The College of Charleston School of the Arts will present an exclusive 20th anniversary gala “To Broadway and Back – A Party for the Arts.” The school will be transformed into the hustling and bustling streets of New York City for an unforgettable evening, emceed by MSNBC news anchor Contessa Brewer. The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. in the Albert Simons Center for the Arts and The Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts, 161 Calhoun St. Advance tickets are $200 per person with $2,500 and $1,000 sponsor packages available. Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased by calling (843) 953-6527. Sponsorship details are listed at www.sota.cofc.edu/2010gala <http://www.sota.cofc.edu/2010gala> . Black tie optional. Proceeds will support scholarships and programming at the School of the Arts. The gala is co-chaired by Eve Meddin Berlinsky and Cathy Marino.

Guests will enjoy gourmet fare by Charleston’s finest chefs, representing Buck Ridge Plantation, Gullah Cuisine, Newton Farms Catering, Swampfox Restaurant & Bar, Tristan and other culinary gems. Silent and live auctions will allow guests to bid on over 70 unique items, including private concerts; exclusive chef dinners – including dinner at the home of famed artist Jonathan Green and tour of his private art collection; travel packages, including NYC vacation while staying in the lush Intercontinental New York Times Square, with tickets to the Jimmy Fallon show, and private tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of New York; original artwork and jewelry; tickets to the 2011 NCAA Final Four; and more exciting items (soon to be) listed at www.sota.cofc.edu/2010gala <http://www.sota.cofc.edu/2010gala> .

Concluding the evening is an exciting performance featuring the songs of Tony Award nominee and College of Charleston alumnus Mel Marvin, ’62 and co-starring Broadway veteran and alumna Margaret Anne Florence, ’01, joined by other distinguished artists.

MEL MARVIN
As a College of Charleston student living in an apartment above the Dock Street Theatre, Mel Marvin discovered his love of music composition through local arts pioneers   Emmett and Patricia Robinson. He composed works specifically for S.C. including “Jubalee” and “Rare Fine Towne,” musicals written with Patricia Robinson; “Song for a New Land: An American Theatre Mass,” written with Julian Wiles; and “Green Pond,” written with Robert Montgomery and commissioned by Stage South.

Marvin has written Broadway productions including Tony nominated “Tintypes,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Yentl,” “Fascinating Rhythm” and “A History of the American Film.” He was born and raised in Walterboro, S.C. and was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters by the College of Charleston in 2010. Marvin is the head faculty composer of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, an M.F.A. program at NYU.

MARGARET ANNE FLORENCE
Margaret Anne Florence is an actress, singer and model. She has been featured in major motion pictures, television, independent films, and on the New York stage including the recent revival of “The Fantasticks.” In 2009, she starred alongside Kevin Costner in the major motion film “The New Daughter.” Most recently, in spring 2010, she starred in “The Light in the Piazza” at Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.

Florence was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. She received a B.A. in Music/Classical Voice from the College of Charleston and a Master in Music Theatre Performance from New York University. In 2009, she was awarded the Young Alumna of the Year award from the College of Charleston.

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
The School of the Arts plays a distinctive role in the lives and education of the students of the College as well as the community by developing artists, art scholars, and art leaders within a liberal arts setting. Within a city known for its cultural heritage, this superior education marks the School as a national flagship undergraduate arts program.

The School of the Arts has reinvented itself, changing from a small fine arts department, into one of the fastest growing comprehensive arts schools in the nation in less than twenty years. The School strives to become a preeminent center for the study, practice, and management of the performing and creative arts.