(Beverly Hills, CA March 8) Record-breaking six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald makes her greatly anticipated debut, as part of the acclaimed Broadway @ series, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, a one-night-only event featuring two intimate concerts at 7:00pm and 9:30pm on Thursday, May 11. Produced by Mark Cortale, the Broadway legend will be joined on stage by Broadway @ series host and pianist Seth Rudetsky, who recently starred in the five-star London premiere of his Broadway musical Disaster!
“Audra is a true Broadway legend, and we are thrilled to welcome her, along with Seth, to The Wallis in May,” said The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes. “Our audiences are in for an unforgettable evening seeing these renowned performers in our beautiful and intimate Bram Goldsmith Theater.”
The evening features a seamless mix of intimate behind-the-scenes stories from one of Broadway’s biggest stars—prompted by Rudetsky’s probing, funny, revealing questions—and McDonald singing some of the biggest hits from her musical theater repertoire. This spontaneous evening of hilarity and show-stopping songs is not to be missed.
Tickets currently only available through subscription. Remaining single tickets will be available on Friday, March 17 for $50 – $125. For updates, more information or to purchase a subscription, visit TheWallis.org/Audra, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Ticket prices subject to change.
About the artists:
Audra McDonald holds the record for more Tony Best Performance wins than any other actor in history, and is the only person to win all four acting categories. She became a three-time Tony Award winner by the age of 28 for her performances in Carousel, Master Class and Ragtime, placing her alongside Shirley Booth, Gwen Verdon and Zero Mostel by accomplishing this feat within five years. She won her fourth in 2004 for her role in A Raisin in the Sun, a role she reprised for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. On June 10, 2012, McDonald scored her fifth Tony Award win for her portrayal of Bess in Broadway’s The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess thus tying a record held by Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for most Tony Awards won by an actor. This past June she made history by winning her sixth Tony Award for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. She also maintains her ties to classical repertoire with an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as concerts throughout the US. Audra’s many television appearances include four seasons as Naomi Bennett in “Private Practice,” as well as “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Having Our Say,” “Mister Sterling,” “The Bedford Diaries,” “Kidnapped,” the TV remake of the musical “Annie,” and HBO’s “Wit” with Emma Thompson and more recently as a cast member of “The Good Wife.” In December 2013 Audra won critical acclaim for her performance as the Mother Abbess in NBC’s live telecast of “The Sound of Music” with Carrie Underwood. Her film roles include Cradle Will Rock, Object of My Affection, It Runs in the Family, Best Thief in the World and Seven Servants. Ms. McDonald just returned to the Broadway stage this spring and summer of 2016 with director George C. Wolfe and dancer/choreographer Savion Glover in the musical Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, a new retelling of an original musical by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Audra McDonald married Will Swenson in 2012, and this past October they became new parents to a baby girl.
Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s “On Broadway” as well as the host of Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Stars. As a pianist, Seth has played for more than a dozen Broadway shows including Ragtime, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. He was the Artistic Producer/Music Director for the first five annual Actors Fund Fall Concerts including Dreamgirls with Audra McDonald (recorded on Nonesuch Records) and Hair with Jennifer Hudson (recorded on Ghostlight Records, Grammy Nomination). In 2007 he made his Broadway acting debut playing Sheldon (singing “Magic to Do” in a devastating unitard) in The Ritz directed by Joe Mantello for The Roundabout Theater. As an author, he penned the non-fiction Q Guide to Broadway, the novel Broadway Nights and the recently published My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan (Random House). Seth played himself on “Kathy Griffin; My Life on the D-List,” was the vocal coach on MTV’s “Legally Blonde” reality show and starred opposite Sutton Foster in “They’re Playing Our Song” for the Actors Fund. He co-wrote and starred in Disaster! (which the New York Times called a “triumph”) this past season on Broadway. Disaster! also premiered to rave reviews in London’s West End in November. Seth writes a weekly column on Playbill.com and tours the country with this Broadway concert series and performing his one-man show Deconstructing Broadway. For more information visit www.sethrudetsky.com.
About the Broadway series:
The Art House in Provincetown, MA, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Mark Cortale, is the original home to the internationally acclaimed Broadway @ The Art House series hosted by Seth Rudetsky. In its sixth season this past summer, the series presented Broadway superstars including Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Patti LuPone, Matthew Morrison, Cheyenne Jackson and Vanessa Williams. The Broadway @ series premiered in 2013 in New Orleans, in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) with Megan Mullaly and in London’s West End with Patti LuPone at the Leicester Square Theater. The series has travelled to Fort Lauderdale (The Broward Center), Philadelphia (The Kimmel Center), San Francisco (The Nourse Theatre) and launched this month in Arizona with Audra McDonald (Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts). More information at markcortalepresents.com.
About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts:
Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 100 dance, theatre, opera, classical music and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world’s most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 28 Ovation Awards, four L.A. Drama Critic’s Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards since opening in 2013, The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater’s dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city’s history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike.
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TICKET INFORMATION:
What:
The Wallis and Mark Cortale Present
Broadway @ The Wallis
Six-time Tony Award-winning Star
Audra McDonald
with special guest Seth Rudetsky
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Bram Goldsmith Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210
When:
Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 7pm & 9:30pm
Tickets:
Single tickets: $50 – $125 (subject to change)
On-sale Friday, March 17
Online – TheWallis.org
By Phone – 310.746.4000
Box Office – Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Service
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210
