Original Phantom of the Opera highlights fall gala

LENOX – The annual Gala event at Ventfort Hall has become a popular social event in recent years and this year looks to be no different.

The first American singer/actor to perform the title role in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Jeff Keller, will headline “The Music of the Night” gala at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum.

The event will take place on Saturday, September 21, starting at 6 p.m. This year, proceeds from the fourth annual gala will benefit the construction of a new handicap elevator for the historic mansion and the reopening of its second floor.

Because of the anticipated size of the audience, Keller will perform an array of songs from his extensive repertoire including the Phantom’s signature solo at nearby Trinity Episcopal Church at Walker and Kemble Streets.

He will be accompanied by pianist Ned Paul Ginsburg.

The audience will then move to Ventfort Hall, 104 Walker Street, where a full-course buffet dinner will be served.

Keller has also appeared as Perchik opposite Zero Mostel in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He created the role of Johnny Cantone, a Sinatra-like crooner, in The 1940’s “Radio Hour,” for which he received a Drama Desk nomination. A member of the cast of the award-winning Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” Keller went on to play the title role on the West Coast, winning the San Francisco Theater Critics Award.

He created the character of Marley’s Ghost in Alan Menken’s musical version of “A Christmas Carol,” starred as the villain Barnaby in “Charlotte Sweet,” and created the role of Sam in the hit musical “Personals.” Other Broadway credits include “On the Twentieth Century,” Jule Stein’s “One Night Stand” and Alan Jay Lerner’s “Dance a Little Closer.” Last year, Keller won an award at the New York Musical Theater Festival for his outstanding performance in “A Letter to Harvey Milk.”

He has appeared in concert with Leonard Bernstein and performed with symphony orchestras and in numerous repertory theaters. On TV, Keller played Peter Prescott on ABC’s Loving. The singer/actor and his wife, the Brazilian ballerina Andreia Romana Simm, founded and head the Dance Art Creative Center, a performing and visual art school.

After the concert, dinner at Ventfort Hall will start with hors d’oeuvres, champagne and wine and continue with a buffet roast beef, salmon, salad, other dishes, tarts and French pastries prepared by SoMa Catering.

Tickets for the gala concert and dinner are $130 per person and for the concert $50 per person. For further ticket information including gala sponsorship, patron and supporter categories call 413-637-3206 or log on to info@gildedage.org. RSVPs are required by September 10.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on August 29, 2013. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry