Join “My Fair Lady” Laura Benanti Understudy Heather Botts for Seventh Annual MSU/PRSSA Event
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES, March 5, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ — Two of Broadway’s biggest star, Sierra Boggess and Rebecca Luker, join rising Broadway star Heather Botts to headline the seventh annual Montclair State University benefit for Autism New Jersey on Monday, April 22. The musical theater department’s Freshmen Revue will also perform. The event will take place in the university’s Memorial Auditorium and begin at 7 pm.
Three time Tony nominee Luker’s Broadway impressive resume includes leading roles in “Fun Home,” the Fairy Godmother in “Cinderella,” “Mary Poppins,” “Nine,” “The Music Man,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Secret Garden, “Phantom of the Opera,” and “Brigadoon.” Her television credits include the CBS Television movie “Cupid and Cate,” “Elementary,””NCIS: New Orleans,” “Law and Order-SVU,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “An Evening with the Pops”, “An Oscar Hammerstein Celebration” and “A Tribute to Rodgers and Hart” (PBS), The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Julie Andrews, and a Richard Rodgers celebration with the Boston Pops (PBS).
Boggess is an Olivier nominated actress, perhaps best known for her first Broadway role as Ariel in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” receiving Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, as well as the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Female Breakthrough Performance. Her additional Broadway credits include “Master Class,” “It Shoulda Been You,” “The Phantom of The Opera,” and “School of Rock.” Boggess’ Off-Broadway credits include “Music in the Air,” alongside Kristin Chenoweth, for New York City Center’s Encores! Series. In the West End, Boggess has appeared as Fantine in “Les Miserables” and originated the role of Christine Daae in “Love Never Dies,” the critically acclaimed sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, receiving an Olivier Award Nomination for her performance.
Botts can currently be seen on Broadway as Laura Benanti’s understudy as Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady.” Botts also starred in “Doctor Zhivago,” and she starred in the first national tour of “The King an I.”
Autism New Jersey is the largest statewide network of parents and professionals dedicated to improving the lives of people with autism and their families. The nonprofit organization is committed to ensuring safe and fulfilling lives for individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals who support them. Through awareness, credible information, education, and public policy initiatives, Autism New Jersey leads the way to lifelong individualized services provided with skill and compassion.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the national rate of children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 59 children. This statistic is based on their evaluation of health and educational records of 8-year-old children in 2014 in 11 states, including New Jersey. New Jersey has the highest rate of autism in the nation: 1 in 34 children, or 3% of 8-year-old children. New Jersey’s prevalence continues to exceed and outpace other states.
The event is planned and promoted by the Montclair State University Public Relations Student Society of America, which won the 2006 United States Postal Service Executive Public Relations Challenge competition, performed public relations for 2006 and 2007 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, Lorena Ochoa, the fifth annual Andy Kaufman Award in 2010, the Curtain Call Award, and Hackensack University Medical Cancer Center.
The show will run from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/broadway-stars-for-autism-new-jersey-tickets-57627293787 for $20. Montclair students, both current and alumni, can purchase tickets in advance through the Communication Office in Morehead Hall for $10, or purchase them at the door, with a student ID.
Larry M. Weiner, APR, Fellow PRSA
Montclair State University PRSSA
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Sierra Boggess as Ariel in Broadway’s “Little Mermaid,” singing “Part of Your World”