PRIDELiGHTS FOUNDATION HOST
SEVENTH ANNUAL "GALA CONCERT & TREE LIGHTING"
IN BOSTON ON JUNE 5

1st Annual "PRIDELiGHTS Bridge-Builder Award" Recipient Carol O'Shaughnessy To Perform

Striving to unite the straight and gay communities in celebration of the Boston's Gay and Lesbian pride, the PRIDELiGHTS FOUNDATION will host the seventh annual PRIDELiGHTS GALA CONCERT AND TREE LIGHTING on Tuesday, June 5th, (7:30 pm - 9:00 pm) at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street in Boston's South End.

Gathering over 1000 attendees each June, the hallmark of the PRIDELiGHTS Foundation's unifying efforts will feature the presentation of the first annual "PRIDELiGHTS Bridge-Builder Award" to "Boston's First Lady of Cabaret," Carol O'Shaughnessy and performances by Carol, "Mary Sunshine" from the Tony award-winning musical Chicago, Varla Jean Merman and the Swing a Capella group, Flashback. Emceed by WHDH-TV's Randy Price, the evening will culminate in the "flip of the switch" - illuminating the Clarendon Square tree with over 15,000 pink PRIDELiGHTS.

"Over the past six years, PRIDELiGHTS has brought thousands of gay and straight people together through our Community Events Program like this free annual PRIDELiGHTS Concert and Tree Lighting Event. In addition to our fun, festive and educational community events, the PRIDELiGHTS Bridge Builder Grant Program has provided over $17,000.00 in critical funding to community-based programs like the GLSEN's Safe Sports Program and the Speak-Out Teen Theatre Troupe," explains PRIDELiGHTS Foundation, Executive Director, Ed MacLean. "We will continue to do this," he adds, " but we are excited to add this special recognition for an individual who unifies the communities through their unique talents. On June 5th, Carol O'Shaughnessy will be presented with the first 'PRIDELiGHTS Bridge-Builder Award' for her commitment to the Boston Cabaret scene - both audiences and performers. We believe her extraordinary talent brings us all together."

Performing for over 20 years, Carol has earned the city's "Cabaret Entertainer of the Year Award" for appearances at premier venues such as the Copley Plaza, Theater Lobby, Scullers, The Regattabar, Charles Playhouse and Diamond Jim's. Her rousing one-woman shows, "Just For Laughs," "Love Songs from Hell," and "A Talent to Amuse ... The Music of Judy Garland," have also met with critical acclaim. Carol has appeared with comic David Brenner. She has also won Provincetown's Hall of Fame and Entertainer of the Year Awards and numerous other honors and accolades. The ultimate praise came from Joan Rivers, with whom she shares a bill: "The best singer in her price range!" Carol recently released her first CD, "The Way I See It," which has received rave reviews.

Also on bill is Varla Jean Merman. The creation of actor Jeffery Roberson, he won critical acclaim as Mary Sunshine in the Tony award-winning musical Chicago. The flamed-tressed, six-foot-two Varla Jean is the purported love-child of the minutes-long marriage between Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine. Varla combines the fiery good looks of Ann Margaret, the decolletage of Dolly Parton, the voice of Joan Sutherland on Ecstasy, and a comedic punch uniquely her own. She has ventured far beyond the standard drag act into the realm of true theater, claiming as her own the heights heretofore reached only by such greats as Lypsinka and Dame Edna Everage.

Rounding out the on-stage performers is the sassy quartet Flashback. Known for their superb a Capella singing, these four talented ladies offer an Andrews Sisters' appeal with a humorous twist. The Boston Globe calls them "Amazing! Just the right combination of campy fun and wonderful music."

For more information contact PRIDELiGHTS Foundation at (617) 277-4746 or visit the website at http://www.pridelights.org/.

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