www.curtainup.com/bookofmormon.html
Debrorah Graussman, recently put together one of the best fund raising galas I've ever attended to raise money for the Lenox, Mass based Shakespeare & Company's widely respected education program. The enterprising and talented Graussman arranged to bus a bunch of Broadway babies to spend their "off" Monday night performing (pro bono) at the company's filled to the brim Founders Theater.
To add to the $50,000 already collected from ticket sales, Graussman joined host Chip Zien on stage and launched an auction for 2 prime Book of Mormon tickets for a Saturday matinee. The bidding was brisk and the winner ended up shelling out $1900.
Broadway in the Berkshires was so smartly organized, deliciously entertaining and indeed as close to a night on the Great White Way as you could get. Chip Zien was a delightful host who not only delivered lots of laughs and also performed, as did Graussman.
It was an evening of non-stop highlights such as Brian Charles Rooney's hilarious multi-persona (female as well as male) medley of Broadway hits, and a thrilling dance solo by young Peter Mazurowski, one of the three young actors currently starring as Billy in Billy Elliot.
The way this evening was organized could serve as a master class in ow to run a benefit that truly delivers what it promised. With a trio of musicians that included the Boston Symphony Orchestra's chef cellist, Owen Young, who could ask for anything more?
