Richard Skipper Celebrates

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Gary Flannery is a professional performer who toured the world as Shirley MacLaine’s partner; was a Principal Dancer on many TV Shows and Hollywood movies; and was a lead dancer on Broadway in Pippin and Dancin', and in the movie All That Jazz (Bob Fosse called Gary “The Bull” for the sheer non-stop energy). Gary has studied with teachers including Antony Tudor, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Stanley Williams, Alexandra Danilova, Anton Dolan, Lucas Hoving, Fred Benjamin, Chuck Davis, and Jaime Rogers. He received full scholarships to the School of American Ballet and Juilliard. Gary continues to teach master classes, lectures, and seminars at universities, dance schools and colleges around the world.

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KURT PETERSON began his Broadway career when Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers chose him to play Tony in the revival of West Side Story at Lincoln Center. He then starred opposite Angela Lansbury in Dear World and created the role of Young Ben in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. Off-Broadway, Kurt starred in Dames at Sea, By Bernstein, and Alias Jimmy Valentine, and appeared in the Town Hall productions of Knickerbocker Holiday, Music in the Air and I Married an Angel. Kurt sang “Proud Lady” to Patti LuPone when he starred opposite her in the Broadway-bound The Baker’s Wife. He also starred in the highly acclaimed Canadian premiere of Company and Rob Marshall’s production of Side By Side By Sondheim. Kurt was featured in the 75th birthday celebrations “Wall to Wall Sondheim” and “Children & Art” honoring Stephen Sondheim and has performed as a leading man in many productions and concerts around the country and in Europe. Kurt and his company, James William Productions (JWP), produced the acclaimed Sondheim: A Musical Tribute, the first celebration of the composer/lyricist; helped launch the New York and London productions of Angela Lansbury’s Gypsy; produced the live tours of WPIX-TV’s classic children’s show “The Magic Garden”; and the National Tour of Rob Marshall’s innovative Side By Side By Sondheim. Recent projects include co-producing the New York productions and National Tour of the Stephen Schwartz family musical Captain Louie; the Off-Broadway production of the play Capture Now, directed by Larry Moss; and the BC/EFA benefit Alone At Last, featuring the music of Ian Herman. www.jameswilliamproductions.com

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The Magic of Believing: An Excerpt from Broadway World, by Stephen Mosher Aug. 6, 2019 The musical autobiography that Mr. Skipper presented was a true celebration of a gifted entertainer and a resilient human being – and it was an absolute delight. The standing-room-only audience was a veritable who’s who of cabaret luminaries, all on hand to hear Skipper’s tale, and it did not disappoint. Armed with only a few songs and impeccable comic timing , Richard spent most of his time on stage regaling with stories that anyone could relate to – especially anyone with a childhood dream of going on the stage, anyone who had been a small-town misfit, anyone from the south, or anyone with fond remembrances of New York of the 70s/80s. The over-forty crowd was so captivated by Skipper that only one person was seen tiptoeing out for a restroom break, an unheard-of feat in a two hour evening of theatre. Skipper’s ability to paint a picture with words brought to life characters one might easily find in the writings of Willa Cather or Armistead Maupin, and it didn’t matter that the characters weren’t famous enough to give the audience a frame of reference because the true star of the night was the story being told. Oh, there were famous names, make no mistake: it would be impossible for Mr. Skipper to speak about his life without some delicious name-dropping, but it wasn’t essential, except in the case of Carol Channing, for obvious reasons. Skipper’s audience hung on his every word, riotous laughter and uncontrollable vocal response ringing in the air, and while much credit goes to his director, Jay Rogers, it was clear that the time for Richard Skipper to be celebrated is now. VISIT RichardSkipper.com TO READ FULL ARTICLE

