NEWS

Broadway composer, lyricist Adler to perform benefit for Memorial Hall

CHAPEL HILL -- Broadway composer and lyricist Richard Adler, writer of standards including "You Gotta Have Heart," will tell stories and perform hits from his classic musicals in a Nov. 9 benefit show for his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The event, at 7:30 p.m. in the banquet hall of UNC's Morehead Building, will benefit the fund-raising campaign for the renovation of Memorial Hall into an industry-leading facility for the performing arts.

Adler, honorary co-chair of the Memorial Hall Transformation Campaign, will share a medley of his hits -- including "Rags to Riches" (Tony Bennett, 1953) and "Hey There" (Rosemary Clooney, 1954) -- through video and audio tapes and his own singing and storytelling. He will share memories about his career in theater and television and his years at Carolina.

"Richard is a legend, truly a great star, on the order of Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein," said George Ann Bissett, director of the Memorial Hall campaign. "He tells great stories about John F. Kennedy, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and other notables. This is a fabulous opportunity for our community to see and hear one of the greatest composers and lyricists of American theater."

With the late Jerry Ross, Adler, 81, co-wrote "Pajama Game" (1954) and "Damn Yankees" (1955). "Pajama Game," one of the greatest successes in Broadway history, put them on the map. It was the eighth musical to achieve a run of more than 1,000 performances and later was made into a movie starring Doris Day.

After Ross's death, Adler continued to write for commercials and television musicals. He was an arts consultant to the White House 1960s, working for presidents Kennedy and Johnson and producing Monroe's famous singing of "Happy Birthday" for JFK in 1962. The Reagan administration commissioned his symphony "Wilderness Suite."

Recently, the foundation of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Adler with its Richard Rodgers Award for lifetime achievements in American musical theater.

Adler offered to do the benefit, saying, "Everyone who loves Carolina has to love Memorial Hall," Bissett said. Adler, who graduated in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in drama, chose to come to Carolina from upstate New York after reading Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward, Angel."

The campaign for Memorial, led by Pam and Jim Heavner of Chapel Hill, is nearing its goal of $5 million, Bissett said. The $15 million project will be funded by the private donations plus $10 million from the state higher education bond referendum.

Funds raised for Memorial count toward the university’s Carolina First fund-raising campaign, the goal of which will be formally announced Oct. 11. Gifts to the campaign support faculty, students, programs and building projects and help position Carolina as the nation’s leading public university.

A reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres will follow the performance. Tickets are $125; part of the cost will be tax-deductible. For reservations, contact Bissett in the UNC development office at (919) 843-5112 or georgeann_bissett@unc.edu.

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Contact: George Ann Bissett, (919) 843-5112 or georgeann_bissett@unc.ed

News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589