Part of His World
Objective: To produce a gala fundraiser for The New York Pops
Venue: Carnegie Hall
Total Performers Onstage: 187
Total Students Provided Music Performance/Enrichment Opportunities: 926
Total Audience Members Reached: 2,804
Notable Achievement: Reunited Angela Lansbury and 8-time Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken for a performance of “Beauty and Beast”
The New York Pops’ April 2018 gala was scheduled to be its biggest fundraiser of the year. I was responsible for curating the evening’s central event: an all-star concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating 8-time Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken. In addition to the film scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Newsies, Mr. Menken also co-created the stage musicals Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act, and A Bronx Tale. For a one-night only performance, I assembled the original stars behind these classic works, including Tony Award winners Harvey Fierstein, James Monroe Iglehart, Patina Miller, and Lillias White, as well as Disney icons Jodi Benson, Roger Bart, Corey Cott, Susan Egan, Adam Jacobs, and Judy Kuhn.
In addition to the adult singers and orchestra musicians, I coordinated performances from three separate youth ensembles: 20 student instrumentalists (from The New York Pops’ Kids On Stage program), 60 middle school musical theatre students (from The New York Pops’ partner organization Camp Broadway), and six children from The New York Pops’ choir and band programs at the Ronald McDonald House New York. And students did not just fill the stage: 837 children received free tickets for the performance through The New York Pops’ Kids in the Balcony program.
Roz Ryan, Vaneese Thomas, Cheryl Freeman, and Lillias White
On the evening of the sold-out gala, each song was greeted with enthusiastic applause. But the night’s major highlights were left to be “ever a surprise”. I personally booked Angela Lansbury to make a cameo appearance. Near the end of the concert, she was escorted onstage by Mr. Menken himself. Returning to her role as Mrs. Potts from the 1991 film, she regaled the audience with the title song from Beauty and the Beast, with Mr. Menken at the piano. As the only reasonable follow-up act, Mr. Menken then launched into a solo medley of all his hits that weren’t already covered on the program. For the grand finale, the entire cast joined Mr. Menken onstage for a rendition of “Be Our Guest” (a song which earned him one of his 19 Oscar nominations).
Photo Credit for concert images of Alan Menken/Angela Lansbury, Roz Ryan/Vaneese Thomas/Cheryl Freeman/Lillias White, James Monroe Iglehart, Patina Miller, Harvey Fierstein, Jodi Benson, and Roger Bart: Richard Termine