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Michael grew up in Ohio where he did musicals and danced with his sister around Cleveland and Lorain, his home town. He attended the Boston conservatory of Music and spent summers in summer stock at the Milwaukee Melody Top doing 16 different shows choreographed by Tommy Tune, such as Sweet Charity with Gretchen Wyler, Irma La Deuce with Chita Rivera and The Boyfriend with Jane Powell. He landed his first Broadway show, THE FIG LEAVES ARE FALLING on his first day in New York City, and eventually worked with Michael Bennett, Bob Fosse, Ron Fields Hal Prince, Steven Sondheim and a host of other well-known choreographers, directors and producers. He appeared in nine Broadway productions including FOLLIES, PIPPIN, APPLAUSE, MAME with Ann Miller and was cast in A CHORUS LINE at Public Theater where he was to originate the role of Mike. He was in EQUUS with both Richard Burton and Anthony Perkins. He appeared in 70 plays and musicals in regional theaters and over 150 television commercials including the first musical Dr Pepper Commercial for which he won a Cleo Award as “Best Male Performer.” In Los Angeles Michael appeared in numerous television series such as KNOTS LANDING, FAMILY, LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, and CHARLIES ANGELS, the soaps ALL MY CHILDREN and SANTA BARBARA, and films, THE GREAT GATSBY and ALLIGATOR. Hosting his own cable television show for 10 years he spoke on conscious awareness, taught seminars and is the author of several books one of which, BELIEVE IN NOTHING, has been published throughout Europe and Asia. Michael choreographed 15 big stage shows for a large chorus in Orange County, Calif. and has choreographed 10 musicals including LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, GYPSY, MARY POPPINS and THE PRODUCERS.

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Adrienne Aurichio is the Director of Bill Eppridge’s photographic archive and the editor of Becoming Barbra published in 2018. Adrienne spent twenty years as a picture editor at magazines, and book publishers. She and Bill met in 1986 while they were both working at Sports Illustrated. He had previously been a staff photographer for Life magazine throughout the 1960s and early 1970s until that magazine ceased publishing as a weekly. They later married and spent 28 years together until his death in 2013. Bill said that his former boss at Life magazine told him to “find a good picture editor and marry her.” Their final collaboration, Becoming Barbra, was begun in 1994 and finally published 24 years later. Publishers were mistakenly worried that Streisand would sue them. The book is filled with photographs that Bill made of Streisand in 1963 before she was a star, and then in 1966 as she was about to star in Funny Girl on Broadway. He had full access and cooperation. There were no publicist restrictions. Eppridge’s archive became a full-time business for them after back surgery in 2003 curtailed Bill’s ability to travel as much as he had done before while at Sports Illustrated. Adrienne left her full time job and they began to produce museum exhibits, began a long collaboration with Monroe Gallery to sell fine art prints, and published more books. After Bill’s death, Adrienne continued to catalogue his work and finish the projects that they had begun. During their time together they produced 6 books of Bill’s work. Those include Jake: A Labrador retriever; Upland Passage; Robert Kennedy: The Last Campaign; A Time It Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties; The Beatles: Six Days That Changed the World; Becoming Barbra.

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Prime-Time Emmy-nominated actress Lee Purcell recently completed a starring role in the upcoming feature film CAROL OF THE BELLS for director Joey Travolta and his Inclusion Films, scheduled to be released late 2019. Lee is the recipient of two Prime-Time Emmy nominations, her first being for LONG ROAD HOME starring opposite Mark Harmon, the second for SECRET SINS OF THE FATHERS starring opposite Beau Bridges. She recently completed the TV pilot SICK and was also recently seen in the film JL RANCH opposite Jon Voight and in KIDS VS. MONSTERS opposite Malcolm McDowell and in LOVE AT FIRST GLANCE opposite Amy Smart. In her extensive career, this acclaimed actress has earned numerous film, television and stage credits, including her role as “Louise St. Laurent” on the international TV series DUE SOUTH and as the sultry step-mom in the iconic film VALLEY GIRL with Nicholas Cage. Lee was also seen as “Eleanor Sullivan” in the NBC-TV Prime-Time series PERSONS UNKNOWN with Chadwick Boseman, created by Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie. Fans around the world also frequently reach out to Lee for her role as "Peggy" in the cult favorite film BIG WEDNESDAY. As an ingénue, Lee’s film career began when she was personally selected and mentored by legendary movie star Steve McQueen to star as a small-town high school student in McQueen’s Solar Productions’ film ADAM AT 6 A.M. opposite Michael Douglas. She will always be grateful to McQueen for his casting and mentoring her and cherishes the time spent with him. At only three years old, Lee was chosen by Neiman Marcus to be a runway child model for their flagship store in Dallas, Texas and began modeling professionally.

