GIMME A BREAK!
December 5, 2011

This year's GIMME A BREAK! was fantastic! Read Playbill's article with photos from the evening, and check out BroadwayWorld's article/photo gallery too! Stay tuned for info on GIMME A BREAK 2012!

A gala event to benefit Transport Group Theatre Company.  The evening included a cocktail reception and performances featuring Broadway stars sharing their "big break" moments in story and song.

Honored Douglas Carter Beane & Lewis Flinn
Hosted by Julie Halston
Featured Kerry Butler, Jackie Hoffman, Andrew Rannells, Andrew Samonsky, Alexandra Silber, and Mary Testa

The Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue @ 70th Street

Click here to see the Annual Gala Archive

Douglas Carter Beane & Lewis Flinn                      Julie Halston

  
DOUGLAS CARTER BEANE wrote the book for Lysistrata Jones, which received critical acclaim for its New York debut with Transport Group and will open on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater on December 14, 2011. Plays: The Little Dog Laughed (TONY and Olivier Nominations for Best Play, GLAAD Media Award), Mr & Mrs Fitch, As Bees in Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle Gassner Award), Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar, The Cartells, and the upcoming The Nance. Musicals: Xanadu (Outer Critics, HX, Drama Desk award for Best Book, Tony nomination for Best Book), Sister Act (Tony nomination for Best Book), The Big Time, The Bandwagon, and a soon-to-be-announced Rodgers and Hammerstein project. Revues: Mondo Drama and White Lies. Screenplays: Advice From a Caterpillar (Aspen Comedy Festival Best Feature); To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. As Artistic Director of Drama Dept., he produced more than 40 productions including revivals of As Thousands Cheer, June Moon and The Torchbearers, and world premieres by Paul Rudnick, David Sedaris and Wendy Wasserstein. He resides in NYC with his partner, Lewis Flinn, and their children Cooper and Gabrielle. 

LEWIS FLINN wrote the music and lyrics for Lysistrata Jones. Additional musical projects include The Divine Sister with Charles Busch, On Girl with Steven Sater, Like Love with Barry Kaplan (NYMF 2007), The Winner with Joe Sutton (the Lyric Stage, Dallas 2007), and Down There with Brian Crawley. He has also composed scores and songs for over 50 productions, including Douglas Carter Beane's Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed and Charles Busch’s Off-Broadway Die Mommie Die and The Third Story (MCC, La Jolla). Other theaters include Second Stage Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, MCC, South Coast Rep, Playwright's Horizons, Drama Dept., Lincoln Center Theatre, The Vineyard Theater, Geffen Playhouse (LA), Hartford Stage, Cleveland Play House, Old Glode, Primary Stages, adobe theatre co, and The Acting Company. In addition, he has been a guest artist at Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton University. In the world of TV and film, he recently wrote the themes and music for several primetime shows and numerous national commercials. A longtime collaborator with fashion designer Zang Toi, he has composed and performed runway music for over 14 collections. He was lead singer and songwriter for the 90's jazz/rock band Acoustic Blue.

JULIE HALSTON is one of the busiest actress/comediennes working today. She was most recently seen in the hit off-Broadway play Love, Loss and What I Wore, written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron. On network television, she starred in the CBS sitcom The Class, but is most recognized as Bitsy Von Muffling from Sex and The City. Younger viewers may know her as Antigone Carruthers on the new PBS show The Electric Company. Well-known to theatre audiences, she was last seen on Broadway in Hairspray after receiving rave reviews (as well as receiving Drama Desk and Drama League nominations) for her performance in William Hamilton’s White Chocolate. She received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her performance in The Roundabout’s production of Twentieth Century. Other Broadway credits include Gypsy, The Women, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. Off-Broadway credits include acclaimed performances in The Vagina Monologues, The Butter and Egg Man and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Miss Halston’s one woman show, Julie Halston’s Lifetime of Comedy which was developed from her wildly successful club act, ran off-Broadway for six months and received an Outer Critics Circle Nomination for Best Comedy. CBS developed a pilot based on the play. She is also a regular at the Bay Street Theatre appearing most recently in the Charles Busch comedies Shanghai Moon and The Lady in Question. Last year Ms. Halston, with the assistance of the director Daniel Goldstein, developed the play Miss Margarida’s Way. It was produced by Bay Street Theatre, with a subsequent presentation at New York Theatre Workshop. Her smash one woman comedy show has extended at Birdland in NYC four times. Her film credits include The Juror, Joe Gould’s Secret, Addams Family Values, Dottie Gets Spanked, Celebrity, and David Searching. She can be seen in Charles Busch’s latest film A Very Serious Person which was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival. In January of 2008, Julie co-authored the well-received book of original monologues, Monologues for Show-Offs, published by Heinemann Press. Last year, she starred in Charles Busch’s new comedy The Divine Sister at the Soho Playhouse.

