
Lillias White Wins Raves at Bucks County Cabaret
Shimmering in a sequined fuchsia cocktail dress, Tony and Emmy Award winner Lillias White raised the roof of the Bucks County Playhouse with a sassy, high-spirited evening of song and stories at the 2015 edition of Bucks County Cabaret.
White effortlessly sang her way through a jukebox of Broadwayโs classic composers, from Cy Coleman to Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne to Jerry Herman. Sharing stories of her life onstage and off, White left the crowd cheering for more at the annual benefit concert on October 24, 2015, in New Hope, PA.
White opened the show with a lively mash-up of โSomethingโs Comingโ from West Side Story and โIt’s Todayโ from Mame. Then, revisiting the role that won her a Tony Award, White kicked off her silver heels and channeled Sonja, an aging prostitute lamenting her career in โThe Oldest Professionโ from Colemanโs The Life.
A native of Brooklyn, White talked about listening to showtunes as a child and performing for her family atop her grandmotherโs dining room table. Despite her love of music, โgrowing up I thought Iโd be a nurse,โ White revealed. โBut this here is my way of nursing.โ
White proved she made the right choice as she glided through songs from Peter Pan, Colemanโs Like Jazz and Funny Girl, including her thrilling rendition of โDonโt Rain on My Parade.โ The eveningโs set list also included โCome Down from the Tree,โ a song from Once On This Island that was cut before the show made it to Broadway.
White brought the audience to its feet, their eyes filled with tears, after a heart-wrenching rendition of Ann Hampton Callaway and Lindy Robbinsโ “How Can You Be Gone?”
“I lost people I rode dreams with,” White said in introducing the song. “Tonight I stand here for all of my friends and colleagues I lost. This is in their memory.”
She sang: “If I keep you in my mind/And I hold you in my heart/Like a sweet never ending song/Then how can you be gone?”
Since the earliest days of the AIDS crisis, White has been a loyal supporter. โBroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has saved some of my dearest friends,โ she told the audience. โI am a witness to the work and the strength of this organization. It has helped countless people.โ
The unstoppable White confessed she was fighting a cold, โbut Iโm winning,โ she proclaimed, refusing to let a few sniffles would stand her way.
White used Colemanโs rollicking โThose Handsโ as an opportunity to introduce the strong hands backing her on stage: music director and pianist Michael O. Mitchell, Gary Haase on bass and Buddy Williams on drums. The show was directed by Will Nunziata.
White has brought to life iconic roles in Cats, Once on This Island, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Chicago, Fela! and more. But on the Bucks County Cabaret stage she shared there are still some roles she longs to sink her teeth into, promptly launching into a vivacious version of โSome Peopleโ from Gypsy.
To close the evening, White shared a sultry version of โIf He Walked Into My Lifeโ from Mame, followed by the inspiring โIt Started with a Dreamโ from Pamelaโs First Musical.
Next up for White, she will star in the Broadway-bound musical Gotta Dance, which is scheduled to open late this year in Chicago.
Following the performance, Broadway Cares friend and favorite auctioneer Lorna Kelly led a lively auction that included backstage meet-and-greet experiences with Gavin Creel at The Book of Mormon, James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson at The Gin Game, Jonathan Groff at Hamilton, Michael Cerveris and Judy Kuhn at Fun Home, Kelli OโHara and Ruthie Ann Miles at The King and I, as well as with White herself at her upcoming Broadway return in Gotta Dance.
Prior to the performance, Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola presented a check for $10,000 to Bucks County-based FACT โ Fighting AIDS Continuously Together, one of 24 AIDS and family service organizations in Pennsylvania receiving Broadway Cares grants.
In the four years the event has been produced by Broadway Cares, Bucks County Cabaret has raised $542,790.
This year’s Bucks County Cabaret was sponsored by The New York Times and United Airlines, with special thanks to Bridge Street Foundation, Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, Alex Fraser, Robyn Goodman and the staff and crew of Bucks County Playhouse.
Photos by Daniel T. Gramkee
Bucks County Cabaret Committee
David R. McShane, Chairman
Lynell Antonelli, Drew Desky, Bob Egan, Chuck Fischer, Greg Kammerer, Louis Licitra, Pamela Morrison, Hannah H. R. Shipley, Ron Strouse, Gene Underwood, Fred White, David Witchell
Producing Sponsors David R. McShane, Paxson Hill Farm and The Samantha Fund Tonamora Foundation Entertainment Sponsor Greg Kammerer & Fred White Advertising Sponsor Drew Desky & Dane Levens |
Benefactor Hannah H.R. ShipleyLeadership Sponsor Joseph Jingoli and Son, Inc. Patron Sponsors Pamela Morrison, in memory of John Rowe Michael Raymond & Andrew Moyer John Eric Sebesta & William Tomai |