The concert originally scheduled at The Town Hall on November 14, 2013 with Barbara Cook has been cancelled.
This turn of events left The Furshpans, with a challenging situation, however, both Joanne and Bernie decided to turn this lemon into lemonade and, with the help of some friends, put together an Extravaganza for the evening. “I knew we had to do something big, so better yet, we’re turning this lemon into Limoncello,” said Joanne Furshpan. “Our goal is to create some of the most entertaining events in NYC. With so much talent around us, it makes it fun and exciting to put together a production like this.”
With very little time left, Furshpan Productions scrambled, and as Bernie put it, “We had to pull a hat out of a rabbit.” He then explained, “My mom was a Holocaust survivor and always told me that her life lesson was never, never, never give up. It’s ingrained in my head and we’re not afraid of running this marathon to the very end and pushing ourselves to the limit.” In fact, Bernie, decided to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, on his 50th birthday. The peak of this ancient volcano is just shy of 20,000 feet into the clouds and takes approximately five days to reach. “That experience reinforced in me that I should never quit until I’ve exhausted all possibilities,” Bernie added.
The concert event on November 14th is titled, “Bright Stars of Broadway” and, because there are multiple blessings accounted for, the concert is dedicated to Zahava Furshpan, Bernie’s mom, who died almost three years. A portion of the revenue will be distributed to both Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids and Help is on the Way Today. Zahava was a big fan of musicals and extremely generous to those who suffered. “She would have loved this concert and I have a feeling she’ll be attending, so I’m keeping a front row seat open for her.” Bernie exclaimed.
Featured in this musical event include the likes of:
Richard Kind, The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Brenda Braxton, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Chicago
Natalie Toro, A Tale Of Two Cities, Cats, Les Miserables
Bobby Creighton, The Little Mermaid, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Bernard Dotson, Ragtime, Chicago
Brandi Massey, Wicked
Marcus Paul James, Rent, In the Heights
Debra Walton, Chicago, Pajama Game
Liz McKendry, The Producers
Michelle Dowdy, Hairpspray
Romelda Teron Benjamin, Brooklyn The Broadway Musical
BRIGHT STARS ON BROADWAY AT THE TOWN HALL November 14 at 8 PM 123 West 43rd Street (between 6th Avenue & Broadway). Tickets go on sale on Wed, November 6, 2013. To order by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 982.2787 or www.ticketmaster.com. Orchestra: $65, $60, $55; Balcony/Loge $60, $45