FEATURING

          Kerry Butler       Jackie Hoffman  Andrew Rannells     Mary Testa

                     Andrew Samonsky                                    Alexandra Silber 

                            

KERRY BUTLER Broadway credits include Xanadu (Tony and Drama League nominations), Hairspray (Clarence Derwent Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), Little Shop of Horrors (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Rock of Ages, Les Misérables and Blood Brothers. Other theatre includes Bat Boy: The Musical, The Opposite of Sex, Miracle Brothers and The “I” Word. TV/film credits include “Blue Bloods,” “Rescue Me,” “30 Rock,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Cupid,” Borough of Kings, Campfire Stories, “One Life to Live,” “Second Honeymoon,” “Sesame Street,” “Hometown,” “Another World” and “Twins.” Kerry’s solo album Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust is currently available.

JACKIE HOFFMAN is an American actress and stand-up comedian. A veteran of Chicago's famed The Second City comedy improv group, Hoffman won the Joseph Jefferson Award, Chicago's venerable theatre award, during her eight-year tenure with Second City. Broadway: Hairspray (Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher, Matron and Denizen of Baltimore) (2003 Theatre World Award), Xanadu (Calliope, muse of epic poetry), and is currently starring as Grandmama in The Addams Family. Other theatrical credits include: numerous roles in David and Amy Sedaris' 2001 comic play, The Book of Liz (Obie Award), The Sisters Rosensweig, Straightjacket, Incident at Cobbler's Knob, and One Woman Shoe (Jeff Award). In addition, she regularly performs at Joe's Pub in one-woman concerts. Movies include Kissing Jessica Stein, Mo' Money, Garden State, Down, Queer Duck: The Movie, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, and A Dirty Shame and was the voice of the Water Cooler in Robots. TV: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Strangers with Candy, Hope and Faith, Ed, Starved, Cosby, 30 Rock, One Life to Live and was the voice of Dilmom on Dilbert. Ms. Hoffman can be heard on the original Broadway cast recordings of Hairspray, Xanadu, and The Addams Family, and the PS Classics' recording of Jackie Hoffman: Live at Joe's Pub released Fall 2008. She also appears on Scott Alan's CD, Dreaming Wide Awake, in a duet with Carly Jibson.

ANDREW RANNELLS was nominated for a Tony Award in 2011 for his role of Elder Price in The Book of Mormon. Other Broadway credits include Jersey Boys (Bob Gaudio) and Hairspray (Link Larkin). Recently, he has been a proud part of the development of new projects including William Finn and James Lapine's Little Miss Sunshine and Lewis Flinn & Douglas Carter-Beane's Lysistrata Jones. 

ANDREW SAMONSKY most recently appeared in the Transport Group's production of Queen of the Mist, by Michael John LaChiusa. He was seen on Broadway as Lt. Joseph Cable in the Tony Award winning production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, where he also performed on the “Live From Lincoln” Center PBS broadcast. He was recently seen as Beauchamp Day in the world premier of ACT’s Tales of the City and as Frank Hoover in La Jolla Playhouse’s world premier production of Little Miss Sunshine. Other regional credits include Jon in the Los Angeles premier of tick, tick… BOOM! at The Rubicon and Coronet Theater, Whizzer in Falsettos for the Actor’s Fund Special Performance, Bob Wallace in White Christmas at The Denver Center, and James in Shenandoah at The Ford’s Theater. He originated the role of Nick for the national tour of Disney’s On The Record where he can be found on the cast recording.

ALEXANDRA SILBER made her NYC debut in the Transport Group's production of Hello Again, and was last seen performing at The Kennedy Center as part of The Barbara Cook Spotlight Series. She recently appeared in Master Class starring Tyne Daly. Alexandra’s London theatre credits include Carousel, Fiddler on The Roofand The Woman in White. 

MARY TESTA, current star of Michael John LaChiusa's new musical, Queen of the Mist, was last seen on Broadway in the revival of Guys and Dolls and in Xanadu, which earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination. She earned Tony Award nominations for her performances in 42nd Street and On the Town, and she has also appeared in Chicago, Marie Christine, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Rink, Marilyn and Barnum. She was also in the cast of the New York City Center Encores! production of The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. Leading Testa’s extensive Off-Broadway credits are the recent Tricks the Devil Taught Me, Love, Loss and What I Wore and Measure for Measure. Among her many honors are Obie Awards for From Above and On the Town and Drama Desk nominations for First Lady Suite, String of Pearls and See What I Wanna See, which also earned her a Drama League nomination. Testa has also appeared in Regrets Only, The Vagina Monologues, The Wax, Lucky Stiff, The Knife, A New Brain, Tartuffe, Scapin, In Trousers and Daughters. Testa has appeared in many films, including Eat, Pray, Love; The Bounty Hunter; Stay; Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding; The Business of Strangers; The Out-of-Towners and Going in Style. Her television credits include “White Collar,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Electric Company,” “Life on Mars,” “Cashmere Mafia,” “Whoopi,” “Cosby,” “Sex and the City,” “Law & Order” and numerous others. Testa has appeared on several cast albums, including Marie Christine, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, See What I Wanna See, A New Brain and In Trousers.