FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell will headline the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center’s annual gala on Saturday, July 15. The performance will mark Stokes’ Mahaiwe stage debut after a virtual appearance during the Mahaiwe’s digitally curated “Moving People, Moving Mountains” event in 2020. Stokes will perform with a trio — Tedd Firth on piano, Clint de Ganon on drums and Paul Beaudry on bass.
“The pinnacle of the season and signature event of the year at the Mahaiwe will be this year’s Gala,” says Mahaiwe Executive Director Janis Martinson. “It is an honor to be presenting a talented stage, screen and television veteran, Tony Award winner, and titan in the performing arts industry. Not only does his decades-long career starring on Broadway and in multiple television series speak for itself, he has also been a respected leader in lifting up other performers through his non-profit work.”
Stokes’ performance will be preceded by a dinner reception at nearby Memorial Field on Bridge Street, coordinated by event planners Only In My Dreams Events and catered by Peter Platt of Old Inn on the Green, under a tent by Mahaiwe Tent. Berkshire Mountain Distillers will provide a signature drink, the “Mahaiwe Marquee,” as part of its Cultural Cocktails program. Floral arrangements will be provided by Erica Darling. Michael Junkins Group will perform light jazz during the reception.
A gala committee will oversee logistics surrounding the event. The committee is co-chaired by Mahaiwe Vice-Chair Allison Wintner and Jeff Wintner. Mahaiwe Board member Abby Schroeder, a close friend of the performer, is honorary chair.
“The Mahaiwe Gala celebrates all that this year-round theater means to the Berkshire community, honors those who make it possible, and helps to fund its operations and capital needs,” says Mahaiwe Director of Advancement Diane Wortis. “We are pleased to be recognizing the Leonhardt Community Access Fund and will be launching the effort to raise funds for replacement of our historic roof slate.”
Tickets
For gala dinner packages, contact Diane Wortis at diane@mahaiwe.org. Show-only tickets are $50 to $125 and will go on sale to Mahaiwe Members on Wednesday, April 26 at noon, and to the public on Wednesday, May 3 at noon. Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office, 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
For more information on Mahaiwe Membership, visit mahaiwe.org/membership, or contact Advancement Manager Melissa Canavan at 413-644-9040, ext. 107 or melissa@mahaiwe.org.
About Brian Stokes Mitchell
Dubbed “the last leading man” by The New York Times, two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans Broadway, television, film, and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras.
He received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson’s King Hedley II, and Ragtime. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly’s Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Shuffle Along. In 2016 he was awarded his second Tony Award, the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Tony for his Charitable work with The Actors Fund. That same year Stokes was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
An extremely versatile and in-demand singer, Stokes has performed at venues spanning jazz, opera, pops, country, and musical theater worlds. He has worked with John Williams, Marvin Hamlisch, Gustavo Dudamel, Keith Lockhart, Michael Tilson Thomas, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Big Band, The Mormon Tabernacle choir and the Muppets. Stokes has made multiple appearances at Carnegie Hall beginning with his debut with the San Francisco Symphony through his televised performance in South Pacific opposite Reba McEntire to his sold-out solo concert, which he continues to perform throughout the U.S. He has been invited twice to perform at the White House (both times aired on PBS’s “Great Performances”) and has performed multiple times for Presidents Clinton and Obama.
Stokes has delved deeply into various music disciplines. In addition to singing, he began piano studies at the age of 6. A self-professed autodidact, his musical curiosity led him to teach himself composing, arranging and orchestration, starting in his teens. He later studied film scoring, orchestration, and conducting both privately and through UCLA and subsequently scored and conducted a number of “Trapper John, MD” episodes, a series on which he was also a regular cast member. His musical talent has extended to the present day as producer, arranger and orchestrator on his three solo albums including Simply Broadway and his latest recording Plays With Music. Stokes has appeared on more than 20 albums.
His extensive screen credits began with a guest starring role on “Roots: The Next Generations,” followed by a 7-year stint on “Trapper John, MD,” and have continued with memorable appearances on everything from PBS’ “Great Performances” to “The Fresh Prince,” “Frasier,” “Glee,” “Jumping the Broom,” and his most recent recurring roles on “Madam Secretary,” “Mr. Robot,” “The Path,” “Billions,” and “The Good Fight.” Other recent TV appearances include “The Blacklist,” “Elementary,” and “Bull.” As a voice-over artist he has played dozens of characters on animated TV episodes including performing “Through Heaven’s Eyes” in Dreamwork’s “The Prince of Egypt.” Stokes’ latest role is a recurring character on “East New York.”
As a writer, Stokes has contributed to the book Hirschfeld’s Harlem, wrote the preface to At This Theatre, and co-authored the children’s book Lights on Broadway.
For fun, he has been known to fly planes and jump out of them (usually not at the same time), and he can ride a bicycle on a high wire.
Stokes has enjoyed working with numerous charitable organizations from the March of Dimes to the USO. He is on the board of Americans For the Arts and is serving his 16th term as Chairman of the Board of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund). Stokes is a founding member of Black Theatre United.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 25,700 students from 73 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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