CABARET COMMUNITY WILL RAISE MONEY FOR ARTS VAN WITH "CAROL'S ARTS VAN BENEFIT"

SOHO PLAYHOUSE (15 Vandam Street, NYC - SmartTix: 212-868-4444 - http://www.smarttix.com/) will present "Carol's ArtsVan Benefit," a special evening, hosted by Richard Skipper, on Friday, May 30th, to benefit DowntownNYC!'s ArtsVan, the new mobile hospitality center and ticketing truck which will debut this summer. The evening will include performances by Richard Skipper (as Ms. Channing), Risa Benson, Mychelle Colleary, Mary Foster Conklin, Scott Coulter and Audrey Lavine, Brandon Cutrell, John De Marco, Natalie Douglas, David Gurland, Lorinda Lisitza, Dana Lorge, Sue Matsuki, Melissa O'Connell, Rick Skye (as Liza Minnelli) and Pam Tate. Musical director is Doyle Newmyer. Doors open for cash bar and silent auction at 7:00 pm and the show begins at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $25; preferred seating $30.

Emcee Richard Skipper creates Carol Channing with astonishing success in "An Evening with Carol Channing," which contains remembrances from Channing's career (an era of clean, wholesome entertainment) and songs she made famous in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Hello, Dolly!" The benefit was initiated by Mr. Skipper, who performs frequently Downtown. He was quickly joined by other cabaret artists who felt "touched" by the intent of the initiative.

Proceeds from the benefit will be used for permits, licenses, legal filings and renovations to a used commercial vehicle to equip it for this task. Besides its entertainment, "Carol's ArtsVan Benefit" will feature raffles, door prizes and a silent auction.

The 200 seat Soho Playhouse (Dana Matthow, Managing Director) is donating space and staff for the event.

Until now, there has never been an ongoing, district-wide program to capture Downtown tourists and visitors and channel them into local theaters and other cultural attractions. ArtsVan is a "bootstrap" initiative to serve this need in multiple locations. By re-outfitting one or more surplus location vehicles from the film industry, DowntownNYC! is creating a moveable facility (or facilities) for rush ticketing and distributing arts info in the previously quarantined area below 14th Street. Neighborhood maps, guides and announcements will also be circulated, thus using the arts as a stimulus to Downtown revitalization. Earned surplus, if any, will be directed to relief efforts for individual artists.

Complete information on the ArtsVan is available on line at http://www.artsvan.org/.

The 200 seat Soho Playhouse (Dana Matthow, Managing Director) is donating space and staff for the event.

DowtownNYC! (http://www.downtownnyc.info) was formed on November 8, 2001 at the Cherry Lane Theater as a broad-based volunteer coalition of theater companies, performing artists, galleries, museums, restaurants, businesses, and pre-existing organizations and associations. It was established to generate goodwill, to boost business, and to rally the spirits of all who work and live downtown.

On November 30, 2001, DowtownNYC! organized and sponsored a gathering at Washington Square Park in which Petula Clark sang "Downtown" in honor of all of the artists and performers downtown. This event drew more than 1,000 attendees and demonstrated that the downtown arts community was still vital and ready for business in spite of 9/11.

In February 2002, DowtownNYC! sponsored and published a "Snapshot Survey" of the economic impact of 9/11 upon the Downtown business and arts community, particularly its theaters. This survey gave New York policy makers their first, highly focused picture of economic loss and job loss in the arts community post-9/11.

On November 30, 2002, DowtownNYC! followed with "Artists One Year Later: Survey of 9/11's Economic Impact on Individual Artists." This report was conducted by DowntownNYC! on behalf of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) in conjunction with the Consortium for Worker Education. The report has received widespread recognition and press attention. It is now considered a touchstone work in the planning for post-9/11 recovery and rebuilding of the downtown arts community.

Downtown NYC!, Inc. is a fiscally sponsored organization of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (http://www.lmcc.net). Financial donations to ArtsVan can be made by credit card using the DowntownNYC! website (http://www.downtownnyc.info), or by sending checks payable to Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, indicating "for DowntownNYC!" in the memo line, and mailing to: DowntownNYC!, 55 Perry Street, #1M, New York, NY 10014. Donations are fully tax deductible as allowed by law.

 

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