Huntington's 2009 "Spotlight Spectacular"

Kelly Bishop To Host
Maureen McGovern and Euan Morton To Perform

Tony and Drama Desk Award winner and theater and television star Kelly Bishop (best known for her roles in "A Chorus Line," "Dirty Dancing," "Becky Shaw," and “Gilmore Girls”) will host the Huntington Theatre Company's 2009 Spotlight Spectacular! gala benefit on Monday, May 4, 2009, at the Sheraton Boston Hotel and Towers. The evening will also feature musical performances by Grammy Award-winning pop icon Maureen McGovern and OBIE and Theatre World Award winner Euan Morton ("Taboo").

Proceeds from Spotlight Spectacular! support the Huntington's programs, including its award-winning youth, education, and community initiatives. Last year the event raised more than $700,000.

This year's event honors John Cornish, Co-Trustee of the Calderwood Charitable Foundation, which has generously supported the Huntington, as well as many of Greater Boston’s other leading cultural organizations. Cornish was the driving force behind the Huntington’s naming grant for the creation in 2004 of the first new theater building in Boston in more than 75 years – the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Chaired by Huntington Trustee Carol Deane and Huntington Overseer Neal Balkowitsch, Spotlight Spectacular! will feature a cocktail reception where guests will have an opportunity to bid on unique silent auction items while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and mingling with special guests including the stars of recent and upcoming Huntington productions. A seated dinner, live auction, and entertainment will complete the evening.

Among the evening's special features, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals) will introduce Sebastien Lewis, a student at the Codman Academy Public Charter School (a Huntington education partner school), who delivered Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” at the Massachusetts State House on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth last February. The partnership between the Huntington and Codman Academy is a core activity of the Huntington’s education programs.

Kelly Bishop has appeared in a multitude of memorable roles in film, television, and the theater since her Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning breakout performance as the original Sheila in the Broadway hit "A Chorus Line." Her theater credits include Broadway productions of "Six Degrees of Separation," "Proposals," "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," and "Bus Stop," along with numerous regional and Off Broadway credits. Her film and television appearances include "Dirty Dancing," "Wonder Boys," "Private Parts," "An Unmarried Woman," "Café Society," "Miami Rhapsody," "Queens Logic," "My XGirlfriend’s Wedding Reception," “The Thorns,” “My Wildest Dreams,” various guest starring roles, and seven seasons starring as Emily Gilmore on the hit series “Gilmore Girls.” Ms. Bishop was most recently seen on stage as Clairee in Paper Mill Playhouse's "Steel Magnolias" and as Susan in Second Stage Theatre’s "Becky Shaw," directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois.

Maureen McGovern’s career spans 37 years. Her recording work includes Grammy Award nominations for “Best New Artist” and “Best Traditional Pop Vocal,” the Grammy Award for “Best Musical Recording for Children,” and Academy Award-winning Gold Records “The Morning After” (Billboard #1) and “We May Never Love Like This Again.” Her current PS Classics release "A Long and Winding Road," was praised by The New York Times as “a captivating musical scrapbook from the 1960s to the early ‘70s. Ms. McGovern is blessed with a vocal technique second to none.” Other critically acclaimed musical tributes include her Gershwin, Arlen, Rodgers, Marilyn and Alan Bergman CDs and more. Her Broadway credits include "Little Women, The Musical," "The Pirates of Penzance," "Nine," "Three Penny Opera," and the recent national tours of "Little Women, The Musical" and "The King and I." Her Off Broadway credits include "Brownstone." Regionally, she has performed in "Maureen McGovern: A Long and Winding Road;" "Elegies;" "Dear World;" "Letters From ‘Nam;" "The Lion in Winter;" "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg;" "Of Thee I Sing;" "Let ‘Em Eat Cake;" "The Sound of Music;" "South Pacific;" "Guys & Dolls;" "I Do, I Do;" and "The Bengal Tiger's Ball" (for which she composed the music, co-created, and starred). Her film credits include "Airplane!" (the famous guitar-strumming nun), "The Towering Inferno," and the DreamWorks animated film "Joseph: King of Dreams." The Huntington is proud to be presenting McGovern in "A Long and Winding Road "at the Virginia Wimberly Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA this fall.

Euan Morton, a native of Scotland, received an Olivier Award nomination for originating the role of Boy George in the musical "Taboo." He moved to New York in 2003 to reprise the role on Broadway, earning Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Award nominations, as well as the Theatre World Award (for Outstanding Broadway Debut). He earned a 2006 OBIE Award for his appearance in "Measure for Pleasure" at The Public Theater, directed by Peter DuBois. His other stage appearances include title roles in Tony Kushner’s adaptation of "Brundibár"(New Victory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre), "The Who’s Tommy" (Bay Street Theatre), and "Caligula" (New York Musical Theatre Festival, 2004 NYMF Award for Outstanding Individual Performance). Off Broadway, he appeared opposite Alfred Molina in "Howard Katz" at the Roundabout Theatre Company. He was most recently seen on Broadway in the 2007 revival of "Cyrano De Bergerac" and Off Broadway in the 2009 American premiere of "Leaves of Glass." On film, he can be seen in the documentary "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway." He has recently released his debut solo CD, "NewClear," and has appeared in concert in New York City at the Oak Room at the Algonquin, Town Hall, the Metropolitan Room, the Zipper, Joe’s Pub, and Birdland, as well as at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. In addition, he has conducted master classes around the country in the craft of acting and singing.

An online auction, now open on www.huntington.cmarket.com, allows Huntington patrons and friends to bid on auction items prior to the event. Among the items available are Red Sox/Yankees tickets, a tour of the “America's Test Kitchen” set, the opportunity to serve as a Boston Celtics ball boy or ball girl, beer for a year, and much more. The live auction at the event will feature a VIP trip to the Tony Awards, a walk-on role in the Huntington’s upcoming production of "Pirates!," the use of a Red Sox Executive Suite for 22, and a private meal prepared by Chef Barbara Lynch in the winner’s home.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, contact Michelle Williams at 617 273-1536 or MWilliams@huntingtontheatre.bu.edu.

-- OnStage Boston