Dancing with the Drama Desk; Public Invited

Official communique from the Drama Desk, which I've been a member of for several years now. This Jersey Boy (Randolph, by way of Belleville, birthplace of The Four Seasons, and Colonia) be there, stuffing his face with pasta, and may favor the crowd with an enthusiastic (the charitable word for it) rendition of "My Eyes Adored You."

"Broadway performers Sutton Foster (THE DROWSY CHAPERONE) and John Lloyd Young (JERSEY BOYS, pictured; photo, Joan Marcus) will join director/choreographers Kathleen Marshall (THE PAJAMA GAME) and Casey Nicholaw (THE DROWSY CHAPERONE) and choreographer Sergio Trujillo (JERSEY BOYS) at a Drama Desk special Spring Luncheon/Panel at Sardi’s on Thursday, April 6, from 11:45 AM to 2:30 PM. The focus of the Panel, which will be moderated by Richard Ridge, a Drama Desk member and host of Broadway Beat TV, will be "Dancing on Broadway: The Art and the Staging." Sardi’s is located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenues.

Foster, who stars as Janet Van De Graaf in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, and Young, who portrays Frankie Valli in JERSEY BOYS, will offer their personal perspectives on performing and dancing in stage musicals eight times a week, while Marshall, Nicholaw and Trujillo will discuss their individual approaches to staging and choreographing dance numbers for the Broadway stage.

The event is open to the public. Admission for Drama Desk members is $35 per person and includes lunch (choice of salmon, chicken or pasta). The cost for non-member guests is $45 per person. Reservations are recommended. To guarantee admission, reservations should be made now to wolf@wolfentertainmentguide.com or by calling 212/787-7020. (Please specify your choice of salmon, chicken or pasta.)

Founded in 1949, the Drama Desk is an organization of professional theater writers, critics and editors who cover all areas of the New York theater scene. William Wolf is President of the organization. The Drama Desk Awards, created in 1955, are held annually to celebrate excellence in all New York theater: Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and non-profit theater. This year’s Drama Desk Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 21, 2006, at 9 PM at the LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center. Robert R. Blume is executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards."