Hello Jerry

HELLO JERRY: THE MUSIC OF JERRY HERMAN starring Jason Graae, Debbie Gravitte, Ron Raines and Don Pippin
created by Jerry Herman and Jason Graae

A concert evening celebrating the music of acclaimed composer Jerry Herman, featuring such world renowned songs as "The Best of Times"."It Only Takes a Moment", Before the Parade Passes By", "Hello Dolly” "I Won't Send Roses", “I Am What I Am”, “I Won’t Send Roses,” "Song on the Sand", "If He Walked Into My Life" and “Mame.”

Jason Graae

Broadway and off-Broadway credits include A Grand Night for Singing, Falsettos, Stardust, Snoopy!, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, Forever Plaid, Olympus on My Mind, All in the Timing and Hello, Muddah, Hello, Fadduh. Graae originated the role of Houdini in the L.A. production of Ragtime at the Shubert Theatre. He has appeared on dozens of television shows, including Six Feet Under, Rude Awakening, Friends, and Frasier. On PBS, he was a guest soloist with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra on Holiday for the Troops at the Kennedy Center, twice with the Boston Pops, and recently in Words and Music by Jerry Herman. He has been heard on many cartoons and for five years he was the voice of Lucky, the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms Cereal. Graae made his Los Angeles Opera debut as Njegus in The Merry Widow and has appeared with Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, New Orleans Opera, Washington National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. His one-man show, Coup de Graae!, won the New York Nightlife Award and was listed in TimeOut NY's Top 10 Cabaret shows of the year. In 2009, he has created a wonderful solo concert “Magically Delicious”, which has played N.Y., L.A. and many cities in between. He won his fourth Bistro Award for his last show Graae's Anatomy. Graae has recorded more than 40 CDs, including original cast albums, concerts, compilations, and his two solo efforts.

Debbie Gravitte

Debbie Gravitte's varied career has taken her from the Broadway stage to the concert stage and beyond. She won a Tony Award® for Jerome Robbins' Broadway and after making her Broadway debut in the original cast of They're Playing Our Song, she went on to appear in Perfectly Frank, Blues in the Night, Ain't Broadway Grand, Zorba, Chicago, and Les Misérables. Gravitte has appeared in the Encores! series productions of The Boys from Syracuse, Tenderloin, and Carnival! at New York's City Center. She has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York's Rainbow and Stars to London's Pizza on the Park and back home again to Atlantic City, where she's had the honor to perform with Jay Leno, Harry Anderson, and the legendary George Burns. She has sung with numerous symphony orchestras both stateside and abroad, including the National Symphony Orchestra (with Marvin Hamlisch), The Boston Pops, the London, Aalborg, and Birmingham symphony orchestras, Stockholm Philharmonic, the Gotesborg and Jerusalem symphonies, and the Munich Philharmonic. On television, Gravitte co-starred on the CBS series Trial and Error, was seen on NBC's Pursuit of Happiness, and has starred in several specials for PBS, including Live from the Kennedy Center, The Boston Pops Celebrate Bernstein, Rodgers and Hart for Great Performances, and Ira Gershwin's 100th Birthday Celebration from London's Royal Albert Hall as well as Carnegie Hall. She recently released the CD Defying Gravity, which is a follow-up to The MGM Album, Part of Your World, and The Music of Alan Menken. She recently debuted with the New York City Ballet singing in Peter Martin's Thou Swell at Lincoln Center. She appeared with Bette Midler in the Universal Feature, Isn't She Great?, and can be heard as one of the voices in Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Ron Raines

Television credits include Guiding Light (Alan Spaulding/three-time Emmy nominee and three-time Soap Opera Digest Award nominee) and four PBS Great Performances: My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs; Gershwin at 100; The Rodgers and Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty;and Evening at Pops (Boston Pops with Keith Lockhart). Raines's Broadway and New York theater credits include Chicago (Billy Flynn), Showboat (Ravenal/1983 revival), Teddy and Alice, Olympus on the Mind, The Merry Widow (NYCO), The Duchess of Gerolstein, One Touch of Venus (with Susan Lucci), A Little Night Music, Oh Lady! Lady!, and Carnegie Hall's Tribute to Lerner and Loewe. Other theater leading roles include South Pacific, Annie, Kismet, Kiss Me, Kate, The King and I, Brigadoon, Oklahoma!, Carousel, Side By Side By Sondheim, Follies, and Man of La Mancha. Raines has performed in concert with more than 50 symphony orchestras, including those from Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston Pops (with John Williams), Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Pittsburgh (with Marvin Hamlisch), Philadelphia Pops (with Peter Nero), San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.'s National Symphony Orchestra. Abroad, he has performed with the Israeli Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Solo recordings include Ron Raines: So In Love with Broadway and Ron Raines: Broadway Passion. Cast recordings include Night of the Hunter, Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, Man of La Mancha, 110 in the Shade, Annie, Wonderful Town, and One Touch of Venus. Raines is married to Dona D. Vaughn and has one daughter, Charlotte Vaughn Raines.

Don Pippin

Don Pippin's distinguished career on Broadway includes A Chorus Line (for which he received the Golden Record Award), Oliver! (which won him the Tony Award®), Applause, Woman of the Year, Mame, Dear World, Cabaret, Seesaw, Jerry's Girls, Mack and Mabel, and La Cage Aux Folles. Pippin has been the musical director for many years at Radio City Music Hall, as well as a consultant. He won the Emmy Award for the TV special Broadway Sings Jule Styne and he was nominated for a second Emmy for the televised concert, Jerry Herman at the Hollywood Bowl, performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the musical director for An Evening with Alan Jay Lerner live at Lincoln Center and part of PBS Television's Great Performances series. Pippin was chosen to be the musical director for the concert galas celebrating Cole Porter's 100th birthday in New York's Carnegie Hall and in London at the Prince Edward Theatre. He returned to London to conduct the 25th Anniversary Gala of Hello, Dolly! in concert. RCA has released Pippin's CD of Jerry Herman's Broadway. Today, he keeps busy performing his Broadway music programs with “Pop” Symphony orchestras all over the USA and Europe. Although known best as a conductor, Pippin is also a pianist. He has accompanied many of our great entertainers: Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ann Hampton Callaway, Julie Andrews, Alfred Drake, Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury, Marilyn Horne, and Debbie Voigt. When not on the road, he enjoys life in Brewster, NY with his many pets.

Jerry Herman

Jerry Herman has the distinction of being the only composer-lyricist in history to have had three musicals that ran more than 1,500 consecutive performances on Broadway. His first Broadway show was Milk and Honey (1961), followed by Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1979), La Cage Aux Folles (1983), Jerry's Girls (1985) and Mrs. Santa Claus (1966), a CBS TV special starring Angela Lansbury. Showtune, a revue of his life's work, is performing in regional theatres around the country. His string of awards and honors includes multiple Tonys®, Grammys®, Drama Desk Awards, a Johnny Mercer Award, a Richard Rodgers Award, an Oscar Hammerstein Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Frederick Loewe Award, and election to the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame.