APHC: Special Guests

Special Guests
Saturday, December 19, 1998

WALTER BOBBIE won a 1997 Tony Award for Best Director for his work on the current revival of Chicago. He also directed Fiorello! In Concert, the premiere production in the Encores! series at City Center, and conceived and directed Rodgers and Hammerstein's A Grand Night for Singing at the Roundabout Theatre. Other projects include Christopher Durang's Durang, Durang and Andrea Martin's one-woman show, Nude Nude Totally Nude. As an actor, Bobbie has a long list of Broadway and off-Broadway credits, including Guys and Dolls, Assassins, Getting Married, Café Crown, Anything Goes, Driving Miss Daisy, I Love My Wife, A History of the American Film, and the original Grease. He has appeared on many televison shows and in films including Stephen King's Thinner and The First Wives' Club. Bobbie's latest directing project is Footloose, a stage adaptaion of the 1984 film, which opened at the Richard Rogers Theatre in October.

Originally from County Kerry, Ireland, CHRISTY O'LEARY learned the uilleann pipes from Michael O'Riabhaigh in Cork. He spent the early 1980s as a member of the Celtic group DeDannan, and is well-known from his twelve years with another Celtic group, The Boys of the Lough. In addition to singing and piping, O'Leary also plays the fiddle, tin whistle, and harmonica. Inspired by the beauty of the music of Sweden, O'Leary's first solo release, The Northern Bridge (Old Bridge Music), is subtitled Songs and Tunes from Ireland and Scandinavia. The CD, which has garnered rave reviews, features both vocal and instrumental selections that highlight O'Leary's musical talents and rich baritone voice. O'Leary is joined tonight by Claire Mann on flute, tin whistle and fiddle, and Frank Kilkelly on guitar.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, and raised in Cincinnati. She studied ballet and singing as a child, and appeared in her first television special, The Little Match Girl, at age eight. In the 20-some years since then, her career has spanned film, television, and the stage. Her screen credits include roles in Mars Attacks, The First Wives' Club, Honeymoon in Vegas, L.A. Story, and Ed Wood. First recognized for her role in the TV series, Square Pegs, Parker has also been seen in A Year in the Life, the mini-series Twist of Fate, and TV movies The Ryan White Story, In the Interest of the Children, and The Room Upstairs. In addition to her Tony-nominated performance in Once Upon a Mattress, she has appeared on the New York stage in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, The Heidi Chronicles, and Sylvia, not to mention her two-year turn in the title role in Annie. Parker stars in the HBO series, Sex in the City, and is currently filming the live-action version of Dudley Do-Right.

Pianist ANDRÉ WATTS first made his mark in the music world at the age of 16, when Leonard Bernstein chose him to make his debut with the New York Philharmonic in their reknowned Young People's Concerts. Two weeks later, Bernstein asked him to substitute for the ailing Glen Gould in performances of Liszt's E-flat Concerto. More than 30 years later, Watts continues to perform with the world's greatest orchestras and conductors, as well as in solo recitals. This season brings concerts with the orchestras of Vancouver, Seattle, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Jersey, and Milwaukee, as well as with the New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony. He will also give recitals in California, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, and Japan. His latest CD features both of Liszt's piano concertos and MacDowell's Concerto No. 2, performed with the Dallas Symphony and Andrew Litton (Telarc). Watts is dedicated to supporting not-for-profit organizations and performs benefit concerts for various causes, in addition to taking a leadership role in Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS.