah, Baby! – Tony Award, Gypsy, Do Re Mi, Funny Girl, Bells are Ringing – Tony Award nominations, Drama Desk Award Special Award for lifetime achievement), Ben Toth (recently served as vocal coach for the New York Philharmonic’s concert production/film of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, and Stephen Colbert, and as musical director and vocal coach for an all-star tribute to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, featuring Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Nicole Scherzinger), Robert Waldman (The Robber Bridegroom – Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The School for Scandal).
Jack O’Brien Joins Advisory Board
This February SRT welcomed Tony and Drama Desk award-winning director Jack O’Brien to its Advisory Board.
One of the most respected theater artists in the country, Jack is the director of Lincoln Center’s acclaimed staging of Henry IV, Parts I and II, as well as Broadway’s Catch Me if You Can, Hairspray, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Coast of Utopia, and many others. Jack is a strong proponent of Sonnet Rep’s mission: classic theatre for a modern planet. SRT’s Advisory Board is comprised of select individuals, mentors, and influencers — directors, actors, casting directors, artistic directors, and playwrights — including: Paul Barnes, Gary Beach, William Cantler, Gerald Freedman, Peter Hedges, Joe Mantello, Jack O’Brien, Mary-Louise Parker, Bernard Telsey, and Celia Weston.
