American Songbook Association (ASA) announces its Fourth Annual Gala to honor Tony Award-winning star of Broadway and London theater, film and television Betty Buckley on Monday, October 2 at 7:30 PM. The event will take place at New York’s Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center. The evening will feature special guests performances by F. Murry Abraham, Bryan Batt, Jason Robert Brown, Carolee Carmello, Veanne Cox, Paul Hecht, Bonnie Milligan, Ken Page, Kurt Peterson, Seth Rudetsky, and Stephen Schwartz. Tickets are available beginning July 17.
Betty Buckley received the Tony Award for her portrayal of Grizabella in Cats. She has appeared on Broadway (1776, Pippin, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Song And Dance, Carrie (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Sunset Boulevard, Triumph Of Love (Tony Nomination), in London (Promises, Promises (Evening Standard Nomination), Sunset Boulevard (Olivier Nomination), Dear World) on television (“Eight Is Enough,” “Oz,” “Preacher,” “Law & Order: SVU”), two Daytime Emmy nominations, in films (Carrie, Frantic, Another Woman, Wyatt Earp, Tender Mercies, The Happening, Split (Saturn Award nomination) and in concerts and cabaret. Betty has released 18 solo albums and is a two-time Grammy Award nominee. She was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2012, and has been awarded two honorary doctorates of fine arts for her contribution to the musical theater by Marymount College and the Boston Conservatory of Music. She’s been a guardian of the Great American Songbook and has championed new songwriters. Not only has she mastered the many fields in which she has performed, she has generously shared her expertise with aspiring performers through her master classes. She is the ideal recipient of this ASA Lifetime Achievement Award.
ASA also bestows its Bill Sensenbrenner Dream Maker Award to Seth Rudetsky, also on the evening of October 2. This award is given annually to a leader in the art and business communities who exhibits a passion for investing in the cultural capital of our youth.
Seth is the host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s “On Broadway” as well as the host of “Seth Speaks.” 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 and Hair.
Premium seating is $300. Other seats range from $75 to $175. Tickets are available beginning July 17 at www.americansongbookassociatio
