Leading the proceedings was comely dandy Ben Vereen and a few of his delightful co conspirators – Lee Roy Reams, Carol Lawrence, Mercedes Ellington, the TV star Tony Dovolani (who later confided to me that rehearsals that day had taken 4 hours) and not least of all Patricia Watt, heartfelt producer of the fellowship and daughter of the man who started the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards, along with other awards like the Dramatists Circle Award. To listen to Patricia was to look for a silk kerchief and shamelessly weep at the wonder of dance and the testament of wonderful burgeoning talent that guests had come to (financially) champion.
A curt reading of the program had the following to say:The evening’s highlights will include performances by cast members of “Fela”, “Come Fly Away”, “Ragtime” and “Memphis”; Ronald K. Brown’s acclaimed Evidence, A Dance Company performing a number to commemorate their 25th Anniversary; “Dancing With The Stars” Tony Dovolani, Cheryl Burke and Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Roby.
