L-R: Martin Sheen, Jane Fonda, Richard Perry and Freda Payne. Photo courtesy The Pasadena Playhouse
Martin Sheen will serve as the award presenter to two-time Academy Award® winner Jane Fonda and celebrated record producer Richard Perry, who among his many credits served as the music producer for The Pasadena Playhouse production of Baby It’s, You! which later moved to Broadway, when they are honored at The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director) annual fundraiser entitled A Night in the Catskills, to be held on the stage of The Pasadena Playhouse on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. In addition, legendary singer Freda Payne and The Emmitt & Rose Band have been added to the roster of entertainment for this 1960’s inspired soiree set on the Playhouse’s proscenium stage. This year’s Community Honoree is Sheila Grether-Marion.
Freda Payne will offer a special performance featuring her million selling 1970 hit single “Band of Gold,” and there will also be a musical tribute to Richard Perry from Geno Henderson, Broadway cast member of Baby It’s You, originally presented at The Pasadena Playhouse.
Adding to the fun, The Emmitt & Rose Band will serenade the cocktail reception in the “Sugarfina Bubbly Bar” set in a 1960’s Lounge designed by 1000 x better with furniture provided by Design Within Reach.
Sandra Tsing Loh, award-winning writer, comedian and performer will be the special Mistress of Ceremonies. Loh is the writer and star of upcoming Playhouse show The Madwoman in the Volvo, directed by Lisa Peterson, at The Playhouse June 2 to 26.
This year’s event will celebrate a time and place where Mad Men met those who knew something about Dirty Dancing. The Gala will feature a mouthwatering dinner catered by redwhite+bluezz, complete with a “Dining Experience” silent auction.
The Live auction will boast fabulous prizes, including:
– Adele Concert Tickets
– Walk-on role in this year’s Panto at The Playhouse production of A Cinderella Christmas
– Opportunity to appear onstage with the cast of the upcoming Pasadena Playhouse production of The Fantasticks as they sing a final curtain call
– Fabulous 5-Day Santa Fe Get Away with round trip airfare
– Cal Phil Dinner Experience for 10
– Packages for Dodger and Kings Games
– Conan tickets
– 2-Day Get Away at a Napa cottage
– Catered dinner for 10 in your home with Artistic Director of The Pasadena Playhouse Sheldon Epps and Randy Johnson, Director and Creator of A Night with Janis Joplin and the upcoming World Premiere musical Shout Sister Shout!
The Playhouse Board of Directors, led by Committee Chairs Julietta Perez and Art Silveri, are spearheading this red carpet gala event.
Outlook Newspapers is serving as the media partner for The Pasadena Playhouse 2016 Gala with Pasadena Now serving as the Gala’s online media sponsor.
Jane Fonda, whose film career was well established during that era, is a two-time Academy Award® winner (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), a three-time Golden Globe® winner, and was the 2014 recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her credits include Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, Rollover, On Golden Pond, The Morning After and The Dollmaker.
Richard Perry is one of the most successful producers in music history. His first hit album was “God Bless, Tiny Tim,” which Life Magazine proclaimed was “one of the most dazzling albums of programmed entertainment to come along since Sgt. Pepper.” Over his 46-year career, he has produced classic albums and singles with such legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Ray Charles, The Pointer Sisters, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Harry Nilsson, Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson, Art Garfunkel, The Temptations, Leo Sayer, DeBarge, Pattie LaBelle, Manhattan Transfer, Neil Diamond, Randy Travis, Martha Reeves, Captain Beefheart, Jeffrey Osborne, Fats Domino, and Ella Fitzgerald.
The evening takes its setting and locale from its latest production Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein and directed by David Lee, which is set in the Catskills of 1962 and was long considered a favored destination for urban vacationers from New York City in mid-20th century. Countless entertainers – especially comedians– honed their craft here, prior to becoming national stars – Buddy Hackett, Red Buttons, Jerry Lewis, Alan King, Danny Kaye, Imogene Coca, Sid Caesar, Carol Burnett, Neil Simon and Woody Allen, among them, at now legendary resorts like Grossinger’s, the Concord, Kutscher’s, and Brown’s. At the end of the sixties, Bethel, New York, located in the Catskills, was home to the famous 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Casa Valentina was performed at The Pasadena Playhouse March 15 to April 10, 2016.
Corporate, patron, underwriting and other sponsorship opportunities are available from $1,000 -$25,000. Single ticket prices will be announced at a later date. For more information please contact Genevieve Ostrander 626.737.2852 or [email protected]
Biographies
Freda Payne
As iconic in 2016 for her timeless beauty and stage appeal as she is for her artistic versatility, Freda Payne remains among music’s and show business’ brightest shining star survivors. Her latest album, Come Back To Me Love (her first for the Artistry Music imprint) marks not only a return to the big band and strings-laden classics from her beginnings with Impulse! but also marks a return to her hometown of Detroit. That makes this 14-song album featuring Grammy® award-winner Bill Cunliffe’s musical arrangements—from the vibes-kissed Kenny Rankin waltz “Haven’t We Met” to the lonely evening fireplace musings of “Lately”—a beautiful homecoming.