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Christine Andreas’ shows in NY at 54 Below: Love Is Good, beMused, And So It Goes…, Cafe Society, and most recently PIAF - No Regrets had the NY Times accusing her of “ …electrifying her audiences, transforming them with pure alchemy and delicately killing with the sheer beauty of her voice… ” On Broadway, this multiple-award-winning singer, actress, and two-time Tony nominee starred as Jacqueline in the recent revival of La Cage aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer, and created the role of Marguerite St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel. She captured theatergoers’ hearts as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th anniversary production of My Fair Lady (Theatre World Award), Oklahoma! (Tony Nomination) and On Your Toes (Tony Nomination). National audiences remember her portrayal of Margaret Johnson in a much-acclaimed national tour of The Light in the Piazza. Concerts include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Café Carlyle & Feinstein’s 54 Below, garnering her the prestigious Mabel Mercer award and the 2016 Bistro Award for Ongoing Artistry in Concert and Cabaret. She has also worked with major symphonies nationwide. Television credits include Law & Order: SVU, The Cosby Show, PBS’ Musical Comedy Tonight, Taylor Benson in Another World, and Ava Gardner in Fox’s mini-series Mia, Child of Hollywood. Collaboration with her husband, Grammy nominated producer & composer Martin Silvestri and writer Joel Higgins led to her West End debut starring in their musical The Fields of Ambrosia, followed by concerts in London, Paris, Rome, Australia and the White House. These concerts were the basis for her award-winning CDs: Love is Good, Here’s to the Ladies and The Carlyle Set.

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Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Charlotte Crossley better known as Charlo got her start singing in the choir at Metropolitan Community Church at the tender age of seven. She continued music education in elementary school learning the piano and clarinet and continued until she graduated from South Shore High School. At fifteen, she got her start in theater with roles in West Side Story and the Three Penny Opera at the Young Men's Jewish Community Center where she was encouraged by the director to audition for HAIR, The Musical: the American tribal love-rock musical by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt McDermott's, which was opening a Chicago company. She was performing eight shows a week. While it was hard work for young Charlo, but being the center of attention was second nature to the burgeoning star. She continued with the Chicago Company, traveled to Las Vegas, and ultimately went on the Tony Award-winning production’s first national tour. After moving to New York City, she joined the original Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Superstar, rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice which later won a Tony Award. Charlo later met and toured with Bette Midler and Barry Manilow, which opened many doors that led to recording for CBS Records with the highly coveted trio of backup singers formerly known as The Harlettes with Sharon Redd and Ula Hedwig. Her music credits include working with the likes of Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Lainie Kazan, Muddy Waters, Sister's Love, Boz Scaggs, and Hiroshima. She has also appeared on the big screen in films including The “Preachers Wife,” “Beaches,” “Sister Act 1,” ...

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Every girl's (and some guys!) go-to makeup item and the power of a set of stained lips is celebrated on National Lipstick Day on July 29. Splurge on the high-end crimson lipstick you’ve been eyeing this July 29, National Lipstick Day! Lipstick has likely been around for thousands of years, made out of an insane array of items, from gemstones to crushed bugs. 

Geraldine Ann "Geri" Jewell is an actress, stand-up comedian, diversity consultant, and motivational speaker, noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life and the mid-2000s western Deadwood.

Renee Katz received her vocal and musical theater training at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, NYU and from Martha Gladston of the Julliard School of Music. A MAC Award and BroadwayWorld nominee, Renee appeared in the 29th Annual Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center and at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2019 for the Jerome Kern tribute show- All the Things You Are.

Roslyn Kind is an actress and songwriter. She is the maternal half-sister of Barbra Streisand. She has been performing on Broadway and other venues since her teenage years. https://roslynkind.com

The new movie The Eyes of Tammy Faye recounts the landmark 1985 interview Tammy Faye Bakker did with Steve Pieters, who was undergoing treatment for AIDS, on her PTL network.

Destino Rubiani “T’Bone Rube” is a Jersey Bound entertainer who, since childhood, has developed a strong love and passion for Broadway music and 50’s Rock Culture. 

David S. Zimmerman :Producer, Casting Director, Actor, Creator of "Meet The Biz", Owner of DSZ Productions and Next Breath Productions

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Donna Pescow was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from New York's prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA). Shortly after graduation, she was cast as Annette in the iconic film Saturday Night Fever that launched her career. For her performance, Ms. Pescow was named Best Supporting Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle. Shortly after that, Donna starred in the popular sitcom Angie. Her work on the sitcom garnered her a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Female Performer on a New Television Program. In addition, she starred in the long running sitcom Out of This World and the popular sitcom Even Stevens for which she was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Her career spans four decades of work in the theatre, on screen and on television. She remains a constant presence in the world of entertainment.