Though best known for her R&B crossover smash hit “Band of Gold,” Freda Payne has always first and foremost been a jazz singer, dating back to The Jimmy Wilkins Big Band. Her debut album After The Lights Go Down Low And Much More!!! was arranged by Manny Albam, while a more pop-oriented follow-up entitled How Do You Say I Don’t Love You Anymore was helmed by saxophonist/arranger Benny Golson. Payne performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem alongside Billy Eckstine backed by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra, comedian Redd Foxx and the dance team Coles & Atkins. She also graced the stage with Duke Ellington for two nights in Pittsburgh, after which he composed “Blue Piano” just for her. Freda Payne’s training and experience render her a rare vocal artist who is stylistically beyond category.
The Emmett & Rose Band
Robert Emmett Finucane and Lindsay Rose Olsen share a passion for the sound and soul of traditional jazz. Emmett and Rose regularly perform at venues throughout Los Angeles, drawing from their extensive repertoire of jazz standards. Rose’s unique voice draws comparisons to Billie Holiday while
Emmett’s playing recalls the stride piano of Teddy Wilson. They bring new life to standards of the past, performing with soul, passion, and a contagious love for the jazz and blues of the last century.
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and Vassar College. In her early twenties, Fonda studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York.
In 2007 Fonda received an Honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, one of only three people ever to be granted this honor until then. In 2009 she received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations, on Broadway. In 2011, Fonda appeared in Et Si On Vivait Tous Ensemble, a French comedy, followed by Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, co-starring Catherine Keener. She appeared as Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels’s The Butler in 2013, and with Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell in Better Living Through Chemistry. In 2014, she starred in director Shawn Levy’s This is Where I Leave You, with Tina Fey and Jason Bateman.
For three seasons Fonda appeared as media mogul Leona Lansing in an Emmy nominated performance in Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, on HBO. Most recently, she appeared in Youth, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino (director and co-writer of Italy’s Academy Award® winning Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty). She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Fonda also stars in Netflix’s hit series, Grace and Frankie, which premieres for its second season in May 2016.
Richard Perry
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Richard Perry developed his interest in rock ‘n’ roll very young. In 1955, at the age of 12, he attended the first of Alan Freed’s live shows at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater. Moving to Los Angeles in March of 1967, he produced his first album, Safe As Milk by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. The album featured the work of a 17-year-old guitar prodigy, Ry Cooder. In November 1967 he got his ‘dream job’ as a staff producer at Warner Bros. Records where he had his first actual hit album. It came in the form of God Bless Tiny Tim, a debut LP by the late-’60s phenomenon. He also recorded Fats is Back by Fats Domino and Ella by Ella Fitzgerald among others there. “Richard Perry would become the most renowned producer in the field of popular music during the 1970s, and the array of albums with which he was associated, made his name synonymous with success,” wrote Bruce Eder of All Music Guide. Those albums include Stoney End by Barbra Streisand; Nilsson Schmilsson; Barbra Joan Streisand; Son of Schmilsson by Nilsson; Live Concert at the Forum by Barbra Streisand; No Secrets by Carly Simon; Ringo by Ringo Starr; Hotcakes by Carly Simon; Breakaway by Art Garfunkel; Endless Flight by Leo Sayer; “Nobody Does It Better” (for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me); Baby It’s Me by Diana Ross; Leo Sayer; Energy, Priority, Special Things, Black and White, Breakout, Contact, Hot Together, and Serious Slammin’ by The Pointer Sisters; “To All the Girls I Loved Before” duet with Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson; My World by Ray Charles; and The Great American Songbook Vol I, II, III, IV and V by Rod Stewart. Perry continues to produce an array of musical projects, including The Pasadena Playhouse musical, Baby It’s You, which went on to Broadway. Baby It’s You tells the inspiring story of Florence Greenberg, who discovered The Shirelles and created Sceptor Records, realizing her dream of becoming the music industry’s first female power house. It features some of the most compelling R&B/pop songs from the early 60’s, including five songs by Burt Bacharach.
Sandra Tsing Loh
Sandra Tsing Loh is a writer/performer whose solo theatre shows include Aliens in America and Bad Sex With Bud Kemp (both off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre), Sugar Plum Fairy (Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre), I Worry (The Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville) and, most recently, The Bitch Is Back (Broad Stage). Her bestselling New York Times Notable Book, Mother on Fire, was inspired by her hit solo show in 2005, during which time Variety named her one of America’s 50 most influential comedians. Her memoir, The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones, was selected as one of The New York Times’ 100 Most Notable Books, and was inspired by her Best American Essay in The Atlantic, for which she is a contributing editor. The play version of Madwoman received development support from Sundance Theatre Lab and Ojai Playwrights Conference. Loh has been a regular commentator on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and on PRI’s “This American Life” and “Marketplace”; her weekly segment, “The Loh Life,” is heard on KPCC, and her syndicated radio minute, “The Loh Down on Science,” is heard weekly by 4 million people. Loh is currently an adjunct professor at UC Irvine in drama and science communication.
